A Brief History of Christmas in Maine & Vintage Photos

Last year I wasted the holiday season worrying about gifts, the perfect decorations at my house, and all of the other stresses that come along with Christmas. This year, I promised myself that each day in December I would do something to get into the Christmas spirit, whether it be a dance party to my favorite holiday songs, enjoying a special holiday beverage (peppermint mocha, yum!) or watching Christmas movies or reading holiday stories.

I was in search of a local way to kick off the first day of my Christmas spirit month, so I started by browsing my favorite local website, MaineMemory.net. I found an adorable vintage photograph of two children smiling with Santa dating back to the 1920s. The photo was taken in Portland to promote a Christmas event and charity. I was fascinated by the early photo of Christmas tradition and with a little digging, found a pile of other photos from around the Portland area during Christmas time in the 1920s and earlier.

Among the photos was a link to an article written by Aimée N. Lanteigne for Memories of Maine Magazine titled Bah Humbug! Why Early Mainers Didn’t Make Merry at Christmas Time. In the article, Lanteigne provides an interesting look into Christmas traditions in Maine. Did you know that Maine did not recognize Christmas as a holiday until 1858?

Early Mainers did not view Christmas as the religious, and sadly overtly commercialized, tradition it has become. In fact, they hardly recognized it at all.

- Excerpt from Bah Humbug! by Aimée N. Lanteigne

Learning about the earliest Christmas traditions in Maine made me even more interested in the vintage photos I found, because the traditions were so new! Although Santa and his sleigh, evergreen wreaths, and Christmas pageants were photographed in the early 1900s, Christmas hadn't been wildly celebrated in our state until just a few decades earlier. Crazy to think that businesses, courts, and offices stayed open on December 25th back then but are all closed today.

Enjoy the photos and read more about early Maine Christmas traditions in the article below.