What was Christmas like in the Village of Dublin a century ago? We have a way to go back in time with a 1931 article to read a small sample of what the celebrations were like nearly 100 years ago.
It will be helpful to think of Dublin then and how different it was from Dublin now. The 2020 Census put Dublin’s population at just over 49,000. In 1930 that number was 224. As you read this segment, try to imagine of a village where everyone knew one another.
Then, the Dublin Community Church on Bridge Street was a major part of everyone’s life. The Community Calendar, published by the pastor of the Church, was the only village newspaper. It included village council news, school news, births and deaths, vacations, anniversaries, engagements – any goings-on within the community.
The Depression of the 1930s affected Dublin primarily by lowering the amount of money farmers received for crops and livestock. The village was not wealthy or even middle-class and the Depression made people poorer. Farming remained an important segment of the Dublin economy as it allowed people to sustain themselves and help each other. The Community Church’s first obligation was to help its members, then to help the community, then – through its parent church – to help in countries overseas as much as it could through its mission service. This orientation to collect and reallocate donations shows in the passage below.
The passage from the Jan. 1, 1932, Community Calendar describes the 1931 Christmas service and Sunday School. The Depression-era cash offering will seem very small to readers today, but in that year, it may have been significant. “White Gifts,” referenced at the article’s end, were gifts wrapped in plain white paper so that no one would know if an item might be of more relative value than another. Some gifts may not have been purchased at all but instead been handmade or come directly from people’s homes. No one would feel ashamed of their gift because each one was wrapped to look alike and everyone would share in the joy of giving to others. It was a very fitting gift exchange for the time.
CHRISTMAS IN THE CHURCH
There were 170 at Sunday School the Sunday before Christmas, and more came for the Christmas program given at the Church hour. It seemed that the attendance was even larger for the Cantata, “The Greatest Gift,” given by the Choir under the direction of Mr. Geideman, Sunday night. And there were as many present for the Christmas Pageant, “The Star Came” given Christmas Eve. It seems that more than twice as many participated in the Christmas services, than during any Christmas season in recent years—and the total attendance was more than twice as great. At the risk of failing to mention some equally as deserving of special thanks, the members of the congregation are especially grateful to Mrs. Stella Karrer, Mrs. Arvilla Hall, Mr. Kemp, Mr. Hirth, Mr. Geideman, Miss Helen Jane Smith, Mr. John Geese, Mrs. Todd, Mrs. Moffitt, Mrs. Hirth, Mrs. Neal, and Mrs. Belt. The Choir most loyally and acceptably assisted in both services besides the Cantata. The children are to be commended on the program given Sunday morning. The Cantata Sunday evening brought many words of warmest praise. The pageant brought the Christmas observance to a fitting close. Many brought offerings of fruit, canned goods and clothing.
The cash offer, accompanying the White Gifts totaled $8.78. Some of the White Gifts were distributed on Christmas morning. The balance is in the hands of the committee for distribution as colder weather and greater need come.
Tom Holton is president of the Dublin Historical Society, a nonprofit educational organization with a mission to collect and preserve the history of the Dublin area and make it available to the public. For more information, visit www.dublinohiohistory.org.
