Remembering Pandemic Christmas of 1918
Doddridge County’s citizens are ramped up for Christmas 2023. Life has returned to normal for most of us, except for the pain and void of lost loved ones. Families with small children will put on a smile and determinedly do their best to make certain their families celebrate the best Christmas ever. Still, others will be remembering loved ones lost to the recent pandemic as Christmas comes and goes.
Perhaps in appreciation of the healthier Christmas we have this year, it is important to remember the Pandemic Christmases of the past.
Did you know that more people died of the Spanish Flu which lasted 15 months than died in the four years of the Bubonic Plague from 1347-1351? While that is no comfort to those who lost loved ones to this recent COVID-19, there are some lessons learned from 1918. There are some important similarities between the two such as the fact that both are animal viruses that made the jump to humans. That means they are novel for the given population. Also, the mode of transmission is identical: primarily droplets, some airborne, maybe some fomite (transmission from contact with objects) – nobody knows how much. The fact that they are both primarily respiratory viruses. But less known is the fact that the 1918 virus infected practically every organ, much like COVID 19. There were notable neurological impacts and cardiovascular events – they were common. It’s been noted that even the testes can be affected. That was true in 1918 as well. That’s very unusual and certainly not the case for other influenza viruses.
There are some differences as well. They have a different target demographic. In 1918, roughly 95% of the excess mortality was people under 65. Of course, that’s the opposite of COVID-19. The duration of the two. COVID-19 moves much more slowly than the influenzas, whether it’s the incubation period, how long you shed the virus, or how long you’re sick. COVID-19 caused more stress on the economy because of the duration. Also, the rapidity of the virus’s spread and its severity. In 1918, it was many times more virulent.
Like our recent one, December 1918 found America doing its best to control a heartbreaking pandemic, except they were also dealing with the aftermath of World War 1. Death and despair were no stranger to the American people during that pandemic Christmas.
It should have been a momentous time for our parents and grandparents. The Treaty of Versailles was signed and one of the greatest wars the world had ever known was finally over. Our sons and daughters, our fathers and husbands, brothers and sisters were coming home.
Like COVID-19, it was the end of the year 1918 and the year was not going to let the world off that easy. The Spanish Flu Pandemic was still raging wild throughout the world. Death seemed to be lurking at every door. Like COVID-19, the Spanish Flu was highly contagious in nature. Reports said that most cases seemed to be mild, but that was debated by both scientists and by those who lost loved ones to it or nearly lost their own lives after catching it.
Leaders urged families to heed great caution regarding gathering for the Holidays. You may have thought that the controversy over wearing or not wearing a mask rose from the COVID-19 Pandemic. Not so, Americans debated the effectiveness of the mask even in 1918. The warning was received about as well as it is received today. I’ll leave that topic for others more qualified than myself to debate.
Some reports told of family reunions and large dinners with friends boasting of a large attendance. Even the YWCA reported that they had a “good attendance.”
Then, there is the business side of Christmas. Holiday shopping was as normal as most other years, despite the Spanish Flu Pandemic. They did not limit hours of operation, nor did they demand that masks be worn during shopping at their establishments. Some stores held an anti-mask sentiment for fear they looked too scary for other customers. For much the same reason, they did not tell their customers to social distance while they were shopping at the stores. However, many businesses did offer delivery to those who were too afraid to go out in public.
I wondered about the famous Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. I found that it didn’t begin until 1924, and we all know that Black Friday was not even a concept at that time.
A list was given to help combat the Spanish Flu Pandemic, perhaps they sound familiar to you. (Common knowledge today because our parents as well as our teachers taught us such things.):
1. Avoid needless crowding – influenza is a crowd disease.
2. Smother your coughs and sneezes – others do not want the germs that you would throw away.
3. Your nose, not your mouth, is made to breathe through – get the habit.
4. Remember the 3 C’s – clean mouth, clean skin, and clean clothes.
5. Try to keep cool when walking and warm when you ride and sleep.
6. Open windows – always at home at night, and the office when practicable.
7 .Food will win the war if you give it a chance – help by choosing and showing your food well.
8. Your fate may be in your hands – wash your hands before eating.
9. Don’t let the waste products of digestion accumulate – drink a glass or two of water on getting up.
10. Don’t use a napkin, towel, spoon, fork, glass, or cup which has been used by another person and not washed.
11. Avoid tight clothes, tight shoes, tight gloves – seek to make nature your ally not your prisoner.
12. When the air is pure, breathe all of it you can – breathe deeply.
Most of the people did comply. Some credit the compliance with the fact that the 20th-century public was familiar with diseases. Many had lost children to diphtheria or were forced to watch the suffering of family members from the dreaded polio. In some areas, most public health departments wore badges and had police powers, and this was generally uncontroversial. They had the power to forcibly quarantine you or put you in a quarantine station on an island.
Municipalities determined what public activities were allowed. The people were confused about their own choices about how to celebrate the holidays. They became weary of the pandemic just as we did with COVID-19.
A couple of good things could be said about 1918, it would be that World War 1 was over and America’s soldiers were either home or on their way home, and by the end of that year the Spanish Flu Pandemic was waning. The proverbial light at the end of the tunnel was in sight.
In the end, the pandemic of 1918 took the lives of 50,000,000 people throughout the world. In the USA alone, the total deaths reached 675,000. However, America did return to normal as time went by just as we are today. Those families who lost loved ones to that pandemic never forgot to remember them at Christmas and even other holidays where an empty seat remained for the rest of their lives.
Comparing the similarities between 1918 and the recent pandemic might make the reader feel a little melancholy or even deeply unsettled. Don’t let that be the case. Remember that the great Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918 did eventually come to an end, and most of us feel the COVID-19 Pandemic has ended. Life did eventually return to normal in 1918, and it appears that the world is slowly putting COVID-19 in the rearview mirror as well. Today it seems to have the strength of the flu, and while it may take a while to put the nightmare of COVID-19 behind us, many Americans say they shall never bend to the whims of those who profess to know best.
May a healthy 2023 Christmas bring all the love and happiness to everyone throughout 2024 and for many years to come.
God Bless and Merry Christmas
Patricia Richards Harris