With crackers, wine, and carol services aplenty, Christmas is definitely here in London in 2024.
The traditional tree at Trafalgar Square is now in place (despite it being mocked) and there have even been reports of Father Christmas scaling it – or, at least, a protestor dressed up as St Nic.
It is a nice way to wrap up a tough year for many and the current mood both mirrors and clashes with the feeling 100 years ago, when London was coming out of the horrors of the First World War and, before that, the Boer War and the death of Queen Victoria.
Pictures from our archive have shown how those around the capital were wanting to celebrate the occasion despite everything that was happening.
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They are a reminder that, no matter what, Britons will find ways to be jolly over the festive season.
At the start of the 1900s, the streets of central London glittered with decorations just as they do now. Pine trees were heaved over the shoulders of willing volunteers to be trimmed with lights and baubles, and children wrote their wish lists to Father Christmas.
One picture from 1928 shows the platforms of London Bridge Station lined with post sacks, as workers desperately try to organise the cards and gifts to be shipped across the country.
Another, from 1916, shows staff at King George’s Military Hospital placing a “Merry Christmas” sign over the window in a bid to spread some cheer among the wounded patients.
Another, from 1924, shows crowds queuing for geese and turkeys at an open-air market in Islington. Although, most modern-day shoppers wouldn’t be quite so keen to join them once they spotted that the birds were still alive.
Surprisingly, an image from 1910 shows carollers clad in face coverings. In this case, however, the masks are over their eyes – not mouths and noses – harking back to a pagan tradition called “mumming”, where singers would perform outside neighbours’ houses in exchange for gifts or donations for charity.
The pictures are a marked contrast to 2024 the ones on display here. You will hopefully have an enjoyable time with your loved ones.
However, they can also be a source of comfort. The pictures of the 1910s and 1920s show that the spirit of Christmas can always overcome adversity.
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