Click on the article to the left to step back in time to Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania during the holiday season in the year 1870.Published on December 22, 1870 in the Shenandoah Evening Herald, the article is a nostalgic look back into Christmas of yesteryear. It also provides an eye-opening realization that some things haven't changed
The editors of the paper wish their readers "...a right merry Christmas unalloyed by the troubles and cares of every day life...". They mention that, "Unfortunately, in too many instances Christmas is but made a season of jollity and festivity, without a thought of the occasion that originated its observance. Properly it is a time of great joy, but the event that it commemorates should not be forgotten in its celebration."
What would the Shenandoah Evening Herald's editors think of our world and its Christmas celebrations today?
The vintage postcard image above (circa early 1900's) is courtesy of twogatos.com. Visit the website to view more beautiful postcards.
The vintage postcard image above (circa early 1900's) is courtesy of twogatos.com. Visit the website to view more beautiful postcards.
The topic for this post was inspired by Thomas MacEntee's Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories at Destination: Austin Family. Check out his calendar daily this month for some good mini-memoirs of this nostalgic season. This post will be listed under Christmas Grab Bag on December 7.
4 comments:
Hello Lisa,
That is very nice. It makes me think about my family, who lived in Shenandoah.
I think that if the writer of that article had been questioning the meaning of Christmas back then, today, he would have been totally bewildered.
Mercantilism has totally overshadowed even why Christmas is celebrated.
I would like to return to more simple times and values.
P.S. I'll be joining you for the Carnaval of Irish genealogy soon.
I just finished my post :)
Have a nice day.
Lisa
great article to have. The link doesn't appear to work, though; I click on th article and nothing happens?
Sorry about the bad link, Colleen (and Izzie). I have it up and running now so you can enjoy reading the article.
Nollaig Shona Dhuit, Lisa
My name is Loretta Murphy. I found your site on a search for memories of a Schuylkill County Christmas.
Lovely site.
I was raised in the small coal town of Girardville. We Coal Cracker Irish are a nostalgic lot, are we not?
My email address is sweetloretta55@verizon.net. I have, within the past few weeks, created a web ring for coal region sites called The Coal Region. Right now, I have four web sites on it. My goal is to have at leat 20, all Coal region related.
If you are interested, please email me. This is a quality site and the type I hope to see on my WebRing.
By the way, it is entirely free. I do not pay for any of my websites, nor the Webring I operate, so please do not worry about that aspect.
If you have a free moment, please visit my websites.
May the candle in your window guide home all those near and dear to you this Christmas season.
Loretta Murphy
http://www.freewebs.com/lorettamurphy
http://www.freewebs.com/wiggans
http://www.freewebs.com/coalregion
http://www.freewebs.com/irishvalley
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