A Female Santa in London department store. In 1942 Chicago became the first U.S. city to have a female Santa.
World War II brought many changes to Christmas traditions on the home front. Many Americans replaced freshly chopped trees with new American-made artificial Visca trees. They threw away their German and Exotic Japanese made decorations and bought Shiny Brite ornaments made by Corning Glass Works in New York or created homemade ornaments. Families put together care packages of homemade cards, candies, and cookies to be sent in advance to servicemen who wouldn’t be home for Christmas, and of course, the addition of holiday classics White Christmas and I’ll Be Home For Christmas. But the most unusual result of fewer men at home for the holidays was the appearance of female department store Santa.
