Friday, July 14, 2017

Christmas in July!!

Hello Everyone!
We are already through half the year and that means Christmas in July! We at Yarns by HPF did not invent the Christmas in July phenomenon, but we think it's a perfect time to knit or crochet for the holidays without the pressure that usually goes with the Christmas Holiday Season. Projects like our Design Your Own Stocking, Sock Hat, and Lil Ornaments are just the things to get ahead of the holiday crunch time and best of all, they’re portable and will fit nicely in your beach or market bag.   



Speaking of Christmas in July, we got to thinking where did that come from? It's definitely a marketing technique, but that can't be all there is to it. And it isn't. According to Wikipedia, Christmas in July “Origins began with Werther, an 1892 opera with libretto by Édouard BlauPaul 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 a translation of the French: "vous chantez Noël en juillet... c'est s'y prendre à l'avance." 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 Keystone Camp, a girl's summer camp in North Carolina, which celebrated with a Christmas tree, gifts, and a visit by Santa Claus. 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." 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. 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". 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.[9] It became an annual event, and in 1945, 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.[11] The luncheon was repeated in 1945. 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.[11] The luncheon was repeated in 1945.American advertisers began using Christmas in July themes in print for summertime sales as early as 1950.[13] In the United States, it is more often used as a marketing tool than an actual holiday. Television stations may choose to re-run Christmas specials, and many stores have Christmas in July sales. Some individuals choose to celebrate Christmas in July themselves, typically as an intentionally transparent excuse to have a party. This is in part because most bargainers tend to sell Christmas goods around July to make room for next year's inventory.  

Celebration of Christmas in July in the Southern Hemisphere, seasons are in reverse to the Northern Hemisphere, with summer falling in DecemberJanuary, and February, and with winter falling in JuneJuly, and August. Therefore, in some southern hemisphere countries, such as AustraliaNew ZealandComorosMadagascarBoliviaAngolaFrench PolynesiaPapua New GuineaParaguaySamoa and South Africa, Christmas in July or Midwinter Christmas events are undertaken in order to have Christmas with a winter feel in common with the northern hemisphere.[15][16][17] These countries still celebrate Christmas on December 25, in their summer, like the northern hemisphere.
Celebrations in the Northern Hemisphere, a Christmas in July celebration is deliberately ironic; the July climate is typically hot and either sunny or rainy, as opposed to the cold and snowy conditions traditionally associated with Christmas celebrations in the higher latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. Some people throw parties during July that mimic Christmas celebrations, bringing the atmosphere of Christmas but with warmer temperatures. Parties may include Santa Clausice cream and other cold foods, and gifts. Nightclubs often host parties open to the public.
The Hallmark Channel runs blocks of their original Christmas television films in July to coincide with the release of the Keepsake Ornaments in stores.
There is also Christmas in June. In some western countries, July has a limited number of marketing opportunities. In the United States and Canada, for example, there are no national holidays between the first week of July (Canada Day on July 1 in Canada and American Independence Day on July 4 in the United States) and Labo(u)r Day (the first Monday in September for both the US and Canada), leaving a stretch of about two months with no holidays (some Canadian provinces hold a Civic Holiday in August, but this is not a national holiday; the U.S. struck its lone August holiday, V-J Day, from the calendar in 1975, as the anniversary of the signing of the actual treaty of surrender, aboard the U.S.S. Missouri is officially observed under that name). The late July period provides relatively few opportunities for merchandising, since it is typically after the peak of summer product sales in June and early July, but before the "back to school" shopping period begins in August. Therefore, to justify sales promotions, shops will sometimes (more often than not) announce a "Christmas in July" sale.
In parts of Denmark people may have small Christmas celebrations and put up decorations for what is known as 'Jul i Juli' (translated as 'Christmas in July'). It is a simple play on words that has come to be celebrated by some, although it is not an official holiday.
And to make things even more festive, there’s Christmas in August (Yellowstone, USA). In the 1950s, the Christmas in July celebration became a Christmas in August celebration at Yellowstone National Park, to accommodate ACMNP's annual performance of Handel's Messiah.


Now that we’ve learned the origins of Christmas in July, how did knitting or crocheting become attached to Christmas in July? All you have to do is Google Knitting or Crocheting for Christmas in July and there are tons of projects to create, most of them portable and infused with happiness. The biggest drive behind our knitting and crocheting for Christmas during the hottest time of the year is to channel the relaxation of Summer into your Holiday creations. The Summer is one of the best times to enjoy your needles and hooks because it gives us time and lets us engage in the craft we love without pressure. Creativity can flow easily and although Summer reading is a big pastime, you can mix it up with knitting and crocheting and double your Summer enjoyment. 
I think Purl Soho says it best, “Endless summers, in fact, do end. And then, sooner than you can store your flip flops, it’s Christmas! Don’t be caught trying to frantically whip up gifts and decorations that should take all the time they deserve. Start now and learn how to spend the Christmas season feeling the spirit rather than feeling the stress!”
So, come and join us at Yarns by HPF and create an heirloom stocking, make a sock hat or knit adorable keepsake ornaments, among other Christmas in July projects. You know it’ll be Christmas and the Holiday Season before you know it!!

Stayed tuned for Juvie June Wrap-Up, coming soon.

Knit On, Lisa





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