 A Christmas in July promotional banner outside a venue inMelbourne, Australia | |
| Date | July 25 |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Midwinter Christmas, Christmas in Winter, Christmas in Summer, Early Christmas |
Christmas in July, also known asChristmas in Summer in the Northern Hemisphere andChristmas in Winter orMidwinter Christmas in the Southern Hemisphere, is a secondChristmas celebration held on July 25 that falls outside the traditional period ofChristmastide. It is centered onsecular Christmas-themed activities and entertainment, including small gatherings, seasonalentertainment, andshopping. July Christmas celebrations typically accommodate those living in theSouthern Hemisphere, where they experiencewinter at that time.
In ajournal entry datedDecember 1827, colonial settlerJames Macarthur reflected on the challenges of observing Christmas during the Australian summer and proposed relocating its traditional “eating and drinking” aspects to a cooler season:
“I have always thought it would be a publick benefit … to change the eating and drinking part of this festival to a more temperate season of the year … In the month of June there is no operation of importance going forward … John Bull might then indulge as freely as at home without endangering his health.”
This entry, written while at Port Stephens and contained in Macarthur’s correspondence to his family, represents among the earliest documented colonial suggestions for celebrating Christmas mid‑winter in Australia—nearly a century before mid‑winter “Christmas in July” events became formalized.
Werther, an 1892 French opera with libretto byÉdouard Blau,Paul Milliet, andGeorges Hartmann, had an English translation published in 1894 by Elizabeth Beall Ginty. In the story, a group of children rehearse a Christmas song in July, to which a character responds: "When you sing Christmas in July, you rush the season." It is a translation of the French:"vous chantez Noël en juillet... c'est s'y prendre à l'avance."[1] This opera is based onGoethe'sThe Sorrows of Young Werther. Christmas features in the book, but July does not.[2]
In 1935, the National Recreation Association's journalRecreation described what a Christmas in July was like at a girl's camp inBrevard, North Carolina, writing that "all mystery and wonder surround this annual event."[3]
The term, if not the exact concept, was given national attention with the release of theHollywood movie comedyChristmas in July in 1940, written and directed byPreston Sturges.[4] In the story, a man is fooled into believing he has won $25,000 in an advertising slogan contest. He buys presents for family, friends, and neighbours, and proposes marriage to his girlfriend.[5]
In 1942, theCalvary Baptist Church inWashington, D.C. celebrated Christmas in July with carols and the sermon "Christmas Presents in July".[6] They repeated it in 1943, with a Christmas tree covered with donations. The pastor explained that the special service was patterned after a programme held each summer at his former church inPhiladelphia, when the congregation would present Christmas gifts early to give ample time for their distribution to missions worldwide.[7] It became an annual event, and in 1945, the service began to be broadcast over local radio.[8]
TheU.S. Post Office andU.S. Army andNavy officials, in conjunction with the American advertising and greeting card industries, threw a Christmas in July luncheon in New York in 1944 to promote an early Christmas mailing campaign for service men overseas during World War II.[9] The luncheon was repeated in 1945.[10]
American advertisers began using Christmas in July themes in print for summertime sales as early as 1950.[11] In the United States, it is more often used as a marketing tool than an actual holiday. Television stations may choose to re-run Christmas specials, and many stores have Christmas in July sales. This is partly because most bargainers sell Christmas goods around July to make room for next year's inventory.[12]
In theSouthern Hemisphere, seasons are in reverse to theNorthern Hemisphere, withsummer falling inDecember,January, andFebruary, and withwinter falling inJune,July, andAugust. Therefore, in some Southern Hemisphere countries, such asAustralia,South Africa, andNew Zealand, Christmas in July orMidwinter Christmas events are undertaken in order to have Christmas with a winter feel in common with the Northern Hemisphere.[13][14][15] These countries still also celebrate Christmas on December 25, in their summer, like the Northern Hemisphere.
In the Northern Hemisphere, a Christmas in July celebration is deliberatelyironic; the July climate is typically hot and either sunny or rainy with thunderstorms, as opposed to the cold andsnowy conditions traditionally associated with Christmas celebrations in the higher latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. Some people throw parties during July that mimic Christmas celebrations, bringing the atmosphere of Christmas but with warmer temperatures. Parties may includeSanta Claus,ice cream, and other cold foods and gifts.Nightclubs often host parties open to the public. Christmas in July is usually recognized as July 25 but also sometimes celebrated on July 12.[16]
TheHallmark Channel and its companion outlets (Hallmark Family andHallmark Mystery) run blocks of their original Christmas television films in July to coincide with the release of the Keepsake Ornaments in stores, thus literally making the event aHallmark holiday (an accusation that Hallmark Cards officially denies).
Every July, the television home shopping channelQVC sells Christmas in July, mostly decor and early gift ideas for children. What was once a 24-hour block of holiday shopping every July 25 (or the closest weekend day to it) has become a month-long event: generally, the sales begin on July 1 and are showcased throughout the day, with various blocks of holiday sale programming sales throughout the month. Typically, during the last week of July, QVC dedicates entire days to holiday sales.
There is also Christmas in June.[17] In some western countries, July has a limited number of marketing opportunities. In the United States and Canada, for example, there are no national holidays between the first week of July (Canada Day on July 1 in Canada andAmerican Independence Day on July 4 in the United States) and Labor/Labour Day (the first Monday in September for both theUS andCanada), leaving a stretch of about two months with no holidays (some Canadian provinces hold aCivic Holiday, but neither Canada nor the United States has ever recognized a national holiday during that time). The late July period provides relatively few opportunities formerchandising, since it is typically after the peak of summer product sales in June and early July, but before the "back to school" shopping period begins in August. Therefore, to justify sales promotions, shops (such asLeon's in Canada) will sometimes announce a "Christmas in July" sale.[citation needed]
A summer Christmas celebration is held on June 25 annually in Italy and worldwide.25 June is a traditional Christmas celebration, or 6 months before the next, or 6 months after the previous (depending on how one looks at it).
It is celebrated at this particular moment as a statement and a reaction to the traditional Christmas celebration: there is no need to wait for one specific day to celebrate love, friendship, and peace. The movement started in Italy, Europe, where traditional Christmas is celebrated inwinter, leading to the alternative celebration, 6 months later, to be celebrated in summer.[18]While it started as an improvised summer celebration inVenice, it has become a yearly tradition. In the last 8 years, the celebrations have taken place mainly inSardinia, but the tradition is spreading across the world and becoming a worldwide movement.[citation needed]
In parts of Denmark, people may have small Christmas celebrations and put up decorations for what is known as "Jul i Juli" (translated as 'Christmas in July'). It is a simple play on words that has come to be celebrated by some, although it is not an official holiday.
In the 1950s, the Christmas in July celebration became aChristmas in August celebration atYellowstone National Park. There are multiple theories concerning the origin of this celebration. Park employees, who were nicknamed "Savages" until the mid-1970s, were known to throw large employee parties in July complete with floats, skits, and dances. Some have speculated that the Christmas in August celebration was a way to extend the mid-summer festivities to the public and subdue the employee-only celebration. Another theory is that the celebration began as a way to incorporate a performance ofHandel's 'Messiah' by a student ministry working in the park.[19]
Christmas in July in September has been marked as a celebration by some.[20][21] For example,Parker, Arizona had a celebration for it in September 2020.[22] While in the Philippines,Christmas celebrations of the longest running holiday season in the world begin four months early and run through the end of the year untilEpiphany. Celebrations will unofficially start in September and run through months that end in "-ber" (September, October, November, and December).[23][24][25]
