Introduction
When World War Two broke out in September 1939, it was not uncommon in Britain to hear the remark, 'It'll all be over by Christmas!' - just as people had said that World War One would be over by Christmas 1914.
Unknown to people at the time, however, there would be five Christmases before May 1945, when this war was 'all over'. By that time the government's drive for maximum productivity had ensured that summer holidays were done away with, that Guy Fawkes' night had disappeared - the victim of blackout regulations - and that Easter eggs had disappeared, but at least the Christmas holiday still remained.
An excellent way, therefore, to study the home front in Britain during the war years is to take a look at how Christmas was celebrated during those years. It was celebrated all over Britain, in the towns and villages, on farms and in the cities, by rich and poor, old and young, so it can provide us with a series of varied annual snapshots, giving a picture of how conditions on the home front changed throughout the country, as the war progressed.
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