Christmas in July has become a famous holiday all its own while becoming synonymous with summer Hallmark holiday movies, early Christmas shopping, and a unique time on the calendar for those who love Christmas all year long. How did this Christmas craze in July get started? According to an article in Country Living, Christmas in July was the brainchild of a North Carolina girls camp co-founder named Fannie Holt.
It was a typical summer day at Keystone Camp in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina more than 85 years ago when Holt came up with the clever idea to celebrate Christmas in July. In a locale where summer temps typically hit 80- to 90-degrees, Holt must have thought a Christmas celebration in July was a fun and novel way to fend off the heat. Current camp owner and director Page Ives Lemel said it was no surprise to her that Holt came up with the idea.
“Miss Fannie was such a character: a whimsical, dreaming, creative type who added all of this uniqueness to the program,” Lemel said.
Lemel said Holt’s first Christmas in July took place on July 24 and 25 in 1933 and included carolers, a Christmas tree, a visit from Santa Claus, lots of presents, and, of course, fake snow made of cotton. The tradition evolved over time and campers began to use laundry bags as stockings, which they placed outside their cabins to be filled with candy overnight. Later on, they added a gift exchange, which tended toward the crafty and creative.
While the camp tradition began in the early part of the 20th century, the phrase Christmas in July really took off in 1940 when a movie called Christmas in July, was released. The movie starred Dick Powell and Ellen Drew and was based on the unproduced play written by the director of the film, Preston Sturges. The plot involves a clerk who believes mistakenly that he’s won $25,000 in a coffee slogan contest and starts spending the money he hasn’t truly earned on gifts for others. A mere 67 minutes in length, the film is Christmas-themed in name only. There is only one moment in the movie when Christmas is even mentioned during a scene when Drew is riding in a taxi with Powell surrounded by presents and says, “it’s like Christmas in July.”
In the late 1940s, the U.S. post office got into the Christmas in July act when they started a summer donation drive to gather gifts to send to missions around the world in time for Christmas, which they labeled Christmas in July.
Eventually retailers recognized the power of a Christmas in July brand for sales and began to encourage people to get a head start on their holiday shopping for December, in July.
And then the Hallmark Channel began promoting Christmas rom-com movies in the summer of 2012 and have now built a month’s worth of holiday programming celebrating Christmas in July, in July.
While Christmas in July is often celebrated all month long, the central focus of this summer celebration for traditionalists is July 25. Many people get together and celebrate the day in July as if it’s December 25. They decorate their house, put up a Christmas tree, and prepare a big Christmas dinner.
In Australia, Christmas in July is called Yuletide or Yulefest. Because December 25 is summer in Australia, a July 25 celebration has become quite popular Down Under with July being the peak of the winter season.
Whether you plan on watching a slew of holiday Hallmark movies in July, are looking to decorate your house in a Christmas theme during the heart of the summer, or just plan on baking a dozen Christmas cookies for family and friends in July, celebrating our favorite holiday in July is strongly encouraged here at Christmas Every Minute as yet another way to keep the holiday spirit going all year long.
