WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — Though Christmas is a thousands-year-old holiday, it’s changed over the years as generations pass and families create new traditions.
If you’re feeling a little nostalgic this Christmas Eve, take a trip down memory lane with photos of Christmas in Washington, D.C. from decades ago, courtesy of the Library of Congress.
1918: “Christmas Tree for Horses”
1920: “Christmas tree at Lafayette Square”
1923: “Senate Pages, Christmas Party”
These Senate pages embraced the spirit of “Partying like it’s 1923” as they gathered at Miss Maud Younger’s home in Northeast D.C. Senator Thaddeus H. Caraway was Santa that year.
1930: “Christmas of 1930”
Here, Norma Horydczak – daughter of photographer Theodor Horydczak – rode a bicycle in front of their Christmas tree in a D.C. home.
1934: “Girl Scouts Give First Lady Flowers”
A member of Girl Scout Troop No. 23 can be seen giving a wreath of flowers to then-First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt at a Christmas celebration on Christmas Eve in 1934.
1941: “Christmas in a Washington home”
If you’re wondering what they might have been listening to at this 1940s Christmas celebration, top hits included “Amapola (Pretty Little Poppy)” by Jimmy Dorsey; “Chattanooga Choo Choo” by Glenn Miller; and “Piano Concerto In B Flat” by Freddy Martin, according to Dude Walker.
1941: “Christmas rush in the Greyhound bus terminal”
The holiday travel rush in D.C. has always been intense – even in 1941. Pictured, crowds can be seen traveling to and from their holiday destinations on a Greyhound bus.
