While Christmas is the furthest thing from my mind at the moment, judging by the hits my Christmas posts have had in the past week, others are warming up to it.

Image Courtesy of the State Library of Victoria. John Etkins Collection. Image No. H2005.36/75 http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/73735

During December 2011 and 2012, I compiled five Pioneer Christmas posts for the decades 1850-1890 and six Western District Christmas posts, 1900-1950. If you would like to know how your ancestors celebrated Christmas, check them out.  From the early decades of the Victorian Colony when the first settlers pined for a white Christmas while they sweltered through summer’s heat through to the 1950s when Christmas Day in Victoria was much as it is today.  In between, there were the struggles of two World Wars and a couple of Depressions.  During those times of austerity, the Christmas spirit still managed to shine through, albeit with some adjustments.

Honestly, I’m all Christmased out after the 11 Christmas posts I have written over two years.  This year, I can rest easy as I now know how my ancestors passed their Christmas Days.

Image Courtesy of State Library of Victoria. Image No. H42790/19 http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/41584