A picture is worth a thousand words and there are few things more mesmerising than that tradition of perusing old photograph albums.
As Hal Boyle (1971) put it:
Memory is more than a dustbin of time, stuffed with yesterday's trash. Rather, memory is a glorious grab at the past from which one can at leisure pluck bittersweet experiences of times gone by and relive them.
Christchurch City Libraries has a wealth of digitised photography, and who doesn't like a good trip down memory lane?
New Zealanders have been celebrating Christmas in style and with flair for many moons, so in the spirit of the season, here are some highlights from our Christmas Images collection:
Father Christmas delights Cantabrians whether arriving in his old fashioned automobile or in his blow up dinghy:
The fashion phenomenon of the onesie goes way back:
They dressed up for the occasion:
The tradition of the Christmas Parade in Christchurch began in the 1930's with T.J Armstrong & Co. Then around 1947, the Christchurch Santa Parade was launched by retailer James Hay. Hay's Christmas Parade was immensely popular with children and families:
Today, the custom continues:
- The Christchurch Santa Parade held on December 4th 2016.
- The New Brighton Santa Parade held on December 10th 2016.
Where to go to find more Christmas Images?
- Christchurch City Libraries' Christmas Images page.
- Kete Christchurch have collections of the New Brighton Christmas Parade and more.
- DigitalNZ have compiled an assortment of images from Santa Parades around the country.
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