Americans celebrated Christmas a century ago, during a previous epidemic, with similar concerns to the modern day, including whether to reunite with loved ones and the risk of a fatal infection.
But, in 1918, World War I ended and many soldiers went home for the holidays to see the family. And the federal government is less prominent than that, and in 1946 the U.S. The establishment of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is still decades away, with states and local municipalities enforcing various restrictions across the country.
America 1918 Spanish illuminating the principles of the Spanish flu epidemic
The second wave of the so-called Spanish flu hit the U.S. in November. Was seen in, but the epidemic was far away, and the third wave hit the U.S. the following year. Will reach cities. Still, November 11 brought reason to celebrate Armistice Day – and some complained that churches were closed while saloons remained open, according to Smithsonian magazine.
Milwaukee, Viz., Home to the German and Norwegian immigrant populations that were deeply observed at the time, residents complained that churches were closed for special exceptions on Christmas day, and churches were served.
In the December 21, 1918, issue of the Ohio State Journal, the state’s acting health commissioner warned people to be “wary of miscellaneous” by recommending that flu fighters be given “kissless leave.” He also warned against attending parties or gatherings as he saw the risk of bringing the infection home to the family.
“Instead of paying the best annual Christmas visits for dad and mom, brother, sister and the rest of them this year, you’ll be sticking to your home, showing family reunions and parties,” the commissioner said. Time. “It goes against what we choose to do not celebrate the holiday season … and yet we shouldn’t do it. It hurts me to say that.”
In this November 1918 photo, made available by the Library of Congress, a nurse takes a patient’s pulse in the influenza ward of Verter Reed Hospital in Washington. In 1918, U.S. Thousands of soldiers died in World War I and hundreds of thousands of Americans died in flu pandemics. Compared to 1917, deaths that year increased by 46%. (Harris & Evening / Library of Congress AP, via file)
(AP)
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The Influenza Encyclopedia, a project edited by historian Howard Markel and created by the University of Michigan Center for History Medicine in Medicine, compiles century-old newspaper clippings that give an understanding of what life was like for Americans.
In the December 24, 1918 issue of the Omaha Daily Bee, the day before Christmas, the Nebraska State Board of Health classified Spanish influenza as a “contagious disease.” In Omaha, at least 500 homes were segregated and no one living in a house where there was a single case of the flu was “not allowed to go out for four days after the fever subsided.”
The newspaper wrote that “large blue cards are being printed to equip homes instead of the existing ‘voluntary’ cards, indicating only risk.” Any violation of the quarantine order is punishable by a fine of થી 15 to 100.
The country’s population was much smaller than it is today – in 1915 the U.S. Only 103.2 million people lived in, compared to about 328.2 million today. And the Spanish flu will kill approximately 757575,000 people in the United States before the epidemic finally subsided in 1919. It killed about 50 million people worldwide, and infected about a third of the world at the time.
“Without any vaccine to protect against influenza infection and no antibiotics for the treatment of secondary bacterial infections associated with influenza infection, control efforts around the world have been limited to non-pharmaceutical interventions such as isolation, quarantine, good personal hygiene, sterilization, germs.” Limitations of meetings, which were applied unevenly, ”according to the CDC.
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During that period, many American families may be concerned about losing a child to diphtheria or seeing a loved one suffering from polio, so generally more people were willing to follow the instructions of the public health department whose officers sometimes wore badges and had police authority. In some cases, the authorities had the power to forcibly quarantine you or put you in a quarantine station on an island, according to Smithsonian Magazine.
More than 116,000 Americans lost their lives during World War I, many of them after contracting influenza. But with men returning from the European battlefields and other military bases, the country as a whole rejoiced after the victory of democracy over dictatorship.
As World War I ended in November 1918, American soldiers were excited to hear that Armistice had been signed. They are located in the northeast of Saint Mihil, France. Similar celebrations took place along the same lines where Americans were engaged in no aggressive work. (AP photo)
In the December 12, 1918, issue of the Boston Globe, the Boston Department of Health warned of the need to gather for the holidays, given the increase in Victory Day crowds and post-Thanksgiving cases.
Even in San Francisco, known for one of the worst epidemics and the strictest ban, people took to the streets on November 11 to celebrate Armistice, which came to stop the transition toward the end of the citywide mask mandate. When the case resumed during the Christmas period, city officials wanted to enforce the order, but people opposed it.
Businesses suffering from economic losses were eager for the expected Christmas shopping business – however, the tone and restrictions on such activities vary from place to place.
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For example, December 20, 1918, Spokane, and Wash. The Spokesman-Review issue, published in, warned that an inspector would have to be sworn in by the city at the city health office but would be paid by the store for not being assured by shoppers. Crowd aisles. This contradicts the issue of the Salt Lake Tribune of December 21, 1918, which encouraged shopkeepers to give store patterns after practicing “great frugality and economy” over the past year.
“We can all pull out a few clues this season of the year. The Lord has enriched us as a nation, and we don’t have to pinch and tear both purses and hearts during the holidays. But let’s not forget that the Red Cross needs money.” Is to continue its big work with which, ”the issue said.
Diary entries show that while people still mourn the loss of traditional celebrations, they probably did not pay close close relatives, as it was more common for extended families to live close to the same home or the same – while more Americans live today. Away from their homeland.
