The "Memories of Christmas' Past: Part I" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Just entered the National Christmas Center in Paradise, Pennsyl- vania.  Yep, the place is located in a small town known as Paradise and today that's just were I felt I was.  Memories of the 1950's were on display with every turn we made in the family museum.  Carol and I entered the front door of the museum and were treated to one of the best experiences we have ever had.  "Look at that bike!" I said to my wife.  "Looks just like the one my Aunt Doris gave to me in 1950.  And that hook and ladder truck.  I used to put the ladder the whole way to the top and have my pet white mice climb up the ladder!!"  We spent the better part of the next ninety minutes roaming along the self-guided tour on what seemed like a path that would never end.  The building is all things Christmas and the memories that Christmas offers to both children and adults alike.  The displays not only bring back fond memories, but educate you about Christmas traditions, customs and celebrations from around the world.  Life-sized exhibits depict the magic of Christmas through the years.  There were fifteen main galleries with names such as: 1950's Christmas Morning, Images of Santa, 1950's Woolworth's 5 & 10, Antiques Emporium, Santa's North Pole Workshop, Tudor Town, Vintage Christmas Memories, 1950's Night before Christmas, Toy and Train Mountain, The Art of the Nativity, O' Holy Night and The First Christmas (A Journey to Bethlehem).  The sights were amazing as you can imagine and I believe the best way to share all the memories is to show you.  So, here goes ……. (Click on images to enlarge)

Christmas Memories of the 1950's.  My bike I got can be seen in the foreground with the red fire engine behind it that my mice used to climb.  The old TV plays on the left while the holiday lights can be seen through the window.  We stood and looked at this one display for almost ten minutes and still didn't see everything.

This is the entrance to the F.W. Woolworth 5 & 10 Store in downtown Lancaster.   Novelty items of all types can be seen in the store.  Again, we spent about ten minutes looking over the many items from our childhood.

I have written a few times about these wax choirboys that are seen here.  When I sang in the boy's choir at St. James Episcopal Church in downtown Lancaster, our choirmaster would always give each choirboy a wax choirboy as a Christmas gift.  I still have a few, but the heat in our storage area of our house damaged a few of them.

Electric lighting for Christmas lights became available in the early 1900's.  It was in 1880 that Thomas Edison invented the light bulb and it was in 1895 that the White House in Washington, D.C. was lighted with Christmas lights.  1901 saw the first commercial lights sold for the public

The North Pole is the title of this display.  Every child has dreamed of what it might look like and this gives you an idea as to how it looked.  The toys on display, the movable reindeer, the elves and Santa with his list are all part of this display.

This is an elaborate Christmas Garden that would have been displayed in the 1890's to the early 1900's.  Simple landscaped scenes featured houses, people and animals.  Sometimes an entire room of the house would be transformed into a Christmas scene.

 Children awaited the arrival of Belschnickel, Lancaster County's Santa, on St. Nicholas Day.  Good children could expect candy and nuts, but naughty children were chastised by Belschnickel.  I do not remember this Christmas custom from Lancaster County.  Thank goodness!!

This is Grandfather Frost of Russia.  Russia's kindly gift-giver, like many of the world's Christmas figures has a direct connection to the Roman festival of "Saturnalia".   This pre-christian holiday celebrated the end of the winter solstice and the arrival of the new year.

This is the Hummel Village.  Berta Hummel entered the Franciscan abbey at Siessen, Germany, in 1934.  As a watercolorist, she produced enchanting paintings of children for over 20 years.  Her designs were translated into porcelain by the Goebel Company.  Hummels have been produced for nearly 70 years.  This village represents Coburg, Germany, home of the Hummel factory.

My final photograph today is a simple wooden Santa that was hand-carved.  The detail is remarkable and the manger scene painted on the coat of Santa is beautiful.  This Santa was less than a foot tall.

Well, you have seen part one of my trip to the National Christmas Center in Paradise, PA, a few miles to the east of Lancaster.  My photos may appear out-of-focus at times because the lighting was very low to gain the atmosphere that was needed for the displays.  Many of the items in the center have been donated over the years and tags show who may have donated an item or an entire display.  Fantastic is all I can say about the museum and the experience Carol and I had today.  I'm sure I will return in the future, since I'm sure I missed half of what is on display.  Check in tomorrow for the final part of the story.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.