Local History Series: How our early settlers celebrated Christmas

The early settlers would have brought their Christmas traditions with them from England, Scotland, Ireland and Germany. Then as they married, these traditions became merged. And the hot Australian climate added some more local traditions.
Look at the foods we enjoy at Christmas… our refrigerators filled with ham, sea food, drinks etc. We take that for granted. Think back to the era prior to WW11 when there was no refrigeration, and people only had an ice box to keep food cold.
Toys have also changed over time. Prior to 1940s before the introduction of plastic, toys were made of wood, metal and china. Rocking horses, kites, bikes and pedal cars were popular as were spinning tops.
Girls received dolls, which would have had beautifully homemade clothes, and miniature china afternoon tea sets.
Boys got train sets and crystal radio sets. Before Lego there was Meccano. This was very popular and consisted of perforated strips of tin plate with holes that were fastened together with nuts and bolts to make amazing structures.
Christmas tree decorations were often homemade. Steamers were often made from crepe paper. Some Christmas tree decorations were strips of aluminium foil that was left over from the manufacture of foil milk bottle tops.
Many homes had pianos and family and friends would gather around the piano to sing Christmas carols.
Much has changed as we celebrate Christmas over the years. But there is a lot that has not changed as we hold on to old traditions such as Santa Claus, and the Christmas tree.