Beautiful Photos of a German Family Celebrating Christmas in 1962

In the 1960s West Germany, the period of post-war reconstruction had nearly reached its end, with prosperity growing across the country. Christmas gifts grew more and more expensive, extending into new areas such as electronic items and luxury goods. But at the same time, more and more people started criticizing the new consumerist spirit eroding the Christian origins of the holiday.

Germany’s Christmas markets came roaring back after the end of the war—and only grew in the following decades, as an economic boom in the 1960s and 1970s and the rise of consumerism fueled the growth of Christmas shopping.

These economic shifts transformed the Christmas markets into mass cultural events—up to a thousand tour buses full of shoppers might descend on a city’s Christmas market during any given weekend.

Here below is a set of beautiful photos from flow_23 that shows a German family was celebrating Christmas in 1962.

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A Secret Meeting of the Grandmas

“This old picture of my great-grandmother, far left, makes it look like the cameraman just stumbled into a secret meeting of the grandmas...” – (via reddit/iwhisn)

Remember the Candle Salad, a Vintage Holiday Recipe That Make You Blush!

Your eyes do not deceive you. This is not some naughty bachelorette party dessert; it is a vintage fruit salad that was popular in America from the 1920s through to the 1960s. A holiday recipe. Later printed in children’s cookbooks.

The candle salad is typically composed of lettuce, pineapple, banana, cherry, and either mayonnaise or, according to some recipes, cottage cheese. Whipped cream may also be used.

Its preparation is: first arrange a few leaves of lettuce on a plate or decorative napkin, this forms the salad’s base. Then stack pineapple rings on top of the lettuce, providing a niche for inserting one whole (or more often half) peeled banana. For garnish, the banana can be topped with choice of cream and a cherry.

Candle salad was known as an easy way to get kids to eat fruit because of its unusual appearance. It was also considered a child-friendly introduction to cooking because of its simple construction. The recipe for candle salad was published in the 1950 edition of A Child’s First Cook Book by Alma S. Lach, one of the first cookbooks written for children. It is also in the 1957 edition of the Betty Crocker’s Cook Book for Boys and Girls with the description, “It’s better than a real candle because you can eat it.”

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“Pure White” Asbestos Fireproof Snow

Although labeled as “Pure White” Snow, the highly fibrous material inside this vintage carton is actually beige; reflecting the fact that it is primarily amosite, amphibole asbestos (also known as “brown asbestos”).

Many films shot in the early 20th century, including the likes of The Wizard of Oz, featured their actors being sprinkled with fake snow. Little do viewers realize, this effect was created by showering performers with chrysotile asbestos fibers, small snow like particles that were once used on movie sets, in department store displays, and even in private homes. Everybody wanted to get in on the fake asbestos snow action. And why not? From the mid-1930s to the 1950s, asbestos was seen as a versatile and harmless substance.

To date, it’s difficult to know the hazard that was presented by asbestos-based fake snow products. Most asbestos products involved some quantity of the fiber being used as part of a chemical compound that bound the fibers together, making them difficult to inhale until the material was damaged. But fake snow, often used in displays or in family homes, was simply pure white asbestos fibre piled up in drifts. Anyone who had any contact was inhaling deadly fibers in quantities normally associated with those working in asbestos mines.

Thankfully, you can safely shop for fake snow this Christmas knowing you won’t be exposed to asbestos…but spare a thought for the innocent workers and householders of the past, many of whom are still living with the consequences of the 20th century’s addiction to asbestos.

(Photos © Asbestos Hunter)

Lovely Vintage Christmas Family Photos From the 1960s

Christmas in the 1960s was in many respects quite similar to Christmas celebrations today: family gatherings, laughter and fun. But whereas today the celebrations are often centered around the presents and multimedia, in the 1960s Christmas was much more homespun.

The days of post war rationing and austerity were still recent memories so, especially in the early years of the decade, 1960s Christmases still had a feeling of frugality when compared to those of today.

Here below is a set of lovely photos from Flickr members that shows family portraits for Christmas from the 1960s.

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A Christmas Classic: Vintage Stills and Behind-the-Scenes of ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’

Take a look back at the heartwarming little movie that became a timeless Christmas classic through 21 fascinating stills and behind-the-scenes:

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Artist Using Photoshop Technique to Manipulate Bizarre Christmas Photos With Her Beloved Dog

Using Photoshop technique, Jen Hack (@jen_hack) manipulated some bizarre Christmas photos from the early 20th century with her beloved dog Yukon.

“Because of Covid, we didn’t get to do our annual photo with Santa. But I did discover that digital Santa backgrounds are a thing so you can photoshop your kid with Santa to pretend that 2020 wasn’t, like, a dark and strange time. I took it one step further to reflect the truly bizarre year it’s been. I had way too much fun with this.”

Vintage Photos of British Army and Royal Navy Celebrating Christmas in World War II

Christmas is one of the few times during the whole year people briefly pause their busy life to gather with loved ones to celebrate the season, which was immensely difficult during wartime, as families were forced to separate: men were battling on the front line, women were serving in the military or working in factories for war effort, and children were evacuated to safer areas far away from home. Nevertheless, people still tried their best to make the most of it. Take a look back at the men and women of the British Army and Royal Navy celebrating the season during the Second World War through 19 fascinating vintage black and white photographs:

Men of the Border Regiment enjoying Christmas dinner at Mouchin in France, 1939. (IMW)

A member of the Auxiliary Territorial Service kissing a soldier under the mistletoe, 1939. (Hulton)

A couple kissing under the mistletoe before the soldier leaving London to re-join his unit, 1939. (Gerry Cranham)

A bomber pilot of the British Coastal Command affixing a sprig of mistletoe to his aircraft to acknowledge Christmas, 1940. (Reg Speller)

Royal Navy sailors drinking rum to celebrate Christmas on a British minesweeper on patrol off the coast of England, 1940. (Popperfoto)

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“The Next to Go. Fight Tuberculosis!” – Posters for the American Red Cross Christmas Seal Campaign

“The Next to Go, Fight Tuberculosis” was a poster commissioned by the Red Cross to encourage support for the Red Cross Christmas Seal Campaign. Tuberculosis was the dominant chronic illness of the first half of the 20th Century. With no effective drug treatment at the time, everyone exposed to it gained the primary infection which usually healed spontaneously.

Over a period of months or years the primary could develop into the second infection which lead to the gradual destruction of one's lungs. Someone with the second infection would be isolated from everyone and usually went through grueling surgeries and treatments that did not work most of the time.

During the end of WWI, the army was not prepared for the high count of tuberculosis patients. This lead to many men being discharged in order to stop the spread of tuberculosis.

The Red Cross used posters about fighting tuberculosis to make more people aware of the dangers of the disease. Long after the war ended, in the 1950s, a drug treatment, streptomycin and isoniazid, was invented and the cases of tuberculosis went down dramatically.

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Fascinating Vintage Photos of People Shopping For Christmas in 1962

Take a look at people shopping for Christmas season at Saks Fifth Avenue in 1962 through 14 fascinating vintage photographs taken by LIFE photographer Yale Joel:

 

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