As of: December 22, 2024 9:56 a.m
Some children want a cookie, others want peace or a Titi shirt: a collection of wish lists in the Husum Christmas house shows how much Christmas wishes have changed from the 19th to the 21st century.
If you're not yet in a festive mood, you can't avoid it here. The Husum Christmas House presented everything that is important about the festival on three floors. It shows how people started these special days at different times.
Wish lists show the relationship between parents and children
Keeper of the Husum wish lists: Alix Paulsen from the Christmas house knows the stories the notes tell.
A special treasure of the house is a collection of wish lists from the 19th to the 21st century. They have changed significantly over time. The fact that the children carefully write down their wishes has not been a custom for very long. How the relationship between parents and children, the social situation, the distribution of wealth have developed – all of this is reflected in the wish lists.
It begins in the 19th century with so-called “Christmas wishes” – handwritten letters to parents with a poem. “These were an exercise for the children and at the same time a gift to the parents – combined with the fact that they not only had to describe these wonderful leaves, but also had to learn the text by heart,” explains Alix Paulsen from the Husum Christmas House. The parents used the letters to check whether memorization was successful. “Probably only then were the children allowed to take a look at the Christmas table.”
First World War: Soldier angel on wish list form
After the First World War, the soldier angel disappeared from the wish list form.
It was only around 1890 that wish lists came into fashion through the toy industry and retailers. You can tell from many of these forms what time period they come from. An example from the First World War shows an angel as a soldier. When the war is over, the soldier angel also disappears. Desires also change. In 1916, a boy named Alf's third wish was peace.
The families' economic situation was also reflected in the wish lists. On a torn out piece of paper that is not complete, a child wishes for a cookie, some paper, and some pencils.
Post-war period: wishes become international
Brisk design: wish list from 1957
When the economy slowly started to improve after 1945, this also had an impact on the gifts. When parents have more money, children can want more. A previously unknown variety of possibilities is opening up – the economic miracle can be found on the wish lists. It was also exciting to see how the wishes suddenly became international in the post-war period, says Paulsen. “Things come in that didn’t play a role before, for example a college portfolio or a Titi shirt. These are things that you definitely haven’t been confronted with before.”
For some, yesterday's wish lists may be nothing but paper waste. For Alix Paulsen, however, the history of the small papers contains the history of the big world.
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