1940'S POINSETTIA

1977 CHRISTMAS COOKIES FROM QUAKER OATS

A Visit From St Nicholas book covers

In 1823 Clement Moore wrote a story loosely based on Scandinavian tales of Saint Nicholas and a story from fellow New Yorker Washington Irving. The story was just meant for family but a friend submitted it to a newspaper and a Christmas tradition was born. Moore’s conception of Santa Claus, illustrated first by famous artist Thomas Nast, became popular across the United States

There have been hundreds of different book covers for the classic story and these are just a few of the illustrations.

Sugar Plums

Sugar plums are associated with Christmas through The Nutcracker ballet and Clement C. Moore’s poem “A Visit From St. Nicholas.” But by the time the poem was written sugar plums were on the way out and they are not really a popular candy. But the poem and the ballet fixed the candy firmly in the public imagination as an essential part of Christmas. But children might be very disappointed if they received sugar plums in their Christmas stockings.

Sugar plums are made of dried fruits, such as prunes, cherries, figs, apricots and other fruits. The fruit was chopped up and mixed with honey, chopped almonds and sometimes spices such as anise, caraway or cardamom. The mixture was rolled into a ball and sometimes rolled in coconut or sugar. The candy was somewhat sweet and sticky.

MORE ANGEL GREETING CARDS

CHRISTMAS ANGELS

Angels are, of course, commonly associated with Christmas and they have been the subject of countless greeting cards, these are just a few examples.

CHRISTMAS TRADITION; HOLLY

Holly is a common shrub in Europe. It stays green in the dead of winter and became a symbol of rebirth to people before Christianity. It was collected to decorate homes during winter celebrations. This continued under Christianity.

The berries are poisonous, but attractive and are one of the attractions of this Christmas decoration, which is red and green, the colors of Christmas.

More Vintage Poinsettia Images

Poinsettia Plants: A Christmas Classic

Dr. John Roberts Poinsett was an American ambassador to Mexico in the early part of the 19th century and he was very interested in native plants. In Mexico there was a plant called "The Flower of the Holy Night" that was considered a homage to the nativity.

When Pointsett returned to his native South Carolina he brought some of the plants with him. He grew several plants and they became a popular Christmas decoration. Because he was the person that introduced the plant and made it popular, Poinsettias were named after him.

In warm climates the plant can grow in the soil and in cooler areas it is grown in greenhouses, in time for the Christmas season. The red petals of the plant are not flowers, the yellow centers are the actual flower. The red and green parts are just the leaves of the plants.

The plant has been a popular subject for greeting cards for years and these are some examples.

Saint Nicholas was a bishop in Asia Minor, he lived in the 4th century. There is a story about the bishop who knew of a man who was going to sell his daughters into slavery because he was unable to afford to dower them into marriage. So Saint Nicholas gave each of the girls gifts of gold coins when it came their time to marry.

But Saint Nicholas didn't want any credit for his good deed so he threw the gold into the house. One legend is that he threw it down the chimney and it dropped onto a stocking that was drying on the mantel. This is 1 story behind the reason children still hang stockings up on Christmas Eve.