Christmas in the 1950s

Equipping The Saints on the 24th of December 2014 found himself enjoying that Christmas Eve evening by watching one of his favourite of all time films and he had to talk to you about the movie, and the times.

Original poster for the 1947 Christmas comedy-drama film written and directed by George Seaton and based on a story by Valentine Davies

Seaton, George American screenwriter and director original name George Stenius April 17, 1911 South Bend, Indiana, U.S. July 28, 1979 Beverly Hills, California American screenwriter and film director who was perhaps best known for his work on Miracle on 34th Street (1947) and The Country Girl (1954), both of which earned him Academy Awards for best screenplay. The son of Swedish immigrants, raised in Detroit, got his breakthrough with the holiday classic about a young girl (Natalie Wood) who begins to believe that the elderly man (Edmund Gwenn in an Oscar-winning performance) hired to play Santa Claus at Macy’s department store might actually be St. Nick. After a jealous fellow employee frames him for an assault, Kringle is placed in a mental hospital. At the ensuing sanity hearing, Kringle and his attorney attempt to prove that he is indeed Santa Claus.

“Miracle On 34th Street” has always found a place of warmth in my soul. {121714 – Christmas In The 50s}

Equipping The Saints writes

As I see the downtown store scenes of Christmas shoppers in the movie, my mind drifts back to the days of my childhood. {121714 – Christmas In The 50s}

The actor John Johnson who played the official Santa Claus for St. Albans finds that Gwenn who starred in the 1947 holiday film classic, helped set the standard for what a movie Santa Claus is supposed to be. When we were children looking forward for the many presents we could find under the Christmas tree we nearly every year got to see a performance of a homespun Christmas Street with a group of neighbours smitten by sugar-plum dreams and equipped with lots of extension cords, Santas, Snoopys, and inflatable snowmen, nativity scenes and teddy bears, model trains and flashing rooftop sleighs. In several stage versions we got to see as a child the scoundrels were mad more obvious and there were more of them. Also according to the times and popularity of names, the names of some of the characters were adapted to be more contemporary and to find more recognisable characters.

Some of our friends had lost their dad in the war and others had their parents working so hard that they had not so much time for their kids. also the writer of 121714 – Christmas In The 50s his step-father was usually away from home working as a merchant seaman, so his mother would take his younger brother, sister, and him “downtown” on shopping excursions.

My mother was very good at shopping and not letting us know that all of the wrapped boxes “were not really ours.” As with many downtown shopping areas in America “in the 50s,” we had streets in my home town that were lined with tall buildings, such as Sears, Penny’s, Woolworth’s, McCrory’s, Kress’s, and you know the rest of them. The streets were nicely decorated with “Christmas” markings (not Happy Holidays yet!). The store personnel would always say, “Merry Christmas,” without the fear of being fired! {121714 – Christmas In The 50s}

Here in Belgium in front of nearly every big store there were Christmas singers for a good cause and the Salvation Army was unmistakably part of the Christmas Season picture.  In town you could not pass one shopping street without finding a Salvation Army band singing carols, around their little ‘fire’.

At that time the shops were still so incredibly decorated we just went to gaze in front of the shopwindows for all the magic bringing us into many special Christmas dreams. Everywhere you could feel the special spirit and people seemed much more friendly than the rest of the year.

Equipping The Saints also remembers

My family didn’t have a car, so we would always ride a city busy or take a cab. The drivers were very friendly and would also give “Christmas greetings” to us. {121714 – Christmas In The 50s}

Global warming had not reached us and we still could find real Winters with freezing cold days, having people to warm themselves very warm.

Equipping The Saints can remember the long kelly green coat that his mother wore;

she always had a wide black belt around the coat; and, she would have on black high heels – she had given up on wearing a hat and white gloves (sort of what Aunt Bea would wear!). And, we didn’t have a television at home. {121714 – Christmas In The 50s}

We at home having one of the first television had that extra dimension in the holiday period able to see the Christmas specials in the salon, after we had spend hours of reading in the library of the house and having had nice Christmas sweets in the lounge and some interesting chats in the parlour.

So, now you know all about my family. Now! Back to the movie. {121714 – Christmas In The 50s}

The writer of 121714 – Christmas In The 50s was very envious of the people of his age who were able to do their “downtown shopping” in the cities of Boston, Philadelphia, New York, St. Louis and the other large cities.

The stores that are mentioned in “Miracle On 34th Street,” such as Macy’s, Gimbel’s, Stern’s, Bloomingdale’s, McCreery’s and Hearns must have been wonderful places to shop. In the movie, a Macy’s store employee referred a shopper over to Gimble’s for an item that cost $2.98; can you imagine that? the price or the courtesy!  {121714 – Christmas In The 50s}

The Christmas window displays seen in the film were originally made by Steiff for Macy’s. Macy’s later sold the window displays to FAO Schwarz in New York. FAO Schwarz then sold the windows to the Marshall & Ilsley Bank of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where they are on display every December in the bank’s lobby on North Water Street. {Miracle on 34th Street (in the United Kingdom first released as The Big Heart}

On the stage as well on the screen many versions saw the light and tried to bring some nice atmosphere in the Winter Holiday season. today there doe snot seem such a search for family warmth and ‘togetherness’ any more and the shops do not make so much work for decorating their shop-windows. In the shops and at the Christmas markets everything focusses on material gadgets and on alcoholic drinks, whilst non-peaceful music is yelling out of the loudspeakers. Though I must agree it sometimes was too much of having for weeks all those Christmas songs and jingle bells coming out our ears. 😉

Equipping The Saints thinks rightly that many of our age have those “Miracle on 34th” times of Thanksgiving and Christmas memories neatly and protectively stored in the wonderful areas of our minds. He  writes

I can vividly remember how J.C. Penny looked on Broughton Street; Sears & Roebuck was actually located about a mile away. Lerner’s was a dress store, kind of high-end, that made me really think that I was in New York… I trust that you will always cherish those memories, just as I do.

Dotta Raphels remarks

America in her generous bid to be tolerant and welcoming, has completely lost the essence of benevolence. She has allowed tolerance not only consume and blind her, but now, the many she welcomed with open arms are threatening to usurp her original self and traits. I know this country has seen many ugly sides such as slavery and denigration of fellow man, I do not speak of these times or traits, but rather of true fellowship of his ways and words, and the freedom to practice so, without being labeled one ridiculous thing or the other.

What about these generosities be reverted and extended to the people of America who still have traditional values and beliefs, regardless of how politically incorrect some may view their take?
I have a different sort of memory myself growing up in Christmas times back in Nigeria. It was a period of joy and celebration for us. A time when parents travelled back with families from cities to small hometown and villages, so the extended kin can all gather to celebrate our Lord and gift.

Many kids got their very own new cloths or shoes for the first time that period because parents saw it as a good time to reach deep into very thin pockets to give as Christ gave to their kids.
Total strangers would give kids money or sweets, and families would invite strangers off the streets to sup or dine with them. It depicted true brotherhood and such were glory days.

Today, it’s completely different. There are rapes, murders, crime of all imaginable sorts, and small hometowns and villages now overrun with thuggery, kidnapping ,rage and you name it.
The utopia Christmas no longer exits, and kids are no longer happy with sweets, new clothes and shoes or a simple supper. Everyone wants a mac, kindle, I Phone 6 or tablet, …

People of faith and followers of Christ are made to feel inferior for having an opinion and the very government that should protect everyone’s right to free worship, is now the same stifling some who want to celebrate our Lord.
We don’t all have to believe in the same thing, but the founding fathers of these united states as many mistakes as they made, in my humble opinion got one thing right… That is stating firmly that In God We trust. America is not and will never be anything other than In God We trust. If only present people will allow us follow our oath.

 

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A fragment of the 1947 film with the little Dutch Girl and Mary Field as her Mother, where the child shows the true spirit of Christmas, to be with some one loved. After she tells the Santa she does not need anything else than to say with the nice lady she sings the Dutch Saint Nicholas song in Dutch “Sinterklaas kapoentje”

Miracle On 34th Street with Mary Field – 1947

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Miracle On 34th Street (1955 version)

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Preceding articles

The Proper Place of Excess

Looking for the consummation of presents

One can buy a lot in the supermarket, but not hope

Solstice, Saturnalia and Christmas-stress

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Additional reading

Change

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Further reading

• St. Albans Santa Stars in ‘Miracle on 34th Street’
• Baltimore’s Own ‘Miracle on 34th Street’ Light Display

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Related articles

• Miracle on 34th Street > SN&R reviews Woodland Opera House’s production of Miracle on 34th Street.
• U.S. States Most Enthused About Christmas Movies
• 7 Surprisingly Dark Moments From Your Favourite Christmas Movies
• The Spirit of Christmas: Our Favorite Santa Movies
• Best Christmas Movies
• 3 must-see holiday movie screenings, Dec. 19-23
• Two Holiday Shows at the Warner Theatre
• The Nativity Stories: The Best (and Worst) Christmas Movies Ever
• Wrist to Christmas?
• Santa Claus Land – Santa Claus, Indiana The only fully colored…

A Story of the Soldier and a Spider

Many times we look for solutions in the wrong directions. Often we have an idea of difficult solutions when they could be so simple, and there lying in front of us, without us noticing them. At moments we also can loose trust in the Higher Being because it looks as if we do not get the answer to our question right away. When we look at it, after we needed some patience, we shall see that the Most High always provides the best answer in our, but mainly also in His interest, and at His time.

We should trust Him more and give our live in His hands instead of directing it so much ourselves.

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To remember

Scrambling for cover > crawled inside one of the caves.

After praying … he thought, “Well, I guess the Lord isn’t going to help me out of this one.”

“what I need is a brick wall and what the Lord has sent me is a spider web. God does have a sense of humor.”

“I had forgotten that in you a spider’s web is stronger than a brick wall.”

Facing times of great trouble it is so easy to forget the victories that God would work in our lives, sometimes in the most surprising ways.

“In God we will have success!” [Nehemiah 2:20]

With God, a mere spider’s web can become a brick wall of protection. Trust and believe that He is with you always. Just ask for his help and you will see His great power and love for you.

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Additional reading:

God’s non answer

Does God answer prayer?

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Good Time Stories

Photo Credit: Petra via CC Flickr

During World War II, a US Marine was separated from his unit on a Pacific island. The fighting had been intense, and in the smoke and the crossfire, he had lost touch with his comrades.

Alone in the jungle, he could hear enemy soldiers coming in his direction. Scrambling for cover, he found his way up a high ridge to several small caves in the rock. Quickly he crawled inside one of the caves. Although safe for the moment, he realized that once the enemy soldiers looking for him swept up the ridge, they would quickly search all the caves and he would be killed. As he waited, he prayed, “Lord, if it be your will, please protect me. Whatever your will though, I love you and trust you. Amen.”

After praying, he lay quietly listening to the enemy begin to draw close. He…

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