Santa rides an elephant at the winter carnival in Saint Paul, MN. [1925]
A long dead New Years tradition, people line up for the White House Open House. The President would shake the hand of everyone who came. [1927]
Robert G. Evraets uses a flame thrower to clear a path through the thick snow of Governors Island. [December, 1947]
A British airman hands out gifts to Dutch children during the liberation of the Netherlands. Germany had stopped sending the Netherlands food and fuel, causing a famine. [December 13, 1944]
The lighting of Hanukkah candles at Westerbork concentration camp in the Netherlands maintains hope in dark times. [1942]
John Lennon, Yoko Ono and Mary Hopkins at the Apple Records Christmas party. [1968]
Christmas dinner at the internment camp on Ellis Island that held American civilians of German, Italian and Japanese descent during World War II. [1943]
A woman takes home a Christmas dinner in a basket, provided by the Salvation Army to the poor. [1910]
Children in London celebrate Christmas in an underground bomb shelter. [1940]
The first Capitol Christmas tree, installed to celebrate Washington's first 'Community Christmas.' The event included nativity scenes and a choir, but ended in 1915 because of lack of funds. [1913]
The Times Tower rehearses their first New Year's Eve Time ball drop. [December, 1907]
The Lincoln Heights drunk tank will probably be just as full on Christmas morning this year. [1952]c
John Lennon and Yoko Ono purchase advertising space in Times Square to call for an end to the Vietnam War and wish New Yorkers a merry Christmas. [December, 1969]
Sgt Edward Good helps his buddy eat Christmas dinner while in a Belgium field hospital. [1944]
Brothers meet for a Christmas reunion after being separated by the Berlin Wall for over 2 years. During the winter of 1963, West Berlin residents were allowed one-day passes to visit relatives in the East.
Nancy Reagan sits on President Reagan's lap at a Christmas party. [1983]
Unemployed New York workers celebrate Christmas during the Great Depression. [1938]
Father Frost rides a rocket during the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia. [1959]
The first Norwegian Christmas tree is raised in Trafalgar Square, London. The city of Oslo has donated a tree to the people of Britain every year since 1947 for their support during World War II. [18 December, 1947]
These Bostonites prove that while we may have lost interest in hats, we'll always love Christmas shopping. [1930]a
Roosevelt addresses the crowd at the White House Christmas tree lighting ceremony. Winston Churchill is to his right. [1941]
American soldiers on Hill 875 decorate a Christmas tree near Dakto, South Vietnam. [ca. 1967]
The very first Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. [1931]
A French soldier, dressed as Santa, distributes parcels from home. [1939]
A German couple roll in the new year by kissing on the Berlin Wall. [1989]
King George V giving the first Christmas Day address to the British people by radio in 1932. And Queen Elizabeth II giving the first televised address in 1957.
Schoolboys at Ardingly College, West Sussex, going home for Christmas in style. Poor horse. [1926]
British and German troops play football and exchange presents during an unoffical Christmas truce in No Man's Land. [1914]
A youngster clutches his soldier father who's home for Christmas as he lifts his wife from the ground. [1944]
A girl hammers up a request to Father Christmas above her bed at the Brecknock School for Blind Children. [1925]
A couple in West Berlin wave to family behind the wall in East Berlin. [1961]
A Republican-Democratic snow battle at the Capitol. [December 14, 1923]