THE PERSEVERING SPIRIT OF THE SEASON

A look back in photos of holiday scenes in Chicago

The holidays, with all their warmth, sparkle, feasting and fellowship— gift shopping headaches and family squabbling notwithstanding— nourish us each year aswe brace ourselves for the full-blown austerity of winter. But this year is different. This year is hard.

Instead of smelling the delights of seasonal markets, reveling in theater singalongs, packing houses ofworship to hear choirs and invading each other’s homes for merrymaking, we have been forced to delay, to adapt, to sacrifice, to tolerate. But all of our celebrations and the many special things we do at this time of year will eventually return, perhaps even changed for the better and with newways of generating light in the seasonal darkness.

With that yearning in mind, photo editor Marianne Mat her, who oversees the cu ration of vintage images for Flashback, delved into the Tribune’s archives for a selection of photos that reflect some of the best things the season has to offer. They are a reminder of why this time of year means so much to so many of us.

Let’s not forget those joys: strolling down Michigan Avenue and State Street amid throngs of shoppers. Gawking at twinkling Christmas trees and decorations in the company of other light-struck celebrators. Seizing upon the perfect gift at a street market. Watching children brighten in the presence of Santa and secretly wishing we were as swept away. Witnessing the power of a charitable heart. Making an annual visit to the magical Walnut Room. Tapping our feet to the thrum of a parade. Hearing voices harmonize in their sacred mission of lifting spirits.

They will return. Until then, celebrate safely in anyway you can and carry on.

CHICAGO HERALD AMERICAN Christmas shopping caused a traffic jam in the Loop in December 1952 as thousands converged on stores, including Mandel Brothers, background, at the corner of State and Madison.

CHICAGO HERALD AND EXAMINER Mary JoeWolf, 3, is shown in the arms of Santa Claus, alias Isaac Newman, while her mother, J. A. Wolf, shops in Chicago, circa Dec. 20, 1930.

LUIGI MENDICINO/CHICAGO TRIBUNE Leonard Piggee, 5, beams with his new doggie given to him by a Good Fellow at Altgeld Gardens on Dec. 19, 1957.

CHICAGO TRIBUNE HISTORICAL PHOTO Workmen install a giant 45 foot-tall Christmas tree in Marshall Field’sWalnut Room on Nov. 20, 1959, in the State Street store in Chicago.

LEONARD BARTHOLOMEW/CHICAGO TRIBUNE Pompom girls from Lyons Township High School in La Grange perform in the Christmas Parade in November 1963 at State and Van Buren streets. Supporting jolly old Santa’s star billing were nearly 3,000 participants.

SWAIN SCALF/ CHICAGO TRIBUNE A Maxwell Street vendor tries to entice late Christmas shoppers with ornaments and dolls on Dec. 24, 1944.