May all jollity lighten your christmas hours

And may birds with torches not burn down your home.



via Lilly Library, Indiana University

Posted By: Alex - Sat Dec 25, 2021 - Comments (2)
Category: Christmas

To Gladden Hearts and Lighten Labor

Surprise, Honey! Now get to work.

1937 - via Science History Institute

Posted By: Alex - Sat Dec 25, 2021 - Comments (4)
Category: Advertising, Gender, 1930s, Christmas

Merry Christmas 2021!

Have a wonderful holiday!

Posted By: Paul - Sat Dec 25, 2021 - Comments (1)
Category: Holidays, Christmas, Music, Technology, 1970s

Miss Christmas Lighting

Long Beach Independent - Dec 8, 1960

Posted By: Alex - Fri Dec 24, 2021 - Comments (2)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, 1960s, Christmas

Hanging ‘Satan Claus’

December 1980: The members of the Truth Tabernacle Church in Burlington, NC tried Santa Claus. The charges included "child abuse by urging parents to buy liquor instead of clothing," "lying and saying he is Saint Nicholas," "causing churches to practice Baal religion unknowingly," and "causing ministers to lie about Christ's birthday."

They found Santa — or 'Satan Claus' as they called him — guilty on all charges and hanged him in effigy.

Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer - Dec 19, 1980

Posted By: Alex - Thu Dec 23, 2021 - Comments (7)
Category: Religion, 1980s, Christmas

Captain Santa Claus and His Reindeer Space Patrol

Never heard this one till yesterday.



The singer's Wikipedia page.

Posted By: Paul - Fri Dec 17, 2021 - Comments (2)
Category: Animals, Fads, Spaceflight, Astronautics, and Astronomy, Television, 1950s, Christmas

The Living Christmas Tree

Alex and I will be making an announcement soon, about where all WU-vies can meet up to form such a seasonal tribute. Bring your own robe.

Posted By: Paul - Wed Dec 15, 2021 - Comments (4)
Category: Excess, Overkill, Hyperbole and Too Much Is Not Enough, Holidays, Christmas, Human Marvels, Twentieth Century

How to eat your Christmas tree

Artisan baker Julia Georgallis recently came out with a book that promises to tell you How To Eat Your Christmas Tree.

Amazon Link

That sounds like an interesting challenge. Unfortunately, as far as I can tell, the book doesn't tell you how to eat the entire tree. Instead, it's mostly about using the needles and bark in recipes.

But some searching on YouTube produced a video that delves into how to eat the entire tree. The catch is that to do so you'll need to pulp the wood and transform it into cellulose powder. Which is probably beyond the means of most people. But the video notes that cellulose powder derived from spruce trees is in many products, including parmesan cheese, pasta sauce, and ice cream. So almost everyone has eaten (highly processed) Christmas trees already.

Posted By: Alex - Fri Jan 15, 2021 - Comments (2)
Category: Food, Cookbooks, Christmas

Santa Claus sues Santa Claus

The dispute began in 1935 between two toy and candy companies, both based in the town of Santa Claus, Indiana. On one side there was Santa Claus, Inc. On the other side was Santa Claus of Santa Claus, Inc. The former alleged that the latter shouldn't have chosen such a similar name.

In response, Santa Claus of Santa Claus, Inc. charged that its rival illegally put up a 25-foot, 20-ton Santa statue on land leased to Santa Claus of Santa Claus, Inc.

The lawsuit, Santa Claus, Inc. v. Santa Claus of Santa Claus, Inc., eventually made its way up to the Indiana Supreme Court.

As far as I can tell, Santa Claus of Santa Claus, Inc. won the fight. But either way you look at it, Santa Claus won.

Muncie Evening Press - Dec 30, 1935

Posted By: Alex - Fri Dec 25, 2020 - Comments (0)
Category: Lawsuits, 1930s, Christmas

Nativity with Santa and Rudolph

In 2009, Marion Davis of Randallstown, Maryland got a design patent for this "Nativity scene decoration including Santa Claus and Rudolph".

But why stop with Santa and Rudolph? She could have added Frosty the Snowman and the Coca-Cola polar bears for even more holiday cheer.

Posted By: Alex - Thu Dec 24, 2020 - Comments (2)
Category: Patents, Christmas