Nostalgic for Christmas past? A pop-up exhibit puts the spotlight on vintage toys

It's December in the 1950s and the big day nears.

But in your outport, there aren't many toys around to fuel a wish list. The corner store might only carry a sled or two for the neighbourhood kids.

The annual Sears catalogue, luckily, features a doll with moving legs — just write down the order and hand it to a grown up, who mails it off to Santa.

Such was Christmas for a little girl in mid-century Newfoundland, whose beloved walking doll is now on display at a pop-up exhibit of vintage toys at The Rooms in St. John's.

I Can't Wait!, which is on display through Jan. 6, features both hand-made and luxury items a kid might find under the tree, harking back to Christmas days of old.

Homespun fun

Building presents from wooden scraps was "quite common" during the 19th and first half of the 20th century, said Maureen Peters, curator of history at The Rooms.

"Sometimes people didn't have the money … to buy mass-produced toys, so they made them at home themselves with wood and paint," Peters said. 

A train and carriage inside the glass case show off craftsmanship of the day. "People would always have train sets during Christmas," Peters said.

Larry Dohey, director of programming and public engagement at The Rooms, recalls that even when he was young, a child wouldn't dare ask for more than one present — that might be seen as greedy, and thus mean getting nothing at all.

"There was a time that you would hesitate to ask for a second gift, because you would be afraid Santa Claus would be angry that you were being a bit selfish," Dohey said. 

"A lot of people would be pretty strategic."

Dohey said he'd never ask for a present he could get as a hand-me-down. Instead, it was a toss-up between ordering from a catalogue and wishing for something homemade, like a toboggan, and hoping all your friends would get one, too.

"A good part of the pre-Christmas was just sitting with those catalogues ... You would dream about all of these wonderful toys, but you knew Santa was sometimes limited to just what was in your little town," he said.

Trends in toys

When children did send away for mass-manufactured gifts, like wind-up Dinky trucks or Barbie dolls, it was always a gamble. With postal routes by boat or horse and sleigh, a package might not arrive until after Christmas.

A few of those vintage mail-order toys are on display at The Rooms. A mechanical monkey produced in Germany had a lot of fans, while the rocking horse would have made a glamorous present for a wealthier child in the early 1900s, Peters said.

A wicker baby carriage produced by the South End Toy Co. was especially popular.

During the Second World War, Peters said, even the U.S. president spoke about the significance of the item.

"It was making little girls who were missing their fathers happy at home, by giving them these mass-produced items."

For the grown-ups

Leather skates were a common gift for all ages beginning in the 1950s, but before that, Peters said, a skate was simply a blade that one would tie to a boot.

Sometimes families would take to the harbour, if the sea had frozen. Otherwise, for townies, it was a place like Quidi Vidi Lake or Burton's Pond.

They retired into their house, got drunk as fast as they could, and spent the whole night in drinking, quarrelling, and fighting.- Dictionary of Newfoundland English

At night, adults would don their dancing attire. The "minuet" was popular in the 1890s, but progressive revellers might indulge in a "valse" — or waltz, as we know it today — which involved a man's hand around a lady's waist.

Some folks expressed dismay at the new dance. In a letter to the St. John's Evening Telegram in 1894, one woman called it a "war against the soul" that kindled "salacious thoughts."

The big day

Christmas Eve brought families together at sunset. Someone would load a gun — powder only — and shoot it from the doorstep to ring in the holiday.

Then, according to a 1792 text archived by the Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage Website, the ceremony would conclude with a "dram of rum" and three cheers.

"These formalities being performed with great solemnity," the entry says, "they retired into their house, got drunk as fast as they could, and spent the whole night in drinking, quarrelling, and fighting."

Christmas feast

The party might have started with squatum, an alcoholic drink often made from fermented partridge berries. Tipplers would sweeten the wine with sugar, or else it would be "bitter as the varge," according to this entry.

Callibogus might also have been on hand, a warm concoction of spruce beer, rum and molasses. Forms of the drink date back to the 1700s, and were seen as good for keeping out the winter chill. 

Later in the night, families would leave for midnight mass, with the tree decorated by older siblings and mothers who would stay home to cook. Supper would be served late, after the service, Dohey said.

"Just about any house you went into, fish and brewis would be the meal," he said. "And when I say fish, I mean cod."

A lamb was usually saved for the Christmas Day feast.

Turkey, although popular at other times of year, didn't gain its favoured spot on the holiday banquet table until the 1970s, Dohey said.

Wrapping up the season

Christmas wasn't over until Jan. 6, when some families would celebrate the end of the season with "12th cake," a sweet bun that was passed around to neighbours in the 1800s.

The day was also known as  "Nollaig na mBan" or "women's Christmas" in some parts of the province, Dohey said — a day for women to finally put their feet up and have a drink together.

At night, 12 bonfires might burn in some communities. In others, it was time to toss the Yule log.

We know it today as a chocolate dessert, but in 1870s Newfoundland, the Yule log was usually a slab of birch selected to burn in a fireplace for the entire 12 days of Christmas.

The log was plucked from the hearth and thrown over the home's roof to protect it from fire — a gesture of good luck for the year ahead.

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