How was Christmas celebrated in this region 100 years ago? To answer that question, I decided to check a few Missouri newspapers from late December 1921. In general, the answer is that the celebrations weren't all that much different from the way we celebrate Christmas today, except that the holiday was less commercialized then than it is today. Of course, people shopped for Christmas gifts just as they do today, but the shopping season was more concentrated, consisting mainly of just a few days before the holiday. Celebrations largely centered around the church, but there were also private parties and other events.
In Joplin, snow flurries on the afternoon and night of Christmas Eve "added the finishing touches" to preparations for Christmas Day 1921 in the city. Most of the Joplin churches held services on Christmas Eve, and afterwards, choirs from nearly all the churches serenaded the residential districts with carols until after midnight. Also, "eleventh-hour shoppers thronged the stores" in downtown Joplin on the night of the 24th until the businesses finally closed their doors at ten p.m.. Various clubs and welfare workers "carried the spirit of the Yuletide into more than 200 humble homes," bringing food for the families and toys for the kids. After the late closing on Christmas Eve, which was a Saturday, most of the businesses did not plan to re-open until Tuesday. Earlier in the week, a number of churches and social clubs had held parties, but Christmas Day, which was a Sunday, was devoted to religious services and family get-togethers.
The Christmas celebrations in Springfield in 1921 were similar to those in Joplin. This is to say that they generally centered around the churches. One thing that struck me as noteworthy about Christmas Day in Springfield 100 years ago is that the post office was still busy delivering mail. The postmaster estimated it would take four or five wagons working all day long on the 25th to get all the mail and packages delivered. Not only were postal workers busy on Christmas Day, but at least a few businesses stayed open on Christmas as well. For instance, the Colonial Hotel dining room advertised a Christmas dinner from six to eight p.m. for $1.50 per plate consisting of Ozark turkey, roast goose, suckling pig, plum pudding, and all the fixings.
In St. Louis, Christmas Day of 1921 was "more generally celebrated in a religious way than for several years." This, of course, had much to do with the fact that Christmas fell on a Sunday in 1921. Some of the Catholic churches, in particular, were planning midnight masses as well as daytime masses on the 25th.
In Chillicothe, "the Christmas spirit prevail(ed) in the churches." On Friday evening, several churches presented Christmas programs involving mainly the children, and the pastors were preparing "special sermons" for Sunday. On Saturday, the Shriners and other clubs of Chillicothe handed out Christmas baskets to needy families. Then on Sunday, services were held both morning and evening in most of the town's churches.
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