Easter is fast approaching. As you dye your eggs and buy your chocolate bunnies, I’d
like you to take a moment to stop and think about the 1930s.
The 1930s?
Yes, the 1930s, the decade of the Great Depression,
the start of World War II and the golden age of Hollywood, which just happens
to be the setting for my novel Studio Relations. It's the story of Vivien Howard, a vivacious female director and Weston
Holmes, a handsome studio executive who must overcome their professional
differences to find love during Hollywood’s golden age.
The 1930’s also brought us a few Easter traditions.
Granted, the decade didn’t contribute as much to the way we celebrate Easter as
it did to the way we celebrate Christmas, but it did add a little something to
the springtime fun.
- Associating bunnies and eggs with Easter has been around for a long time, but did you know that jelly beans were first introduced into Easter tradition in the 1930s? They’d been available as a candy for many years, but for some reason their association with Easter was cemented in the 1930s.
-
The first Easter Seals, the sale of
which benefit services for the disabled, were introduced in 1934. The
organization had been around since 1919, but the seals themselves were not
introduced until 1934.
-
The song Easter Parade by Irving Berlin rose to prominence in 1933 as part
of a Broadway review. However, the Fred Astaire version we all know and love didn’t
arrive until 1948.
-
You can blame hollow chocolate bunnies
on the 1930’s. According to a Smithsonian.com article, advertisements for
hollow chocolate bunnies first appeared in newspapers in 1939. Debate still
rages as to whether solid or hollow are best.
So, as you enjoy another handful of jelly beans
while Easter Parade drifts out of the
stereo for the last time, please consider curling up with Studio Relations, a story set in the decade that started the hollow
bunny debate and these other Easter traditions.
10 comments:
I had no idea that jelly beans have been around for that long. Thanks for sharing the history about Easter.
Fun facts here. Good research here. Thanks for sharing at Party at My Place.
Wow, what a great tie in, with Easter and your book!
Thanks for the mini history lesson.
Friday Frivolity
I totally just watched Easter Parade this afternoon!!
Hi Georgie! Thank you for linking up with my No Rules Weekend Blog Party! I wanted to let you know that I've chosen your post as one of my Monday Special Features :)
If you'd like to take a look here's the link:
http://lifeasweknowitbypaula.blogspot.com/2016/03/monday-special-features_21.html
Have a wonderful week!
Paula
We DIG the vintage Easter scene!!! STOKED you linked up at Inspire Me Monday!!!
Who knew hollow bunnies had been around for that long?! Very interesting X
Such fun research and information! Thank you so much for sharing at #FridayFrivolity! I've been working on fictionalizing some of my family history as a gift to my grandmother... got any good tidbits for me about the 1910s or 1920s?? ;P
These are great traditions. I love the jelly beans! Thanks for doing this research.
Interesting.Thank you for sharing with us at #HomeMattersParty . We would love to have you again next week.
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