For those not familiar with the term Christmas Creep — and no, I’m not referring to the skeevy dude dressed as Santa Claus at the mall who looks way too excited to have little kids sitting on his lap — it refers to the ever-widening window stores use to stock their shelves with gift items and bombard us with advertisements.

While some people still debate whether or not climate change is a real thing, there can be no debate that Santa and his multi-billion dollar operation have inched further and further outside the traditionally defined Christmas shopping season barrier of Black Friday. It has become more and more common to see Christmas store displays and ads not only well before Thanksgiving, but now just after Halloween. Hell, I even spotted displays in places like Home Depot and Lowe’s before Halloween.

I’ve come to a grudging acceptance concerning the insidiousness of Christmas Creep. With the economy being the way it is, companies are increasingly desperate to get back into the black as quickly as possible. (Although I suspect that, much like gas prices, we won’t be seeing a pullback away from Halloween once things improve.)  But this year in particular I’ve witnessed a disturbing development, one that I feel compelled to comment upon.

With the retail calendar effectively altered to segue immediately from Halloween into the Christmas season, it seems that Thanksgiving has disappeared from the radar almost entirely. Granted, the holiday doesn’t possess the same commercial potential as Halloween or Christmas, and the whole point of the holiday is far removed from commerce, but it feels to me like it’s just vanishing from the scene altogether.

As of this writing we’re less than three weeks from Thanksgiving, and I have hardly seen one mention of it on TV, radio, the internet, or even just in public. Perhaps I’m guilty of observation bias, but I don’t think so. I really think we’re beginning to see one of our most American of holidays get passed over like a middle child, and why? Because it’s not profitable enough. I guess there’s just not enough money to be had in family and charity.

Oh well, at least we can still enjoy my fine collection of vintage Thanksgiving advertisements, right?

If you’ve seen the first two sets of vintage New Year’s postcards from the former Soviet Union (USSR), then you know the deal by now. With this third set we move into the ’70s, so let’s get going!

As with the first two sets, all card scans courtesy Flickr user katya. Enjoy, and С Новым годом! (Happy New Year!)

1970

1971

1972

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Sorry for the dearth of activity around these parts lately, it’s been a hectic holiday season. To make it up to you I’m doubling your vintage photograph pleasure this week!

Up first is a familiar site — Santa Claus collecting donations for the less fortunate on a street corner, circa the early 1910s. This is from the Library of Congress’s Bain News Service collection. Click for a larger version.

The sign on the faux chimney reads, in part, “Volunteers of America — Ballington Booth Christmas Dinners.” According to Wikipedia, Ballington Booth was an officer in the Salvation Army. His parents, William and Catherine Booth, founded the Salvation Army in 1865.

Booth and his wife Maud left the Salvation Army in the late 19th century and started their own charity organization — God’s American Volunteers — in March 1896. That group soon took the name of Volunteers of America. Volunteers of America is active today and claims to help roughly 2.5 million people per year.

Our second image is one that I don’t think we’ll ever see again. It’s a mobile post office rolling through the streets of Washington D.C. with Santa in tow, from 1921.

I just love this one. Long before the Postal Service was teetering on the brink of collapse, they had the wherewithal to campaign for early Christmas mailing. The greenery they slapped on that rickety old truck looks less like a Christmas scene and more like they drove it through the woods first. I love that this quaint little scene is frozen forever.

Related articles

• Vintage Photo Wednesday, Vol. 20: Santa and Swimmers on the Beach, Los Angeles 1927 (grayflannelsuit.net)
• Ho Ho Ho! A Gallery of Vintage Santa & Christmas Postcards (grayflannelsuit.net)
• Office Xmas Party: 1925 (shorpy.com)
• The Ultimate Christmas Album, Vol. 2 (1995) (dr-drakes-christmas-music.blogspot.com)

I hope you enjoyed the first set of New Year’s cards from the USSR of the 1950s, because we’re moving on to the ’60s. And while most of the imagery found in the ’50s was brought over into the next decade, you can definitely see some more of the Space Age creeping in as well.

As with the first set, all card scans courtesy Flickr user katya. Enjoy, and С Новым годом! (Happy New Year!)

1960

1961

1962

1963

1964

1965

1966

1967

1968

1969

I guess I just always assumed that once the Communists came to power in Russia and the rest of what became the USSR, any holiday not linked directly to the Communist Party ceased to exist. But lo and behold, I stumbled upon a Flickr set of postcards from the Soviet Union celebrating New Year’s, some of them dating back to the 1930s.

What I find most fascinating about these cards is how for the most part they look like they could have come from the West. Most of them feature images of idyllic forest scenes, cityscapes, and smiling children. The more overt Soviet stuff pops up in the cards from the ’60s, which I’ll feature in the next post on this series.

Let’s look at some cards, and as they say in Russia, С Новым годом! (Happy New Year!)

1953

1954

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For this batch of vintage postcards, I wanted to go for some mid-century Christmas kitsch rather than the really old stuff. Because that’s how I roll, as loyal readers must know by now.

(via Flickr user califboy101)

(via The Pie Shops)

(via Calsidyrose)

(via Neato Coolville)

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Christmas photos aren’t quite the same without all the color and richness in them, but if we’re going to go vintage let’s go all the way!

Here’s an odd specimen from the Roaring ’20s. It features Santa Claus and a host of bathing suit-clad swimmers lying around a Christmas Tree on a Los Angeles beach. Click for a larger version.

I like this because it’s unlike just about every traditionally staged holiday photo I’ve seen. I like how Santa couldn’t even be bothered to wear pants but he still went with the coat and hat. Man Californians can be an odd bunch. (No offense.)

(Image courtesy The Smithsonian.)

Related articles

• Vintage Photo Wednesday, Vol. 14: The Kitchen of Tomorrow (Life, 1943) (grayflannelsuit.net)
• Vintage Photo Wednesday, Vol. 15: Vintage Halloween Costumes (grayflannelsuit.net)
• Vintage Photo Wednesday, Vol. 18: Thanksgiving Maskers, 1911 (grayflannelsuit.net)

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The name Lawrence Welk usually conjures up images of pretty, slightly bland music being played by (sometimes) pretty, slightly bland people. Welk was, after all, the host of a hugely successful, long-running variety show named after himself. This clip of “Do You Know the Way to San Jose” from 1971 is fairly representative of the type of music and vibe viewers saw:

This is how I’ve always viewed the man and his show, so imagine my surprise when I stumbled across Welk’s malevolent visage staring at me from the album cover from the Christmas Memories holiday collection:

Yikes! Now I know why children instinctively fear Santa Claus. I don’t know who thought this photo was a good idea, but Welk looks like he’s sneaking up behind somebody to snap their neck. I think with a slight rewording of the album title we’ll get a little closer to the mood this image evokes.

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This cover has made the rounds for at least a few years, but I just stumbled upon it this year. It’s a delicious slice of mid-century Christmas cheer called Space Age Santa Claus.

According to the entry on this 45 rpm single (on a FaLaLaLaLa.com post that is now only available through Google cache), “Space Age Santa Claus” is the A-side of this single (from Delhi Records, 1961), and the B-side is “When Christmas Bells Are Ringing.” Both tunes were written by Ross Christman — which sure sounds like a pseudonym to me — and performed by the Hal Bradley Orchestra with Patty Marie Jay on vocals.

I’m a little confused as to the perspective in this drawing. Is that a regular-sized Santa holding a really small tree? Or is the tree normal and Santa is just colossal? Because if it’s the latter, what kind of freaky children would be big enough to play with those toys?

Anyway, I’ve got a special treat for you this holiday season. In addition to the full-size cover scan from my Flickr group, you can also enjoy “Space Age Santa Claus” right here! And as an extra-special bonus, here are the lyrics:

Santa Claus has a rocket sleigh

Getting ready to zoom away

On his first trip into space

In his pressurized suit with the fur along the border

And a long white bearded helmet made just to order

He’ll take the Christmas spirit every place

His eight reindeer will travel by jet

They’ll go farther than they’ve ever gone yet

With the Space Age Santa

Space Age Santa Claus

He’ll loop tinsel ’round through the stars

Light up Christmas trees all over Mars

He’ll take the dark clouds out of the air

And hang up fluffs of angel hair

He’ll start a gift shop on the moon

Set the moon folk humming Christmas tunes

He’ll stir up egg nog in the Milky Way

To fill the Dippers for the holiday

Space kids will hang up nylon hose

Hear the song about Rudolph’s red nose

Saturn will stroll down Santa Claus Lane

And swing a jaunty candy cane

The Gemini twins will whirl with joy

When he makes the Swan a wind-up toy

He’ll show them how to add to all the fun

And make it orbit ’round and ’round the sun

Oh, Santa Claus has a rocket sleigh

Getting ready to zoom away

On his first trip into space

In his pressurized suit with the fur along the border

And a long white bearded helmet made just to order

He’ll take the Christmas spirit every place

His eight reindeer will travel by jet

They’ll go farther than they’ve ever gone yet

with the Space Age Santa

Space Age Santa Claus

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