Christmases Past: 1870s - 1900s

During the 1870s, Christmas in Waterbury began to look more like it does today than it had in earlier decades (see previous post). Christmas trees were becoming a standard feature, as were wreaths and poinsettias. Merchants offered countless options for gifts, grocers sold produce from warmer climates, and holiday entertainments ranged from the spiritual to the bawdy.

Waterbury's population boomed during the late 1800s, with thousands of people moving here to work in the factories. From 1870 to 1900, Waterbury's population grew from 13,148 to 51,139. It reached 73,141 in 1910.

Waterbury's growth was directly connected to the growth of industry and transportation throughout the country. This was an era of expansion, innovation, and colonization.

The first Christmas cards in the United States were introduced in 1874 by Louis Prang & Co. The advent of chromolithographic printing made the production of colorful cards affordable for the masses.

Thomas Nast's iconic illustration of Merry Old Santa Claus, carrying an armload of toys, appeared in Harper's Weekly magazine on January 1, 1881.

Thomas Nast, Merry Old Santa Claus, 1881

Christmases Past: 1840s - 1860s

Christmas is a time of nostalgia, with people reflecting on their happy memories from childhood, but the older history is just as interesting. Many of the traditions we associate with Christmas were adopted during the 1800s.

Washington Irving published a satirical story about St. Nicholas in 1809, writing "lo! the good St. Nicholas came riding over the tops of the trees, in that self-same wagon wherein he brings his yearly presents to children. ... And he lit his pipe by the fire, and sat himself down and smoked; and as he smoked the smoke from his pipe ascended into the air, and spread like a cloud overhead." (Washington Irving’s Works: Knickerbocker’s history of New York, 1895 edition, p. 181-182)

An illustrated poem about "Old Santeclaus" was published in New York in 1821, the first known publication to depict Santa's sleigh and reindeer.

The Children's friend. Number III. A New-Year's present, to the little ones from five to twelve, 1821
Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University / Wikimedia Commons