Library program explores what Christmas was like during World War II

Throughout 2025 some programs at the Coshocton County District Library have focused on the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. The final program, A World War II Holiday, will be offered at the West Lafayette Branch Library Tuesday, Dec. 2 at 5:30 p.m. or in the large meeting room of the Coshocton County District Library Monday, Dec. 8 at 6:30 p.m.

World War II would color American’s Christmas seasons from 1941-44, ranging from what one could gift and serve at dinner to who would be missing from the family table.

In late 1941 American businesses were expecting a holiday season for the books. Advertisements in the Coshocton Tribune tempted holiday shoppers with all-electric appliances, new furniture, hostess gifts and children’s toys. While people were bustling around preparing for Christmas cheer, perhaps they were humming snippets of the popular holiday songs that year — “Snowfall” by Claude Thornhill and his orchestra or maybe Benny Goodman’s “Winter Weather.”

On Dec. 7, 1941, everything changed with the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and America entered the war.

The 1941 holiday season changed quickly after Pearl Harbor. If you planned on traveling to visit family, navigating the weather was made more difficult because of the just-entered war. The National Weather Service announced Dec. 16, 1941, that it would stop issuing detailed weather forecasts so the country’s enemies couldn’t use that information to plan an attack. There was a pause on weather maps in newspapers. Radio stations would only broadcast warnings of serious conditions like heavy snows or severe cold snaps.

There also was a fear of air raids all over the country, especially during a religious holiday. The Office of Civilian Defense distributed instructions on what to do in an air raid, which was published in the Coshocton Tribune Dec. 13, 1941, in a full-page ad. Citizens were advised to stay home, turn off the lights, stay away from windows and lie down under a table if bombs fell.

Rationing would begin in 1942 with sugar, coffee, rubber, gasoline and fuel oils. Canned goods and butter would be rationed in 1943, as well as clothing, shoes and red meat. Still, Americans made do as the war continued and changed Christmas.

Wartime Christmas cookie recipes stressed the use of corn syrup, honey and brown sugar due to the rationing of butter and white sugar. Margarine or shortening replaced butter in those recipes. It also was more common to see bar, drop or ice box cookies instead of cutouts during the war years because the homemaker was busy with her victory garden or war work.

Decking the halls also became a challenge. In 1942 Christmas trees were in short supply because of worker shortages and transportation issues. For the Americans who were lucky enough to have a tree during the war, decoration trends were different than years past.

The war years saw a shift from European-inspired trees. Before the war, 99% of ornaments were imported from Europe to America. The decoration change was in part from bitter feelings over the war, so Americans focused on decorations made in the states, such as Shiny Brite ornaments. American-made ornaments weren’t as flashy as the European-made ones because metal was rationed for the war effort, and the glass ornaments couldn’t be silvered to reflect the light of Christmas lights.

Everything changed again in 1945 — the first Christmas the world had celebrated without war since 1939. The decade after the war would influence how people think of Christmas more than any other period in America’s history, bringing Bubble Lites, aluminum trees, new plastics to manufacture games and toys, and the NORAD Santa Tracker.

A World War II Holiday is the final program in the series recognizing the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. For more information or to register for this program, visit Coshocton County District Library in person, visit www.coshoctonlibrary.org or call 740-622-0956.

This column was written by Julie Johnson, adult services coordinator at the Coshocton County District Library.