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 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 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 December, January, and February, and with winter falling in June, July, and August. Therefore, in some southern hemisphere
countries, such as Australia, New Zealand, Comoros, Madagascar, Bolivia, Angola, French Polynesia, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Samoa 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 Claus, ice 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
