What Christmas Was Like the Year You Were Born

On Christmas Day in 1914, British and German troops emerged from the trenches of World War I as weeks of bad weather cleared and called a truce.

1920: Nativity Plays Are All the Rage

By 1920, Christmas celebrations were shifting away from the public space and more toward the family. Nativity plays, a tradition still shared today, had become extremely popular for school children in 1920.

1921: Christmas Takes the Radio

Many of today's traditions began during Prohibition-era America. With the ubiquity of the radio by this time, the recent invention had become the most popular gift and also the center of most social gatherings—particularly for live-broadcasted holiday concerts.

1922: BBC broadcasts first British radio play 'The Truth about Father Christmas'

Radios were globally influential, and in 1922, the BBC started daily programs. The BBC broadcasted its first orchestral concert on December 23 and its first radio-broadcasted play, "The Truth About Father Christmas," on December 24.

1923: First Christmas tree in the White House

Alongside the radio, Christmas trees were a growing centerpiece of the holiday. In 1923, President Calvin Coolidge lit the first national Christmas tree in the White House—a 64-foot fir.

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