Christmas in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The exact year is uncertain as it was not identified, but it appears by the make and model of the cars to have been in the 1930’s.

Cities and towns throughout the country, especially in the South, used to celebrate Christmas with lots of trim. Pictured is Memphis, Tennessee in 1961. Photo courtesy of Pinterest.

It’s the Christmas season! That means for many Americans, and traditionalists, Christmas is celebrated with all the trimmings however grand or modest.

Back before Communism came to America, I grew up in a small town in the lower Piedmont area of South Carolina. That was in an era when celebrating Christmas was done in a big way and it was a great treat to go to the town Christmas parade.

The Main Street in our town was only about a quarter mile long. One end of the street butted into a cross street where the old log built railroad train station sat (perhaps I’ll tell a story about that train station one day). The other end of the street butted in to the First Baptist Church building.

Johnson City, Tennessee 1959. Photo courtesy Pinterest.

Anyway, the town was decorated from one end to the other with marvelous Christmas cheer, decorations and a festive mood. The kids from around the area were fascinated with all the bright lights, candy canes and big green wreaths in the store windows, along with the silver and golden globes and tinsel hanging from the beauty of the town Christmas tree, at the other end of the street in front of the big Baptist church.

Christmas decorations were hanging across the street on wires and from telephone poles (kind of like the ones pictured on this page) with beautiful glowing candlesticks and stars, cherubims, Santa Claus, and more.

The parades were especially exciting! There were floats with all kinds of Christmas themes! Manger scenes on floats, beauty queens, high school majorettes were in the parade, coupled with “angels” and “elves” walking along the crowd lines tossing candy canes and chocolate pieces to the kids. And, all us kids were anticipating Santa Claus coming along at some point, usually in the last float. I’m talking about little kids my age then, somewhere around 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 years old, and I’m sure older kids too. Even the adults were excited!

Christmas Decorations on Main Street in Los Angeles, 1950

There was always an electric atmosphere back in those days whether because of youth, anticipation and excitement or because of the spirit of Christmas. Kind of  reminds me of the Susan Walker character in Miracle on 34th Street when she suddenly believed Kris Kringle. Regardless, we got excited when the parade got started and the townspeople, dressed as “elves”, walked up the street passing out candy canes, peppermint candy rounds and other things we called treats.

Before you knew it the town fire truck was coming up the street getting lots of attention by blowing its siren. Lots of childhood glimmers were all around. That fire truck always had St. Nick himself riding up top!

All us kids in my small town were taught that Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus, the Messiah or Christ. We learned about the wise men, the manger where Jesus ‘lay his sweet head’, and the stable where he was born. It was a simple story for us because we were just simple people. We celebrated with all the joy and excitement we could muster.

City officials throughout America have traditionally remembered and celebrated Christmas Eve and Christmas Day because Americans have traditionally been Christian, and they thought it was important to commemorate the event with celebration. The United States didn’t recognize or have other celebrations or holidays in those days.

People throughout America celebrated Christmas with decorations many of which are pictured here showing that Christmas was a big day throughout the years.

Bridgeport, Connecticut, 1950’s. Photo courtesy OnlyinYourState.

Philadelphia, 1950’s

Honolulu, Hawaii 1959.

Johnson City, Tennessee 1959. Photo courtesy ClassicCarsToday.

1950’s Unknown

New York City 1956

Many of us grew up listening to Bing Crosby sing ‘I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas’ on the radio or playing on the phonograph at home. The movie White Christmas starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera Ellen, was a big hit when it came out in 1954—wow! That’s 67 years ago! My, how time flies! I was watching it in the 1960’s, so maybe not that long ago! That was back when life in America was a lot more normal, not near as much drama or insanity as today, or so it seemed.

Movie trailer for White Christmas starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera Ellen. If you haven’t seen White Christmas or it’s been a while, it’s worth viewing this Christmas. The movie is a reminder of what Christmas used to look like in America.

Merry Christmas everybody! Have a Merry, Merry Christmas!

Michael Reed is Publisher of The Standard newspaper, print and online. TheStandardSC video media channel is being censored by dominant social media groups like YouTube. YouTube, owed by Alphabet (Google), removed and destroyed all of our video work without permission or remuneration. That has stopped all potential donations from our many supporters on that venue. If you want to continue to see independent thought and reports please “like”, comment, share with a friend, and donate to support The Standard on this page to assure the continued availability of news that is ignored too often by the dominant media.

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