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Submitted by the staff of the Orillia Museum of Art & History (OMAH)
While it may have been difficult to send Christmas cards this year, we wanted to make sure everyone received one from OMAH.
We have quite a few Christmas cards in our historical collection, but this one was selected to wish all of Orillia a joyful holiday season. This card comes from a donation that was made in 2010, of many, various cards that date from 1900 to 1930. While old Christmas cards are lovely to look at, they also offer an interesting insight into how the holiday has changed over the years.
Depicted on the card are a few visuals including headshots of Santa Claus, various trees, and a single Christmas tree with a white ribbon across it. While many houses sport a decorated tree during the month of December, that has not always been a common practice. The tradition began in Europe long before Santa Claus was related to the celebration, when people would bring boughs of evergreen trees into their homes during the winter. Along with these tree boughs, people would decorate their homes with candles and winter plants like mistletoe and winterberries.
Until the 1800s in North America, Christmas trees were a staple of the German community, and an oddity to others. Most Americans believed the trees to be pagan symbols, which they refused to accept. It wasn’t until 1846, when Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, both of German descent, were sketched decorating a tree with their children, that it became a trend. After that, there was a swift influx of trends, from decorating with candles and marzipan cookies to, eventually, decorating with coloured lights, tinsel, and popcorn strings.
Today, almost everyone who celebrates the holiday participates in the tradition of the Christmas tree. While you may not celebrate Christmas, OMAH would still like to extend a very warm and joyful holiday season to all.
Next week, we will feature another object from the OMAH collection that showcases our local history.
