“IN THE HOLIDAY WORLDS OF OLD": EERIE FESTIVE TRADITIONS

 Museum Mysteries | Jefimija Vujcic

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Even with the holidays upon us, we’re in the middle of the most horrifying time of year for students – finals season! Putting (extremely) corny jokes aside, there are probably a few things that come to mind when putting ‘horror’ and ‘holiday’ in one sentence. Perhaps one is the seasonally ambiguous classic animated film A Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), a childhood staple set in the “worlds of old.” Another may be A Christmas Carol (1843) by Charles Dickens, in which a grouchy old man is convinced by three ghosts to change his ways. While we will return to both these influential pop culture moments, I must first set the supernatural scene.

This time of year has long been associated with the paranormal, long before the “magic of the season” came to mean all things wholesome, baking cookies, and watching cheesy movies. Unlike in the western Christian tradition, in Slavic countries and others in Eastern Europe, the 12 Days of Christmas – or from the 10th until the 19th of January (since Christmas is traditionally celebrated for three days) – are known as the “unbaptized days.'' It is thought that in this period, the “barrier between the two worlds has fallen and the boogeymen and other dangerous creatures – vampires, goblins, fairies roam through the human realm.” Even though many traditional beliefs associated with this time are no longer practiced, Christmas celebrations in these areas are still steeped with ritual, some of which are certainly creepy at first glance. 

During the koleda (or kolianda) festival,  the koledari or carollers – one of which is the “grandfather,” another the “bride,” and various animal-human demons or those in disguise – bring luck to a village’s households by ‘chasing out demons’. It is typically celebrated in the lead-up to Christmas or during the unbaptized days in countries such as Serbia, Bulgaria, Northern Macedonia, and Russia. | Source

Other traditions of ‘Scary Christmas,’ include the following: spider decorations based on a Ukrainian folk tale, the hiding of brooms so that witches can’t use them in Norway, Krampus in Germany and Austria, and many more.

Now, the question you may be asking is where do museums factor into all of this? Should museums try to talk about this particular aspect of the holidays? Well, given that I have written this blog post, I’m sure my opinion is clear. This is a great opportunity for us to discuss some really cool concepts – including the practice of ethnography (how were these seemingly static ancient folk beliefs systematically collected) and religious syncretism. The great news is that some museums do already touch on Scary Christmas.

Source.

This topic has been taken up by Canadian museums such as Eldon House, which hosted an exhibition on the topic, the Dalnavert Museum, and the Oshawa Museum, which annually hosts a holiday event featuring the sharing of ghost stories. In pre-pandemic days, Lamplight was a truly magical event and it was always exciting to see the historical houses lit up at night; these days it takes the form of a whimsical short film. These museums all follow the Victorian tradition of the “witching time for Story-telling,” as Dickens put it in one of his many ghostly tales. 

Knowing all of this, Tim Burton’s 1993 film seems all the more clever as a way for us to look closer at this apparent mixing of traditions, or, rather, the reimagining of old customs. It also makes me wish I could have seen this 

2019-20 exhibit at Las Vegas’ Neon Museum or this one running through the new year at the Hilbert Museum in California – both featuring some of Burton’s artwork, including from The Nightmare Before Christmas!

In any case, I think museums, where the past also meets the present, are the perfect places from which to consider these “unbaptized days” and other similar holiday traditions which see the blurring of our realm and that of the ‘otherworldly’ one. As the Dalnavert Museum summed up so beautifully, this season tends to capture “memories, customs, and traces of the past – our personal pasts, our cultural pasts, and our historical pasts, all of which fuse to form the traditions that mean Christmas to each of us.” No matter what you’re celebrating, even just the break from classes, I hope it’s holly, jolly, and… spooky. 

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SHARING STORIES FROM THE SEASON OF GIVING

Throwback Thursday | Emma Puddicombe

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As the semester comes to a close and the holiday season begins, I thought I would look back on this time of year and learn more about the different traditions the students in our program do with their families. Read ahead for some Museum Studies style holiday traditions and to get into the spirit of the holiday season!

Source

“My grandma handmade this advent calendar for my family. For as long as I can remember, my brother, sister and I have always loved putting a nativity character up. When Christmas Day came around, it would turn into the hunger games between the three of us as to who got to put baby Jesus up. We still do this tradition to this day, and despite us all being in our 20s, it is still a major competition to see who gets to put baby Jesus up on Christmas morning.”

- Natalie Heaton, 2nd year MMSt (Photos courtesy of Natalie Heaton)

“For Christmas, my dog, Robbie, “buys” my sister and I socks! When he was a puppy he liked to steal socks so it seemed fitting.”

- Emily Finbow, 1st Year MMSt (Photos courtesy of Emily Finbow)

“For as long as I can remember, my best friend and I's families get together on Christmas Eve every year and we eat Tourtière and lobster fritters! The tradition is even sweeter now because my friend goes to Dalhousie and Christmas is her big break for the year when she comes home.”

- Sabryna Ekstein, 2nd year MMSt (Photo courtesy of Sabryna Ekstein)

“In true German tradition, Christmas Eve is the big day for my family. We have a light dinner, including my Dad's favourite German food tradition from his childhood, pickled herring (he's definitely the only one that eats it). Then we head off to church for a Christmas Eve service and carols. On our way home, my Dad makes a point to delay our arrival by driving through our surrounding neighborhoods to see the Christmas lights. As kids, this was exasperating because we were waiting to go home and open presents, but now it has become a more relaxing and welcomed excursion. The drive would always be long enough to ensure Santa had time to deliver our presents, and, lo and behold, every time we arrive home, to this day, Santa has been there.”

- Jordan Vetter, 1st year MMSt

“Every year my family wears matching outfits and we go to the distillery district together.”

- Savannah Sewell, 2nd year MMSt (Photos courtesy of Savannah Sewell)

“For a long time, my family followed a Dutch tradition. Everyone in the family gets a big chocolate letter of their first initial. They’re huge, so it was always a race to see who could eat theirs the fastest without feeling sick!”

- Martin Bierens, 1st year MMSt (Photo courtesy of Martin Bierens)

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“For the past 3-4 years, my family has been going axe throwing during our holiday break. We have so much time off (especially me and my sister, because we're both in university) that by the time the winter break ends, we're bored out of our minds. One year, we decided to go axe throwing, just for something to do. It turns out that my sister is actually really good, and my whole family really enjoys it! We're not the sportiest family, but we're all pretty good at axe throwing.”

- Emma Myers, 2nd year MMSt

“Every year my step-mom knits my cat, Biggie, a new outfit, and hat.”

- Lindsay Chisholm, 1st year MMSt (Photos courtesy of Lindsay Chisholm)

“As a tradition, my family and I always drive out to Alliston, Ontario to the Drysdale tree farm to cut down our Christmas tree. We also always watch It's a Wonderful Life after Christmas Eve mass.”

- Matt Dominico, 2nd year MMSt (Photos Source)

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"The morning is spent opening presents under the tree (stocking stuffers are opened first of course) and then we eat brunch and take our dogs out for a family walk around our town’s golf course. We also go visit my uncle who lives in a long-term care home and bring him hot chocolate. Later when we sit down for dinner we open Christmas crackers and read the joke/trivia and play with the toy that comes inside and wear the paper crowns while we eat. To end the night we usually drink tea and eat sweets while playing board games or card games.” 

- Vicky Jamieson, 1st year MMSt 

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“The only tradition my family seems to have is our "strike" against turkey. Basically, we got so tired of turkey after Thanksgiving we decided to ban it at Christmas and instead eat lamb or ham. It's just the 3 of us so it's an easy consensus.” 

- Elizabeth Cytko, 3rd year CDP

“My family isn’t super festive, but the holidays are the only time we're all in one room. In addition to leaving snacks for Santa, my family would also put out a bowl of baby carrots for the reindeer. One year they forgot to bring it back in and I cried because I was worried the reindeer would go hungry.” 

- Georgia McKee, 1st year MMSt (Photos courtesy of Georgia Mckee)

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“Every Christmas morning, while my mom would make breakfast, my dad would blast his Kenny G Christmas CD to wake me and my brothers up!” 

- Denise Tenio, 1st year MMSt

“On Christmas Eve, my family has a réveillon, or a Christmas Eve party (Derives ‘réveil’, meaning "waking", because everyone who is invited stays until midnight or later). We make traditional French-Canadian dishes, and all our neighbours, family and friends are invited. My dad even sets up a chocolate fountain! Every year our invitations feature a different Christmas movie character and people guess who it is. It’s my favourite part of the holiday!" 

- Emma Puddicombe, 2nd year MMSt (Photos courtesy of Emma Puddicombe)

Happy Holidays to all of you! 

WASSAILING WE GO: CAROLLING FASHION FROM AGES LONG PAST

Sew What | Rachel Dice

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So what’s your holiday style: trendy, traditional, or drunken viking?

Victorian winter wear for women and children, circa 1850. Source. 

If you’re planning on being ultra-traditional and going out carolling this holiday season, the most important thing to think about is your aesthetic. The popular thing these days is to wear a horrible Christmas sweater—some of which light up or play music. Or maybe, you might want to stick with good old red and green, which isn’t as old as you’d think. Our red and green Christmas colours

This plush blue velvet coat with white fur collar and cuffs
from the Aurora Museum & Archives looks more like 
what Santa would have originally worn. Photo courtesy
of Rachel Dice.

come from depictions of Santa Claus working amongst his merrily-clad elves, but originally, Santa would have worn white and blue during the holiday season. A 1920s era blue velvet coat with its white fur collar and cuffs in the textile collection at the Aurora Museum & Archives is more in line with what he would have worn back in his early days. So how did Santa’s outfits become such a big part of the holidays? And what about carolling?

Well, it’s a pretty well-known fact that the Santa we know and love today got his outfit from Coca-Cola ads introduced during the 1920s. Due to the popularity of the drink, it’s understandable that his cool red outfit would become a popular Christmas icon, leading festive revellers to don a red and white hat in honour of the festive figure. The classic look became part of an old holiday tradition—carolling.

In our modern day and age, carolling has pretty much become something confined to a stage at a

Michael Goodchild in his performing blacks at
the Exultante Winter Concert, the modern
carolling event. Photo courtesy of Annelise
Danielle. 

Christmas market or at special winter concerts. Depending on the venue and the choir, the styles we see either lean towards performing blacks or holiday gear. If you’re lucky, you might even see some Victorian-inspired carollers in top-hats, bonnets, and hoop skirts. Despite our modern influences in colour choices—most Victorian-inspired carollers perform decked out in red and green—actual Victorian carollers would have just worn their winter clothing accessorized with some holly or other seasonal flowers to mark the festive occasion.

If the Victorian era isn’t quite your style, then perhaps the real roots of carolling are for you. Carolling is an extremely old tradition that actually pre-dates Christmas itself. Originally called wassailing, this pagan Yuletide tradition was much more than just singing songs. Wassailers would perform ritual chants, sing, act out small skits, and make a merry havoc in winter months. These activities were usually accompanied by a traditional drink—called wassail. This drink would have been somewhere between a mead, beer, and apple cider. Wassailing would usually happen in an apple orchard on the twelfth night of Yule to awaken the trees, chase away demons, and convince the trees to thrive over the next year. After finishing up in the orchard, wassailers generally pointed themselves in the direction of the nearest village and continued on their drunken way.

Traditional clothing for wassailers was the ever-present tunic worn by most medieval men, or a bliaut and kirtle worn by women. Since it was also winter, wassailers wrapped furs around their leggings and arms to keep themselves warm, and also added in a mid-length cloak that usually went to their

Typical medieval garb for men, rich and poor. Wassailers
would have the addition of furs and capes to keep themselves
warm as they launched into the night to wreak festive havoc.
Source.

elbows. The type of fur was important as well. Most wassailers were peasants, which means that they used weasel or mink fur instead of the softer furs favoured by the rich. If a fur-clad wassailer made their way over to you demanding figgy pudding or the like (since that song didn’t exist yet), then you had better give it to them! People who refused to comply to a wassailer’s requests were pulled into rowdy or racy skits and chants while other wassailers caused havoc around them. Now THAT sounds like a holiday tradition that we all need.

So how about we forget about the traditional and tame group carolling, and go all out this holiday season? A bowl of cider, some furry leggings, and a bit of mischief are all you need to get into the wassailing mood.

The modern version of "traditional" carollers. Source.

Whatever your style, enjoy the holidays and have an excellent new year!

DEPARTMENT STORE SANTAS: A GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST

Ghosts of Toronto's Past | Rebecca Barrett

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The Eaton Centre is a pivotal landmark in Toronto. Right next to City Hall, connected directly to the TTC, and touching four major intersections, it’s pretty much impossible to avoid. I’ve known for a while that for this article, my last one before the holidays, I wanted to look at some of Toronto’s classic Christmas traditions. What I didn’t expect was that my research would repeatedly lead me back to the Eaton Centre.

Some of the Eaton Centre's holiday light displays. Photo courtesy of Rebecca Barrett.

Nowadays, the Eaton Centre’s most well-known Christmas tradition is probably their huge light displays in the shape of reindeers and Christmas trees that stand almost two stories high within the mall. But what I didn’t know, is that the Eaton Centre is responsible for so much more holiday cheer than just that – in fact, it started some of Toronto’s most renowned and long-lasting Christmas traditions!

Setting the scene: a postcard of Eaton's Old Storefront circa 1923. Source.

The Santa Claus Parade, in its current format, starts at Christie Pitts Park and ends at the St. Lawrence Market. But, when it initially began in 1905, the parade simply consisted of Santa Claus arriving at Union Station by train and walking up Bay Street with the Eaton family to the Eaton Centre, where he would hold court and meet all the kids. There were no floats, no band, and no crowds – the parade was essentially just a security escort to the Eaton Centre for Santa.

After a few years, this annual walk began drawing crowds of young children, who came out to cheer for Santa and (according to reports) throw snowballs at him. In 1913, the route changed to accommodate the growing crowds and the Eaton family introduced a sleigh and 8 live reindeer, specially brought in from Labrador, to pull Santa. This time, Santa paraded 30 miles down Yonge Street, ending at Massey Hall for a concert and a party (and who wouldn’t want to party with Santa?).

Santa Claus partying on his float in the middle of a huge crowd circa 1918. Source.

Around the time of the First World War, the parade began to develop its modern and familiar format. By 1917 there were 7 parade floats – most of which were storybook and nursery rhyme characters – and every year it would grow. By 1930, Eaton's Santa Claus Parade was aired on national radio, and by 1952, it was broadcast on CBC as the largest Santa Claus parade in North America. And to think: all of this fame and prominence because the Eatons had to pick up their department store Santa at the train station, 50 years earlier.

The famous Mother Goose parade float circa 1930, which was the longest continual float in service (featured in the parade annually from 1930-1960, each time painted a different colour). Source.

But the Santa Clause Parade isn’t the only Christmas tradition that the Eaton Centre introduced to Toronto. Since the beginning of the 20th century, there was an intense rivalry between Eaton’s and another Canadian department store, Simpsons. This rivalry resulted in a kind of “Christmas arms race” between the two stores. Each tried to design more and more elaborate and enticing holiday display windows as a way to outcompete one another and draw children (and, by extension, their families) into their stores. These displays would feature music, automatons, and mechanics all staged in a whimsical children's-themed diorama.

Children running over to look at Eaton's window display. No date. Crown Copyright. Source. 

Children peering in at Eaton's window display circa 1953. Crown Copyright. Source.

Eaton's window display of Santa's workshop circa 1958. Crown Copyright. Source.

These display windows became an iconic symbol for the city that the holidays were coming – and even today, Hudson’s Bay (which bought out Simpsons) continues to celebrate the unveiling of its own holiday windows in the Eaton Centre. By now, the Bay’s window unveilings have become a huge production with free concerts at Queen and Yonge and celebrity appearances. Of course, over a hundred years later, the display windows look a little different:

View this post on Instagram

These windows tho... 😍📸🎄 #hudsonsbay

A post shared by Ronald (@ronaldjayq) on Nov 4, 2018 at 7:32pm PST

In hindsight, I probably should have suspected that many of Toronto’s Christmas traditions began with department stores (like the Eaton Centre) and the rabid commercialism and consumerism therein. It might seem like an unromantic common origin for these traditions, but I think there’s still some magic floating around the city at this time of year. These traditions are still important because they are ingrained into the city’s fabric and they get us excited for the holiday season.


Happy Holidays!

via GIPHY

CHRISTMAS IN THE COLLECTIONS

COLLECTIONS CORNER

BY: JENNIFER MAXWELL

Hello December! I love Christmas, the whole Christmas season. It's such a lovely time of year, and I invite you to spend a magical winter moment with the Collections Corner blogpost to usher in the Christmas season. Delving into collections around the world, I have selected 12 Christmas-related items including cards, toys, books, and decorations. Enjoy!

I. The First Christmas Card – Victoria and Albert Museum

© Victoria and Albert Museum, London

This card is a reproduction of an 1843 card, commissioned by Sir Henry Cole, the Museum’s first director. It combines two traditional themes. The central illustration shows three generations of a family raising a toast to the recipient of the card, and the outer, less colourful images show acts of charity and giving to the poor.

II. Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol – The Morgan Library & Museum

© The Morgan Library & Museum

Every holiday season, the Morgan displays Charles Dickens’ original manuscript of A Christmas Carol in Pierpont Morgan’s historic library (view online here). First published on 19 December 1843, the novella met with instant success and critical acclaim. A Christmas Carol remains popular, having never been out of print.

III. A Christmas Story House & Museum

© A Christmas Story House

This 19th-century Victorian house was used in the exterior scenes of Ralphie Parker’s home in the beloved 1983 film A Christmas Story. Located in Cleveland, the house was purchased by a private developer in 2004 and has been restored and renovated as to appear as it did both inside and outside in the film – leg lamp and all!

IV. Poinsettia – Canadian Museum of Nature

© Canadian Museum of Nature

An ornamental shrub, the poinsettia is native to Mexico and Central America, where it is known as Flor de la Noche Buena (“Flower of the Holy Night”). It is believed to have been used as a Christmas decoration as early as the 17th century when Franciscan monks near Taxco, Mexico incorporated the plant in their Nativity processions.

V. Second World War Stocking and Gifts – Imperial War Museum

© IWM (EPH 3663)

Six years of war brought many changes to familiar festive rituals in Britain. Christmas celebrations during the Second World War often had to be scaled down or adjusted as restrictions and shortages took their toll. The toys and gifts in this Christmas stocking from 1940 have been made from low-quality wartime paper.

VI. An Iconic Santa Claus Holiday Advertisement – The Coca-Cola Archives

© The Coca-Cola Company

The modern image of a jolly, red-suited Santa Claus with a beard is often attributed to Haddon Sundbolm, an artist hired by Coca-Cola in the 1930s to promote their product in the winter months. The ads Sundbolm created portrayed a rosy Santa Claus bringing cheer with a bottle of Coke, and the image stuck.

VII. Glass Christmas Tree Ornaments – Museum für Glaskunst Lauscha

© Museum für Glaskunst Lauscha

The bauble is one of the most popular Christmas ornament designs, and such spherical decorations have been in production since 1847. Glass baubles were first made in Lauscha, Germany by Hans Greiner who produced garlands of glass beads and tin figures that could be hung on trees.

VIII. The Christmas Truce – The National WWI Museum and Memorial

© The National World War | Museum at Liberty Memorial

On Christmas Eve of 1914, along parts of the Western and Eastern fronts in Europe, a spontaneous truce was declared among the entrenched soldiers of World War I. Many German and British troops exchanged presents of cigarettes and plum puddings and sang carols and songs. There was even a documented case of soldiers from opposing sides playing a good-natured game of soccer.

IX. Pink Evergleam Aluminum Christmas Tree – Wisconsin Historical Museum

© Wisconsin Historical Society

Aluminum Christmas trees were first commercially manufactured in the United States from 1955 until the 1970s. Their massive appeal derived from their novelty in a marketplace dominated by traditional holiday decorations and designs. The aluminum Christmas tree was famously used as a symbol of the over-commercialization of Christmas in the 1965 Peanuts holiday special A Charlie Brown Christmas.

X. “The Nativity: The Presentation in the Temple” – Museè du Louvre

© Museè du Louvre

Nativity scenes have been a popular Advent and Christmas decoration for homes, parishes, and public places for hundreds of years. Saint Francis of Assisi is credited with creating the first nativity scene in 1223. He recreated the scene of Christ's birth in a special service and Mass he held inside of a cave, inviting both his fellow friars and the townspeople to join in the celebration. 

XI. Wooden Toboggan – McCord Museum

© McCord Museum

The toboggan was a common means of hauling small loads or people over snow historically among subarctic Aboriginal groups. The word “toboggan” likely originates from the word for sled by the Mi’kmaq (tobâkun) and/or Abenaki (ubãbãgan). Tobogganing became a popular winter sport in French Canada in the late 1800s.

XII. “White Christmas” Sheet Music – The National Museum of American History

© Smithsonian Institution

“White Christmas” is an Irving Berlin song reminiscing about an old-fashioned Christmas setting. Originally written for the 1942 musical film Holiday Inn, the song was made famous by the 1954 holiday classic White Christmas. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the version sung by Bing Crosby is the best-selling single of all time.

What collections inspire holiday celebrations or the winter season for you? Please leave your comments below.  Happy Holidays!