I Want to Build a Home: Christmas from 100 years ago.

Have you ever wondered where the idea of a “traditional American Christmas” actually comes from? If our society is built on people immigrating from around the world and blending cultures together, shouldn’t our Christmas traditions reflect elements of the “old country”? For instance, if your family originally came from Mexico, or Greece, shouldn’t there naturally be bits of a Mexican Christmas or a Greek Christmas mixed in? But oddly… no.

For over a century, homemaking and lifestyle magazines have carefully crafted and curated the concept of the “traditional American Christmas.” It’s subtle, insidious, and absolutely rooted in consumerism.

Originally, Christmas traditions came with colonizers who simply recreated what they were used to back home. As the country grew, those colonizers clung tightly to their traditions while simultaneously oppressing and eradicating Indigenous peoples. Truly, they were multitaskers—but I digress.

Better Homes and Gardens, the flagship homemaking magazine began in 1922 as Fruit, Garden & Home before rebranding into the BHG we know. By 1925, they were already positioning themselves as arbiters of the “proper” American holiday. But what drove this communal compulsion to conform?

Based on some amateur internet sleuthing, I have a theory. History tells us the Great Depression ended when the U.S. entered WWII and wartime manufacturing jump started the economy (yes, wildly oversimplified). After the war, I believe the national sense of unity—“we all came together to defeat the bad guys”—combined with renewed economic stability helped fuel a desire for a homogenized holiday. A darker version of this theory is that fear of being labeled “different” or “un-American” also nudged people toward sameness.

And so, the traditional American Christmas was born—constructed, marketed, and sold. While I fully recognize that I’ve been influenced by it, and that my own traditions influence others, I’m struck by how intentionally this aesthetic was crafted. It didn’t evolve naturally. It was curated and promoted by the people selling magazines and, by extension, selling the idea of the ideal American dream.

I suspect this is one reason I’m so fascinated by how other cultures around the world celebrate Christmas. It’s also probably why I consume holiday lifestyle magazines at what could reasonably be called an unhealthy rate. The whole phenomenon is endlessly interesting to me.

All of this explains why I’m diving into the December 1925 issue of BHG: because even 100 years ago, the groundwork was already in place. I often applaud Martha Stewart for creating a market for her signature home goods by showcasing them in her magazines—but that strategy is far from new. In 1925, BHG was recommending popular gift ideas on the same pages where ads for those exact gifts were printed. Truly, nothing new under the sun.

The entirety of Better Homes and Gardens is available online, and I have spent a good deal of time focused on the 1925 Christmas edition.  What did Christmas look like 100 years ago?  What were the trends?  What has changed and what has stayed the same?  For the rest of my 25 days, I invite you to join me as I explore those 1925 articles and share my thoughts along the way.