Talk:Christmas in July

TV?

"Christmas In July" is in reference to TV shows, which go into reruns in the summer months. The month of July typically recieves the rerun episodes that first ran in December, thus all the July shows are in "Christmas." It's not a real celebration and stores don't use it for advertising. It's a cute observation of how television works (or worked in the past) in the US. -mpb

In my experience as a lifelong resident of the United States, the phrase "Christmas in July" is exclusively used by retailers advertising summer sales, and has never been celebrated by anyone, anywhere. If in fact there are people who celebrate "Christmas in July", the author needs to document who and where these people are. Thailand? Mongolia? The Falklands? Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada, maybe? A citation would help, too. --DavidConrad 02:59, 3 August 2005 (UTC)

That is twice in one day that I embarrassed myself on WP. The smarmy, sarcastic tone of the above comment was entirely uncalled for. --DavidConrad 02:30, 5 August 2005 (UTC)

Duel purpose

Perhaps the phrase "Christmas in July" may refer to a ploy used by retailers as well as an unofficial get together in July. Nevertheless if this is the case then perhaps the author should eleborate more clearly. --StevenL 15:28, 3 August 2005 (UTC)

Dual or not to Duel

That is the question i put to StevenL. Also that Scandinavian bit about "Jul" just happening to be the abbreviation for July is just silly. There is no connection. Way to fail etymology.

Found Using Google

Found a Christmas in July Festival and linked it. --StargateX1 2:05, 3 August 2005 (PST)

Wondering Why it Celebrated my many Brenay (talk) 08:10, 6 July 2020 (UTC)

Australian use

I'll leave the US usage dispute up to someone who knows about it, but I've added a sentence about how the term is used in Australia. JPD 15:21, 14 September 2005 (UTC)

I do not know to what extend it is celebrated, but for what it's worth: at a hotel in Australia (near Mackay, Queensland), there was a small christmas tree on 20 July 2005. When I asked about it, I was told, this was a"Christmas in July" thing. I had the impression there was no specific day of celebrations, but this was at least not a marketing thing, but a genuine attempt to bring a mood of Christmas in the July winter. 145.99.148.36 00:49, 13 March 2006 (UTC)

It is really not heavily celebrated. Some establishments and organisations might do it, but most do not. I had heard of it (chatted about on TV magazine programs) through the 1990s but never actually saw much evidence of these celebrations in real life. The WP article I believe is misleading in claiming that Christmas in July is so Australians may partake in roasted meats and plumb pudding: Australians eat cooked food and roasted meats every week of the year and do not need a made-up holiday to allow them to do it!!! And if anyone wanted a hot sweet they would just eat it! Really since the 1990s the only real mention I have ever seen of Christmas in July is in the Big Brother TV series! Asa01 20:20, 5 November 2006 (UTC)

Hotel decorations, theme nights, and theme celebrations are a "marketing thing". Hotels are commercial entities, and decorations they put up and theme nights are part of their marketing - of themselves. It is all done to get drinkers in. Asa01 20:44, 5 November 2006 (UTC)

This article's claim that the term "half Christmas" is used certainly does not show up in a google search. The two matches I found seemed to repeat the exact text of this article (no, they're not mirror sites either). July is next month let's see if any references show up in that time... Format 00:40, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

I tagged this article with the "globalize/Northern" template because it is very heavily slanted towards the northern hemisphere and there is no reason for this to be the case. Furthermore, there was some southern-hemisphere content that has been deleted for no good reason. From the edit history, it appears that someone has seen fit to tag the southern-hemisphere content (and just the southern-hemisphere content) with the "fact" template and then the content has been deleted. This is fine, except the northern-hemisphere content has not been similarly challenged and verified using the same stringent criteria for review. The whole article has very few references, so surely the whole article is similarly suspect. Perhaps we should just tag and then delete the rest of the article as well, considering that the rest of the article is unreferenced and has not yet been subject to the same scrutiny?

The whole Australian content has been summarily deleted without much apparent made to verify the content independently. (Don't people know how to use a search engine anymore?) Google returns 36,000 hits for the phrase "christmas in July" Australia (note the quotes) and 10,000 for the phrase "christmas in July" "New Zealand". That many hits is usually a good sign that verifiable references are available online for the asking. (For the record, "christmas in july" USA OR "United States" returns 77,000 hits, and a Google search returning 1,000 hits is often good enough to pass the "notability" test in RFD discussions.)

Sometime in the next week I will provide proof. The camera never lies. ;)

Christmas in July promotional banner in Melbourne, Australia.

I'm not very good at providing references, but a few Google hits should be good enough to demonstrate that Christmas in July does exist in Australia: 1 2 3 4 5 6 These references seem to suggest that not only does Christmas in July exist in Australia, it originated in Australia (in the Blue Mountains in New South Wales) and was started by a group of Irish tourists in 1980. -- B.D.Mills  (T, C) 12:01, 15 June 2008 (UTC)

Addendum - As promised, here is a photograph showing a "Christmas in July" banner. -- B.D.Mills  (T, C) 01:55, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

Found more, looks legit

I found more references to it. It certainly isn't as widely known or celebrated as Christmas, but I think this is legit. It's probably more used as a marketing tool than as a holiday in the US, but so what? That just means it's more a marketing tool in the US, and we should clearly say so. I know of people in the US who have celebrated it, though. And there seem to be many southern hemisphere references (which makes sense; traditional "wintertime" activities around Christmas would need to wait 1/2 a year to do in many places in the southern hemisphere). -- Dwheeler 16:07, 23 September 2005 (UTC)

But it's clear that some people do celebrate it, at least as a novelty. I've modified the text to make its marketing role in the US clearer, and to make it VERY clear that many people don't celebrate it... and of those who do, it's still less important than Christmas. Perhaps now that it's modified we can remove the "disputed" marker. -- Dwheeler 16:27, 23 September 2005 (UTC)

July 2007

At the end of July 2007 I'm going to delete the Australia section and all its unreferenced conjecture - if no references surface by then. Since it is July now, you'd think some references would be floating about the newspapers if there was anything to actually report on. Format 07:51, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Very Late July 2007

Two possible references:

These might provide some credence to the Australian story as well as to the commercial nature of the holiday.

http://www.bluemountainsaustralia.com/categories.asp?id=476 http://www.mountainheritage.com.au/yulefest.htm

Leah from Australia said this when posting those:

I'm unsure of the exact origin of Christmas in July but I understand that it may have had something to do with tourism campaigns for the parts of Australia that have a cold winter (even some of them with snow). It was a way to encourage visitors during the cold grey days of winter (much like Kathie mentioned).

For people like me in Sydney the Blue Mountains has been "celebrating" Yulefest (Christmas in July) for over 25 years.

Warm regards Leah

68.231.59.109 23:00, 26 July 2007 (UTC)

Dont get the two confused, "christmas in july" usually refers to a retail campaign while Midwinter Christmas and Yulefest refer to the Cultural festivities. Some thing 02:56, 27 July 2007 (UTC)

The links don't really show how notable or widespread these celebrations are. They are marketing an themed evening at a reastaurant in the hope that punters will pay attend and eat. That in itself does not prove much. (Actual Christmas itself is hardly a reastaurant event anywya) Format 21:53, 27 July 2007 (UTC)

It certainly is real

Christmas-In-July is certainly celebrated in Australia, in quite a few places and quite a few houses. More in the snowfields of the Australian Alps where it has become a strongly established tradition tied into July being the High Season for our Winter snow falls. It is also celebrated in other parts of the nation and not necessarily where they have a cold winter. My local Community Centre (metropolitan Adelaide, South Australia) has celebrated the event with a community social night annually since 2000 and each year I have had the pleasure of being their Santa 'visiting as a break from the pressures of toymaking'. Some people claim that the origins dates back to the early '80s and started by homesick UK expats and held in the Blue Mountains area around Sydney, New South Wales. It certainly has been known to me for many years though only in later years has it become commercialised to the extent that Christmas decorations are often available in specialty stores to celebrate the event. There isn't any particular date attached to it, just sometime in July that is convenient.

Other stories claim that it began in fundamental Christian churches as a backlash to the commercialisation of Christmas and the general community putting Santa on a pedestal and forgetting that the Gift-Giver was supposed to be Christ. So Christmas In July to them means a Christ-focussed event without a Santa nor reindeer to distract from the 'reason behind the season'.

I have been told of this religious link by other non-Australian Santa's but have not seen anything to prove or disprove this claim. I have never seen anything like this in this country, maybe it is an overseas experience?

Cheers, Santa Ian Iloxton 08:25, 7 August 2007 (UTC)

No one said "It wasn't real". Only that the section was stuffed with unreferenced conjecture, eg. the claim that Christmas in July was bolstered because Christmas episodes of international TV series screen n Australia around July (and they don't always screen in July anyway). A standard WP rule is that information must have credible external reference. This establishes the fact, and can also act as a barometer of notability (if something is celebrated by so few people that no reference can be found that mentions it, then maybe it isn't notable enough for a WP article.) Format 19:18, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

Article looks like blah!

I think this article needs some serious clea up. It reads like a talk page!--Coffeegirlyme (talk) 20:27, 8 May 2008 (UTC)

I agree. It's in very poor shape at the moment. Sentences like "With Christmas generally comes gift-giving and much holiday cheer" and "many people crave the atmosphere of cooler temperatures, gift giving, and holiday spirit" do nothing to help the cause.Jimjamjak (talk) 18:48, 16 December 2008 (UTC)

Merge Proposal

Christmas in July promotional banner in Melbourne, Australia.

I propose that the article Midwinter Christmas be merged into this article. The term "Midwinter Christmas" for the southern-hemisphere "Christmas in July" is incorrect. The attached image shows this very clearly. As both articles are currently written it is not possible to use this image in either. Discussion for this merge proposal is located here: Talk:Midwinter_Christmas#Merge_Proposal. -- B.D.Mills  (T, C) 01:53, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

One example from Melbourne doesn't prove the point, here in New Zealand it's always known as Midwinter Christmas for example; here, here, and here for example (there are many more). While it may make sense to name the article Christmas in July (I imagine for those in the Northern Hemisphere the term Midwinter Christmas doesn't really convey the concept, since to them Christmas is Midwinter anyway) but I'm adding it as an alternative name.Number36 (talk) 21:15, 18 June 2014 (UTC)

St Jude's Children Research

I have a feeling that this whole Christmas in July was started by St. Jude's Children Research Hospital in Memphis, Tn. It sadly started out as a way to have a Christmas type celebration in the middle of the year for all the children there that might not make it to the regular Chrismas. I have found reference to it in a 1971 A.P. artical that mentions it was the first time that St Jude's did not have a Christmas in July in 8 years. AP Press Release —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.136.221.191 (talk) 00:51, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

Found the whole story Memphis Magazine —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.136.221.191 (talk) 01:59, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

Why Australian and New Zealand Stub?

I can't speak for New Zealand but I've never heard about Christmas in July in Australia, the shops don't even promote it either. This isn't something I've ever heard of anyone celebrating. 122.104.165.13 (talk) 18:15, 26 July 2008 (UTC)

Proof's in the Pudding

For those who've never heard of it, here's a small number of the links I found when I googled it. Just because you haven't heard of it, doesn't mean it doesnt happen!

http://www.santaswarehouse.com.au/history_of_christmas/christmas_in_july.shtml

http://www.bluemountainswonderland.com.au/experience.php?id=4

http://www.bcl.com.au/shop/christmasinjuly.htm

http://www.southerndownsholidays.com.au/brass-monkey-season/christmas-in-july.cfm

http://www.captaincook.com.au/home.asp?pageid=1661f5dd27c61ddc&cruiseid=41C4AA429CF56AD9 203.158.43.170 (talk) 08:58, 28 March 2009 (UTC)

The phrase is "The proof of the pudding is in the tasting", not "proof's in the pudding". — Walloon (talk) 03:16, 22 May 2009 (UTC)

Weather analogy

Technically, if one wanted to hold an event to mark the halfway point in between consecutive Christmases, one should hold the event on June 24 (Midsummer in Europe, Nativity of St. John the Baptist for Catholics), which is seven days before the month of July. Thus, theoretically, the name should be "Christmas in June". However, Christmas and December are generally equated with colder temperatures and in the Northern Hemisphere the average temperatures in July are generally higher than those in June, thus the name Christmas in July is appropriate.

Not really — it still doesn't make sense by hottest/coldest analogy. In the Northern Hemisphere, July is generally the hottest month, and January is generally the coldest month. If we were to pair off months, December is the the third-coldest month of winter, and June is the third-warmest month of summer. "Christmas in June" is more appropriate both as the mid-point between Christmases, and as the weather opposite of Christmas in December. — Walloon (talk) 03:25, 22 May 2009 (UTC)

Julijuli?

It is a popular theme in the Scandinavian countries, probably because it translates so well: "Jul i juli", literally "Yule in July". I always it was nordic tradition because it just fits so well etymological. 192.100.130.7 (talk) 12:20, 22 December 2011 (UTC)

'Christmas in July' is a Second Christmas Celebration held on the Last Weekend in July

I tweaked... Christmas in July is a second Christmas celebration held on the last weekend in July. 73.85.202.215 (talk) 18:49, 25 July 2020 (UTC)

We have a candle business. 7 seas candles. What do we need to do to get a spot to sell ours candles. Valerie Grover 7seascandlesmyshopify.com thank you 2603:6081:5402:4C50:A0DE:DB04:CB3D:BE4E (talk) 13:11, 30 March 2024 (UTC)

Merger from Draft?

New article in Draft has a few more sections, refs. Draft:Summer Christmas Merge? Bogger (talk) 11:45, 23 August 2020 (UTC)

Cross calendar

At some point, the difference between the Julian and Gregorian calendars will make a December 25 by one calendar during the July of the other calendar.

הראש (talk) 02:23, 20 March 2023 (UTC)

Controversies source paywalled and doesn’t provide info about Lil Baby

The paywalled source is an article currently listed as source 26 (New York Times "Christmas in July", 1956) and is cited in the Controversies section. Without looking, I know it doesn't provide info about Lil Baby, as it was written in 1956.

Also, the way the first sentence is written makes it sound like Lil Baby is a philosopher. As far as I'm aware, he's not; regardless, a source should be added about his statement.

I'll see what I can find. Anyone else have a better source(s) for the Controversies section? Warm Yellow Sunflower (talk) 23:29, 24 March 2023 (UTC)

I'm an idiot. Disregard. Someone added the section in poor taste/bad joke. Warm Yellow Sunflower (talk) 23:34, 24 March 2023 (UTC)