FOR those who lived through Christ-mases in the First and Second World Wars, the celebrations had an especially poignant flavour.

Christmas on the home front was an everyday battle for many, including evacuee children torn from their homes, housewives remaking clothes for the celebrations and doing conjuring tricks with ration coupons in anticipation of the return of their loved ones.

Yet the sheer determination to have a traditional Christmas – and not to take any notice of the bombs – was the stuff the British were made of.

Indeed, In December 1939, Picture Post Editor wrote: “Many people are asking ought we celebrate Christmas at all? There can be no doubt that we should think, not less, but more about Christmas – not only as an escape from the horrors of war, but as a remembrance of nobler ideals... In being cheerful we are paying our tribute to life itself, which must go on, and which, after all, is what man is fighting for.”

This gallant spirit is illustrated in a new Wartime Christmas Festival being held at the Tank Museum.

The inaugural event will take a step back in time to show how Christmas was celebrated on all sides during the two world wars and beyond.

Around 60 costumed re-enactors from around the country will be bringing the past to life, so don’t be surprised if you should happen upon a small crew of infantrymen trying to keep warm during the cold winter by making coffee out of snow, or a wartime policeman plodding the museum checking if anyone looks suspicious.

Event manager Nicky Croom said: “A lot of what we know about war time festivities came from letters or diaries, so it will have a real personal touch.

“The American G.I.s used to throw children’s parties in village halls and on airfields, for example, and we’re re-creating what these would have been like in the winter of 19944/45, complete with a G.I. Santa.”

Christmas was a great problem for the housewife. With most foods rationed and queues for everything else, many would save items all through the year. It may be bit of dried fruit one week, a tin of something the next.

The Ministry of Food published many leaflets giving seasonal best buys, but carrots seemed to be in good supply. A Dr Carrot advertising campaign highlighted their supposed role in improving night vision and preventing unnecessary accidents in the blackout.

In the absence of tropical fruits, carrots were also used to help flavour cakes, and as butter and margarine were so scarce, paraffin was used instead. Many of the wartime cakes were very plain, but often covered with cardboard made to look like an elaborate cake.

“We’ll have a 1940s housewife showing off her culinary skills, and you can see how a wartime kitchen was stocked. In our 1940s NAAFI we’ll be selling traditional treats such as aniseed balls and liquorice.”

Although some sweets were given as gifts, many people adopted a ‘make do and mend’ approach and made Christmas presents from things around the house. A typical offering would be a cushion cover made from an old shirt or blouse, while decorations could be made from newspapers or pipe cleaners.

A home front house at the Wartime Christmas Festival will give visitors a chance to see how people celebrated in their own homes, but there are also tales from the front line in other countries, too.

“A Christmas in the Trenches section illustrates how soldiers coped during the Great War, including the story of the 1914 truce when opposing sides would sing carols and even supposedly played a game of football.”

“There will be lots of things for children to do, and we hope to give a real insight into what Christmas was like before all the commercial trappings of today.

“Nowadays it’s all about getting the best presents, but even if just one child comes away thinking differently, then I will be pleased.”