Science Makes Christmas a Modern Holiday
The piece laments the shift from spontaneous yuletide joy to a planned, science driven Christmas. It praises exhibits in schools, catalog guided shopping, hygienic and esthetic toy evolution, and department store expositions that funnel shoppers through controlled, theatrical experiences to save time and nerves. It notes the rise of organized gift lists, gendered sections, and deliberate store design to spark purchases.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Opage Folice
Tumsn
Santa Claus
Dorothys
Naners
Henrietta
Von
Juliet
Reed
Tommy
Ruth
Christmas commerce becomes a science of selling
The passage describes how shopkeepers and street vendors exploit the Christmas mood to persuade buyers. It details devices, spots, and tactics used to attract crowds, from toy displays to animals and greens, portraying the season as a calculated, profitable science for all involved bidders and sellers.
Modern Christmas Trees in England Origin and Earliest Noted Use
The custom spread to England from Germany via the Duchess of Kent, aiding Queen Victoria as a child at Kensington Palace. By 1846 Windsor housed a thriving display with six foot imitation firs and wax-taper illumination, seen after a beef dinner with the royal party. It remains uncertain if rural Britain practiced it earlier.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
England
Duchess of Kent
Edward VII
Germany
Queen Victoria
Kensington Palace
Windsor
Scots Fusiliers
Auber
Norma
Great Britain
When Cattle Knelt in Adoration Adrift in Folklore
An 18th century Cornwall tale recounts oxen kneeling at midnight on Christmas Eve in homage to Christ and a belief the beasts refused to acknowledge calendar reform. An old print shows cattle kneeling beside the Virgin and Child, suggesting the superstition's visual origin. Some claim spinning on Christmas bred madness and lameness in cattle.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Cornwall
England
St. Stephen's Downs
Launceston
Srilish
Canned tunes misheard in a playful exchange
A man asks if Willoughby likes canned prunes and is corrected that the phrase meant canned tunes. The friend notes there is no accounting for tastes in the humorous misunderstanding.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Willoughby
Listen to the Gown: A Marital Dispute Recalled
A wife recalls how admiration faded after years of marriage. Her husband points to her father paying for the clothes worn at their early nuptials, highlighting shifting affection and material reminders in their relationship.
Pretty Christmas Gifts and Fancy Gaps for 1914
The article lists popular Christmas gifts this year including dancing party wear theater outfits skating and breakfast items. It describes an evening cap of silk with silver braid a silver gauze fan as a dramatic accessory and red outfits with lace collars. It notes dolls with bead eyes and yarn features and new cutout tissue picture crafts using colored papers and outlined silhouettes.
Useful presents for the little people
A feature describes outfits for babies and young children including robes of eiderdown flannel. The soft, warm fabric comes in light colors with Teddy bears rabbits and birds motifs. Robes are bound with narrow ribbon detailing.
Baby Garments and Accessories in Eiderdown Comfort
Describes infant clothing and nursery items made from eiderdown including collars pockets and waist cords for babies, silk tassels, bed slippers tied with ribbons, and infant shoes bootees sacks hoods and carriage blankets decorated with wide satin bows.
Home Workshop Toys for Children
The article lists durable at home toys for small children including teddy bears dogs elephants rabbits and kittens made from canton flannel or plush. Rag dolls cut from muslin, stuffed with sawdust, with button eyes and yarn mouths, are shown alongside a white dog with pressed detailing and a clown doll with a stocking top head and blue cambric body.
Candle Shades for Christmas Home Accents
Candle shades for the dressing table or dinner table add holiday charm. Fashion from silk, silkaline, or ribbon on small wire frames, using plaits or fluted folds. Ready-made wire frames come in sizes. cardboard frames are less durable. Sew plaited strips over top and bottom wires, conceal stitching with tin sel braid.
Pretty little corsage and hair ornaments guide
The article explains making corsages and hair ornaments from ribbons and satin, including metal roses in foliage, ribbon widths over an inch, and pinks and reds chosen to resemble natural flowers. It describes winding bonnet wire with ribbon to form a double headband, with ribbon roses at each end, and notes such ornaments make lovely gifts for young women.
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