Commercialization of Holidays

Commercialization was a huge part in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Most holidays were not celebrated till this time period. Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, and Valentines Day were some of the holidays that became wildly popular in this era because of commercialization. The commercialization of holiday affect urban life by being able to mass produce items for a particular holiday. Also in big cities with different cultures and immigrants also changed holidays and started to make a way for the modern holidays.

During this era Easter and Valentines Day started to grow in being celebrate. Now easter is a big holiday with the famous easter egg hunt, but back before the late 19th century  Easter was only  celebrate by a few people in the United States. In 1878, President Hayes hosted the first annual Easter egg hunt on the white house lawn. Now this hunt is a big part of the american culture. Also the mass production of clothes also helped with the growing popularity of Easter. Men and a women turned Easter into a holiday to wear their new bright colorful spring clothes. During this time period Valentines Day became popular. Esther Howland of Worcester, Massachusetts started making lacy handmade cards with romantic messages on them, they sold for fifty dollars. The industrialization and the mass production of cards made this holiday grow. The modern Valentines Day includes buying cards and chocolates, and Esther Howland was the start of making the classic Valentines Day become a holiday.

Esther Valentine Card

Thanksgiving is one of the most popular holiday right behind Christmas. Thanksgiving is the American version of the harvest festival. England was the start about having a huge lavish dinner, some of the immigrants brought this part of their culture with them, and it got adopted into the United States culture. This holiday originated in Philadelphia campaigned by Sarah Josepha Hale. Her goal was for this holiday was that a day for giving thanks might unify the country more. This holiday is meant for humanity and generosity. Department stores had affect on this holiday know as the Macy's Thanksgiving day Parade. Macy's department store help with some of the commercialization of this holiday in a sense of help getting the american people ready for Christmas on Black Friday, the day right after Thanksgiving. By 1900, most holidays were invented for a consumerist purpose with a little of family meaning mixed in with all the buying. 

Macy's Parade

Santa Claus, one of the biggest symbols for Christmas was created by Thomas Nast. The popularity of Santa grew as when the importance of gift giving grew. Industrialization grew as the need for more gifts increase, the factories started to mass produce toys and getting the toys became easier to access. Thomas Nast created the popular image of Santa Claus, he based him off the german tradition of St. Nicholas, "the father of Christmas". Thomas Nast first drew Santa Claus in 1862 in the Harper's Weekly, Santa came across to the children as a kind figure that represented Christmas. Being able to mass produce his photo made him more a recognizable figure for Christmas. 

Thomas Nast drawing of Santa

Christmas the most popular holiday was most impacted by commercialization. Immigration helped shape all the Christmas traditions we know today. The English brought over the tradition of Christmas caroling, and gift exchanging. Episcopalians and Moravians brought the religious services and prayer to Christmas. One of the most iconic tradition of Christmas is the tree, the germans brought the idea of decorating the home and tree with ornaments and lights. Most of the iconic Christmas tradition and symbols were came from german traditions.  In 1900, one in five americans now had a Christmas tree. On the side of the streets, vendors were selling ornaments for the tree. Newspapers and magazines in this era changed the standards for the ornaments. After 1880, The commercialized gift exchanges were developed in big cities, led by New York City. The gift giving and receiving also produced a social change, by the day becoming more materialist than religious. 

Christmas Tree

Urban life changed dramatically during this time by the commercialization of different holidays. "Acquiring goods was becoming part of individuals identity, their measurement of what a satisfactory life involved." This quote is from the book Consumerism in the World by Peter N. Sterns. During this time period gift giving and receive especially around Christmas changed the atmosphere of urban life. It changed it by mass producing gift and cloths made it easier to access. The Commercialization of holidays shaped americas holidays producing new ways to celebrate holidays not just religiously. 

"Santa Claus in Camp": First Representation of Santa

Sources:

Philadelphia Encyclopedia

• I learned from this site about the founder of Thanksgiving and how the holiday grew.

Encyclopedia of Christmas

• Thomas Nast came up with the image of Santa Claus.

This Fabulous Century 1870-1900

• Learned about Esther Howland and her Valentines Day cards and how it grew that everyone either gets or gives a card on Valentines Day now.

A Visit from St. Nicholas: The Poetics of Peer Culture, 1872-1900: pages 59-74

• Commercialization of Christmas and how Thomas Nast further develop Santa Claus from St. Nicholas.

Christmas in the 19th Century

• I learned from this site were all the traditions from Christmas came from and became apart of the American Christmas. 

Consumerism in World History: The Global Transformation of Desire

• I learned from this book how people are formed by commercialism of products and going into more depth about the commercialization of holidays.

Migration

I learned today about migration that most people was going to bigger regions or were it was more populated. I saw that a lot of people were going either to Europe, or North America. I think it is very interesting that the majority of people were moving to the more populated area or "popular".  I also learned that in the PBS Race quiz that what people stereotype what African, Asian, or Indian people look like may be very different then what they actually look  like.

migration

Philanthropy

Philanthropy is wanting to help the human kind. I really like Andrew Carnegie and what he was  doing by really wanting to help areas that need better education. I think its very helpful to towns and country to have libraries given to them to help broaden their minds. I would like to also help with safety, more specifically , in Africa and creating a safe environment for kids to learn and grow in.

Picture

Thinking About Success

Ranking of the Four Words:
1. Opportunity
2. Hard Work
3. Skill
4. Luck

I ranked this words in this order because I believe that all are important but opportunity should be first. Opportunity is first because I believe if you have the opportunity to do something great you should take it, but you can also lose it because you have to work hard at it. That is why hard work is next because I believe after you have the opportunity you have to work hard at to keep it and get skilled at it. That is why I ranked Skill third. I ranked it third because after you work hard you become skilled at it and you start to have natural skill in your choice of job or in your opportunity. After all of those I believe Luck is last because after you have become skilled at something you need a little bit of luck to "open doors" for new opportunities in your work place.

The image for Opportunity, Hard Work, Skill and Luck

Exploring Business and Clothing Industry

I learned today that there is a ton of work that goes behind getting new clothes in to a big name brand store, and we don't even think about it. In the fashion world there is so much more than the clothes, its about making, producing and the business side of making the clothes. I never really thought about that the clothes I buy have probably been all around the world. But its crazy to think that my clothes were made in a different country then shipped here to america. The couple of questions I have is how do the business people know what country would be best for buying their clothes? This topic is very interesting to me, it makes me more interested in it because you don't really think about it.

Zara Business Model

History Textbook shaping the way of seeing Native Americans

This online textbook put the Native Americans in a bad light. From looking at different text through out this history book the Native American came across very hostile to the white settlers, but in the textbook they were sure to say "Again the savages were pursued without mercy." (pg.32). This quote was found in different parts of the textbook but in different wording. When looking up the word "savages" many text around the word was about how the indians killed some white people. This would shape my view point of Native Americans by thinking they were all very hostile and vengeful, even though I'm sure there are some peaceful tribes.

Indians in the Newspaper

I found in one of the newspaper articles, Los Angles Daily Gerald, was talking about how Major Kress found hostile indians moving large number of horse across the river, and some of the horse returned to the Oregon side of the river. Then Major Kress destroyed the indians camp. When writing about what Major Kress did the wording made him sound like a knight in shining armor. By saying "hostile" indians made the indians sound dangerous, but throughout that story it never said what the indians did. Did they attack? At the end of the article they writers made sure to say "Scouts are out" to give the read a sense of security that they are safe.

Dear Diary,
It's July 9, 1878. I was reading the Los Angles Daily Gerald. Oh my goodness, article after article talking about the hostile Indians. One was that the Indians attacked Captain Sperry and his company while they were eating lunch! How awful is that, you know just sitting there eating your lunch and BAM! You are under attack!!!! They fought them twice in one day. Once when the Indians surprised attacked them and again while they were heading to Pendleton. How awful!! Theses Indians are out of control, but good thing is in another article they said they had some scouts out watching the indians. So that's good we are safe from the hostile indians. Beside from the Indians I saw a advertisement for a new shoe and boot place!! Yay! It's on main street, I am actually going to head down there now and scout out there shoes, and to see if they have anything cute!