Christmas in July
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In Western culture, Christmas occurs in December 25. Christmas is generally about gift-giving and holiday cheer. Christmas in July celebrations may be held in July to provide a second joyful celebration in the year.
In the southern hemisphere, Christmas in July is the name given to social events with a winter Christmas theme, as July is generally the coldest month of the year.
In the northern hemisphere during the summer months the weather becomes increasingly warm and many people crave the atmosphere of cooler temperatures, gift giving and holiday spirit. To satisfy this, some people throw parties during the month of July that mimic the holiday of Christmas. The features of Christmas in July include Santa Claus, ice cream and other cold foods and gifts. Nightclubs often host parties open to the public.
In many western countries, July has a minor number of marketing opportunities. In the United States, there are no national holidays between Independence Day (United States) and Labor Day, leaving two months with no holidays. Those holidays are not ones where gifts are exchanged between loved ones. Therefore, to justify sales, shops (such as Leon's in Canada) will sometimes announce a "Christmas in July" sale.
The Swedish, Norwegian and Danish word for Christmas is Jul, which happens to be the abbreviation for July in English. When you translate "Christmas in July" to Swedish you get "Jul i Juli".
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[edit] Origins
Werther, an 1892 opera with libretto by Édouard Blau, Paul Milliet, and Georges Hartmann, had an English translation published in 1894 by Elizabeth Beall Ginty. In the story, a group of children rehearses a Christmas song in July, to which a character responds, "When you sing Christmas in July, you rush the season." It is not a translation of the French, "vouz chantez Noël en juillet... c'est s'y prendre à l'avance."[1] This opera is based on Goethe's The Sorrows of Young Werther. Christmas features in the book, but July does not.
The earliest known occasion to make the phrase Christmas in July literal was in July 1933 at Camp Keystone, a girl's summer camp in North Carolina, which celebrated with a Christmas tree, gifts, and a visit by Santa Claus.[2] In 1935, the National Recreation Association's journal Recreation described what a Christmas in July was like at a girl's camp, writing that "all mystery and wonder surround this annual event."[3]
The term, if not the exact concept, was given national attention with the release of the Hollywood movie comedy Christmas in July in 1940, written and directed by Preston Sturges.[4] In the story, a man is fooled into believing he has won $25,000 in an advertising slogan contest. He buys presents for family, friends and neighbors, and proposes marriage to his girlfriend.
In 1942, the Calvary Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., celebrated Christmas in July with carols and the sermon "Christmas Presents in July".[5] They repeated it in 1943, with a Christmas tree covered with donations. The pastor explained that the special service was patterned after a program held each summer at his former church in Philadelphia, when the congregation would present Christmas gifts early to give ample time for their distribution to missions worldwide.[6] It became an annual event, and in 1946 the service began to be broadcast over local radio.
The U.S. Post Office and U.S. Army and Navy officials, in conjunction with the American advertising and greeting card industries, threw a Christmas in July luncheon in New York in 1944 to promote an Early Christmas Mailing Campaign for service men and women overseas during World War II.[7] The luncheon was repeated in 1945.
American advertisers began using "Christmas in July" themes in print for summertime sales as early as 1950.[8]
[edit] Midwinter Christmas
Midwinter 'Christmas' or Yulefest is an unofficial Midwinter/Yuletide related celebration followed by some families, mainly those with a English or European background in Australia and New Zealand during the wintertime (which in the Southern Hemisphere falls into the June-July-August period).[9][10] There is no official holiday, and the date of observance varies from place to place and even family to family, though it is often around the time of the shortest day or winter solstice, which in the Southern Hemisphere is June 20 or 21.
While having little connection with the actual Christmas holiday, it is occasionally an occasion for work functions or similar events celebrating Yuletide traditions in wintry conditions.[11]
[edit] Other Facts
- Organised Christmas in July festivities possibly [12] started in Australia in July, 1980 when a group of Irish tourists had the proprietor of a hotel in the Blue Mountains in New South Wales to hold a party called "Yulefest".[13][14] In Australia, Christmas in July is especially common as a marketing gimmick in the snowfields where the month of July coincides with the high season in the Australian skiing resorts[12], but Christmas in July (as a marketing gimmick) can also be found elsewhere in Australia.
- The television shopping networks QVC and Home Shopping Network have shows titled Christmas in July.[15]
- McMurdo Station in Antarctica celebrates Christmas in July, as well as in December. Its origins there appear to be how deliveries were made. July is in the middle of winter in Antarctica; high winds and ice once made it too dangerous for planes to land with supplies. Instead, planes parachuted deliveries (such as food and mail) to the ice. The sudden arrival of presents from the sky in July reminded some people of a "visit from Santa."
- In the United States, it is more often used as a marketing tool than an actual holiday celebrated by ordinary people. Television stations may choose to re-run Christmas specials, although many stores have "Christmas in July" sales. Some individuals choose to celebrate the time themselves, typically as an intentionally transparent excuse to have a party.
- In the 1950s, the Christmas in July celebration became a Christmas in August celebration in Yellowstone National Park to accommodate ACMNP's annual performance of Handel's Messiah.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Act I, Screne II.
- ^ "Summer Santa Fun, Says Camp Head", The Washington Post, Nov. 13, 1933, p. 9.
- ^ "Christmas in July", Recreation, 1935, vol. 29, p. 216.
- ^ Christmas in July, Internet Movie Database.
- ^ "Christmas in July Theme of Calvary Church Service", The Washington Post, July 11, 1942, p. 6.
- ^ "Calvary Baptist Church Holds 'Christmas-in-July' Service", The Washington Post, July 12, 1943, p. B1.
- ^ "'Christmas in July' Luncheon Opens Drive To Speed Gift Mailing to Armed Forces", The New York Times, July 28, 1944, p. 15.
- ^ "It's Christmas in July at Browning King" (advertisement), The New York Times, July 20, 1950, p. 16.
- ^ Kiwi Families website - Midwinter christmas
- ^ Midwinter Christmas by AJ Sallis
- ^ Example of use (from the New Zealand Herald newspaper)
- ^ a b Christmas in July - The history of Christmas
- ^ Christmas in July, Blue Mountains Yulefest
- ^ Yulefest in the Blue Mountains: Christmas in July
- ^ Dale, Maryclaire (2006-05-23). "Shopping Networks Fight Over 'July' Slogan". ABC News (AP). http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=1996069&Business=true. Retrieved on 2007-03-11.
[edit] External links
- Christmas in July Festival
- Christmas in July! (Theater Effects)
- Christmas in July
- 2007 Christmas in July Edition of the Carnival of the Recipes.
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