Happy Holidays

Christmas Tree

Holiday traditions are a big part of what make these days cultural, spiritual and political markers. We decided to look into our older collections to see what voices and ghosts of Christmas past, year-end reviews and expectations for the New Year were resting peacefully on the shelf.  Here's some of what we found.

Stories

‘Making The Wheels Go Round’: The New York Tuberculosis and Health Association's 1931 Christmas Stamp

Early Xmas seals.
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A New Year's Message from Mayor La Guardia in 1945

"It is a year [1945] that will try men's souls - not only the men who are fighting, but those who are at home and do not have the privilege of fighting."
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On the eve of New Year's Eve 1924 with the Marx Bros

A broadcast party like no other.
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The Holiday Party the Cold War Hijacked

On December 27, 1951, the Brownsville Boy's Club hosted 5,000 children to an inter-faith party at the 106th Regiment Armory in Brooklyn.
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Merry Christmas To All, From Mayor La Guardia

The first peacetime holiday season since 1940. Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia tells the Nativity story and urges New Yorkers to "resolve to live the spirit of Christmas."
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A "Pals of the P.A.L." Christmas, 1949

A special Christmas edition of Pals of the P.A. L.
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The Story of "Silent Night," c. 1945

In this 1945 WNYC broadcast, Austrian born Marie Lemmermeyer tells the “one true story of Silent Night.
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Operation Santa Claus, 1948

On Christmas Eve 1948, three lucky children flew to Montreal, where they met Santa Claus and escorted him back to New York to deliver presents to the City's children.
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Madison Square Christmas Tree Lighting, 1942

In December 1942, strict wartime dimout regulations dictated how people in New York, New Jersey and Delaware celebrated the holiday season.
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Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus

In 1897, an 8-year-old girl from the Upper West Side wrote to the New York Sun asking if Santa was real, and the response, heard here, became "the most reprinted newspaper editorial."
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City Hall Christmas Tree Lighting, 1939

Two vintage Christmas tree lightings.
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You Have to Be Careful with Treacle #517

We temper our holiday cheer with a dose of morbidity as well as a few quiet offerings that don't fit either category.
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Camels, Kit Kats and Crashes

Backstage with the Rockettes and more.
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Christmas Chaos

We've gone a little Christmas crazy.
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December 22nd, 2001

This week on The Next Big Thing, we hear from people feeling merry, and not so merry, as 2001 draws to a close.
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