Tag: Christmas

Boomers Watched Santa’s Progress On Radar

Tracking Santa Claus from the North Pole on Christmas Eve by radar is an example of a tradition that had its origins in the early boomer years, and which continues today. Radar had been used, in rudimentary forms, as far back as the late 1930s. World War II advanced the use and technology. It was during the war that radar operators noticed that weather patterns gave them a noise reading; through experimentation, a Doppler Radar system was developed that could be used by the National Weather Service in the early 1960s. But that is getting ahead of our story.

The Cold War was in full swing in the 1950s and radar technology stood at the front lines of our defense systems. When your opponent could launch a missile attack at any time, the more advanced your radar system was, the earlier warning you’d have to mount a counter-offensive. So went the conversation in the schoolyard.

The two seemingly-divergent radar paths — civilian and military use — met one day in December of 1955. The story begins in Colorado Springs, Colorado. A Sears Roebuck store ran an ad in the local newspaper that gave children a “Santa hotline” number to call on Christmas Eve. Instead of reaching Santa, the mistyped number connected callers to the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD). After receiving a few calls, Colonel Harry Shoup began telling children that even though they had the wrong number, they could rest assured that Santa was on his way because he was spotted on radar leaving the North Pole. The tradition was born and has continued from then on. In 1958, Canada and the United States jointly created the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD), which took over the duties of tracking Santa’s trek on Christmas Eve each year and reporting to TV stations. They would then air the report during the weather forecast. Of course, these days kids can track Santa’s progress online.

For young Mister Boomer, seeing the radar tracking of Santa Claus each year on the evening news seemed as commonplace as Cheerios and corn flakes in the morning. Of course NORAD could track Santa. Every schoolboy knew they were our military defense system.

The presentation of this “fact,” though, did leave much to be desired. Mister B recalls the station his parents watched most often, showed a visual that was supposed to be Santa on his sleigh, being pulled by reindeer, flying overhead on the radar screen. The program, broadcast in black and white, was received on the family’s Sylvania TV and displayed on the tube in dull shades of gray that echoed the Midwestern December sky. For a full fifteen seconds, there it was: a lightbox with a cut-out of Santa’s sleigh and reindeer casting a hazy shadow on the “radar” screen. The now-familiar sweeping radar arm turned clockwise around the screen, illuminating a white, circular light when it reached the twelve o’clock position. Even for a six year old, the presentation had the feel of a project a dad might make in his garage.

Another channel’s presentation was even worse: they didn’t even bother to project an image. Instead, they literally stuck a white silhouette directly on their “radar” screen. Santa’s position didn’t move. Santa couldn’t move. Yet these and countless other TV stations reassured boomer children that Santa was on his way, with lots of toys and goodies on his sleigh.

What memories of tracking Santa by radar can you recall, boomers?

Please note: This edited post was originally published by Mister Boomer on December 19, 2011.

Boomers Spend at Christmastime

Recently, Mister Boomer came across a statistic that stated the average American would spend more than $900 on gifts and holiday decorations this year. On the surface, it seems like a staggering sum for one individual, but on examination and comparison to what was happening in the boomer years of the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s, it’s all relative.

In 1940, before the War and before the beginning of the Baby Boom, the U.S. population was 132 million. Ten years later, the War was over and the Baby Boom was in full gear. The population grew to 159 million. That meant a lot of new families were celebrating Christmas in what they perceived as a modern way. Prior to World War II, nostalgia surrounding Christmas was dominated by scenes and traditions which originated in the Victorian era. By 1950, America was redefining its own identity along with the Baby Boom. Consequently, iconic Christmas imagery, like the Coca-Cola Santa Claus, flourished. That vision of Santa has now become the ultimate image of Old Saint Nick for the generations that followed. The commercial market greatly influenced the spending behavior of boomer parents.

In 1960, the population had ballooned to 180 million. The average income was just over $13,000, and boomer parents spent just over $300 on gifts that year. By the end of the boomer years, the population had crossed 190 million, but Christmas spending did not increase much, just to around $320 on average.

Regardless of how much boomer parents spent, though, they were determined to give their children a different Christmas experience than what they had. The parents of boomers had lived through the Great Depression and a World War. Why wouldn’t they spend whatever they felt they could manage? It turns out what they could manage amounted to between one and two weeks’ salary.

Many recall the 1960s and ’70s as a golden age for toys. Combined with television, which made dramatic inroads in sales during the 1950s and ’60s, toy makers could advertise directly in the homes of the boomers. Absorbing the commercials, boomers asked for the toys, and parents wanted to give them to their kids. At the same time, home decor became a thing for the average person, and that included modernizing the way Christmas was celebrated. Artificial trees, updated lighting, and shiny glass ornaments joined traditional family heirloom decorations to help create a new Christmas era for a new generation.

Mister Boomer recalls times when his brother and sister asked for the brand name toys advertised on TV (like an Erector set for Brother Boomer and a Chatty Cathy for his sister), and there were times when his parents did buy the brand (which obviously increased the spending). Still, the general rule for the family was to try to save whenever possible, and that often meant off-brand toys. In Mister B’s household, where his parents did spend more freely, was in food and beverages for guests. It was a time when family and friends would visit, and in those times, Mister B’s parents wanted to see to it that there was plenty to eat and drink.

Christmas spending this year, by comparison, also amounts to approximately one to two week’s of the average salary. So, the generations that followed boomers have continued to maintain similar levels of holiday spending. Regardless of spending, there is no doubt that the boomer years helped change the way Christmas is celebrated in the U.S. Whether one feels that is for the better or worse, is a question for each individual.

How about you, boomers? Were you aware of what level your parents were spending on gifts and decorations when you were a kid?