Christmas is a season outside of time. Each holiday is new and fresh while at the same time connecting u to every other Christmas we’ve ever known. So each holiday season brings with it not just joyful moments but a generous helping of the past.

Norman Rockwell
December 25, 1948

J.C. Leyendecker
December 24, 1938

George Hughes
December 6, 1958

Amos Sewell
December 11, 1954

Richard Sargent
December 7, 1957
Christmas planning can be a joy, but it often veers towards comedy. In the hands of Post cover artists, the experience is presented in equal parts delight, misery, and silliness.

Constantin Alajálov
December 23, 1950

George Hughes
December 1949

Richard Sargent
December 19, 1959
If the windup to Christmas is hectic and exhausting, John Falter’s cover reminds us what an amazing spectacle the holiday is to children. In their cautious, pajama’d descent down the staircase at first light, one can almost feel their joy that, after weeks of longing and anticipation, the magical day has finally arrived.

John Falter
December 24, 1955

Ben Kimberly Prins
December 27, 1958
This article is featured in the November/December 2019 issue of The Saturday Evening Post. Subscribe to the magazine for more art, inspiring stories, fiction, humor, and features from our archives.
Featured image and artwork: SEPS.
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great!