Top 18+ vintage Christmas Eve photographs that are a blast from the past
2) Opening the stockings
Another old-school Christmas Eve tradition is opening either one present or "the stockings hung by the chimney with care," as this adorable throwback action shot proves.
8) Caroling
Is there anything cuter at Christmastime than chubby-cheeked kiddos bundled up in knit caps and scarves caroling? Judging by this darling black-and-white photo from the 1950s, we think not!
10) Skating
If this beautiful photo from 1910 is any indication, there may be nothing more romantic than ice skating on a frozen pond with your sweetheart on Christmas Eve.
15) Roasted chestnuts
"Chestnuts roasting on an open fire" is an enduring and iconic holiday image, thanks to "The Christmas Song," a classic written in 1944. The piping hot treats were certainly big business in 1946, as crowds lined up to buy them from street vendors everywhere.
17) Nativity scene
Visiting a live Nativity scene on Christmas Eve is a meaningful way to spend the evening. In this photograph from 1976, choir members sing in front of a living Nativity presented by the King of Glory Lutheran Church in Arvada, Colorado.
18) Church services
Like so many Americans, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who served in the Oval Office from 1933 until 1945, made time to attend Christmas Eve services. Here, he is pictured arriving at St. Thomas Church with Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt and his mother, Mrs. Sara Delano Roosevelt.
