Ugly Christmas Sweater Day
It is bitterly cold much of the year in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, and Denmark, especially for people in the days before electricity and indoor plumbing. They needed to keep warm while working outdoors in the cold, wind, and snow, herding sheep, catching fish, and chopping down trees. The first of what Americans commonly call sweaters were simple garments worn as an extra layer to keep warm during the harsh winters. Most were made of wool, the natural fiber that keeps us warm by trapping our body heat and preventing it from escaping. Wool sweaters were also light and flexible enough to not hinder anyone performing physical work.
Long before spinning wheels and looms, people knitted sweaters by hand
It kept them busy during the long, cold nights. With all those people hand-knitting sweaters throughout the long, cold winters, it was only natural that some knitters began to weave simple stripes into their sweaters. That was a good idea, so they added some more stripes that crossed the others, and here come the plaids.
The Scots knitted intricate plaids
Each clan had its own pattern of stripes crossed with narrow bands of various colors. Clan Campbell is said to have been the first to tilt their tartan’s pattern of intersecting squares until the squares became diamonds. They named the diamond-shaped pattern after Argyll, the region they ruled. The design was primarily used in socks back in the days when heavy woolen socks came up to the knee.
Simple at first, patterns would become more intricate
This original hand-knit Norwegian sweater is called the lusekofte, named for its repeating stitch. The traditional black and white design dates from the 19th century. The design below was based upon a rose with eight petals but is now a symbol of winter because it resembles a snowflake.
The next stage in sweater design
Imaginative people began knitting colorful images like the snowflake from the winter world around them — snowmen, skis, and evergreen trees. Winter themes would quite naturally morph into bold and brightly-colored winter-holiday-themed sweaters, a category broadly called Christmas sweaters.
Here come Santa sweaters, Rudolph, Dasher, Dancer and the gang, Santa’s sleigh, Christmas trees, cute little elves (uncredited), candy canes, and gift-wrapped packages with big bows. These Christmas sweaters were considered festive until someone decreed henceforth they would be called Ugly Christmas Sweaters. And of course, they don’t have to be Christmas sweaters, just winter sweaters.
The tide goes out
And the tide comes back in. Historians say bold holiday sweaters made a comeback when Andy Williams, Perry Como, and Mitch Miller wore them on TV throughout the Thanksgiving to New Year’s Eve holiday season. One popular explanation says Bill Cosby started the whole thing again back when he was considered to be a good guy. Other sources claim it was Clark Griswold in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Still others say it was Bridget Jones’ Diary that brought back Christmas sweaters.
There were surges in popularity, but Christmas sweaters never went away
They just keep on being discovered by the next wave of Young Moderns.
The third Friday of each December is National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day
This year it falls on Friday, December 20th. Lots of people go to Ugly Christmas Sweater Parties. They’re the theme of many fundraisers, too. Most Ugly Christmas Sweater Parties are good-humored competitions with prizes. Here are some things to keep in mind if you want to be on the podium this year.
Try smartsearching on Amazon
When I typed <ugly christmas sweaters> in Amazon’s search bar, I got 30,000 choices. That’s too many to look at so I typed <funny ugly christmas sweaters> and got 20,000. Still too many, so I typed <Christmas sweaters ugly funny light up> and found out there were still 3,000 choices. Like most people, I know that not everything sold on Amazon is of good quality. So I added <over $50> to screen out the rubbish and got 240 results. I did try <more than $100> but there were only three choices. You might want to try something in between.
Think outside the sweater
Don’t get hemmed in. You don’t have to buy one that’s been mass produced. Head for the craft store and buy things to glue, tape, staple, wire, and sew things to one of your sweaters. Ornaments, tinsel, and strings of Christmas tree lights are popular. Be one of the few to decorate your pants, shoes, hat, and gloves, too.
There’s another choice
There are many online sites that allow you to create your own custom ugly sweater, either printed or as a fully-knit sweater, your choice of materials, too. Here are three with nearly the same names: Uglychristmassweater.com and theuglysweatercompany.com and funnyuglychristmassweater.com.
Bonus
In 1920, Pringle of Scotland (not the potato chips in the tube) introduced the first argyle sweater. When the Duke of Windsor, top influencer in Great Britain, took to wearing Pringle’s patterned sweaters and socks while playing golf, argyle sweaters and socks went viral and Brooks Brothers took the idea back to the United States.
