Heritage et AL

It’s that time of year again, the halls are decked and the streets are decorated. Ref: Eric W Young, Looking south along Queen Street..., 1980s, Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, 1021-52.

Well that time of year is nearly upon us and what better way to celebrate than to look back at Christmases past, through the heritage collections at Auckland Libraries. The clothes and hairstyles and locations might have changed a bit but we are still enjoying the same things at Christmas such as picnics at the beach and taking family photographs. Heritage et AL will be taking a break over the festive period but will be back on 20th January with more heritage stories and taonga (treasures) from the Auckland Libraries collections. Enjoy your Christmas an New Year holiday! Christmas cards: Ref: Footprints 05550, 'The Season's Greetings', Otahuhu, 1906, Photograph reproduced courtesy of Otahuhu Historical Society, South Auckland Research Centre You can see more heritage Christmas cards in the online exhibition from the Sir George Grey Special Collections . Getting ready for the holidays: Ref: AWNS-19140101-40-3, the Christmas rush at Auckland Station, 1914, Si...

Having trouble thinking of what to buy friends and loved ones? Starting to get a bit panicky about what to get? Beattie's Book Blog and the New Zealand Herald have some great books ideas including History, Biographies and Memoirs. And if you fancy getting crafty, you can create your own Family History book as gift for family members. Ref: D_GVD_0019, North Auckland Research Centre A Kiwi Christmas is something special and New Zealand History Online Nga korero a ipurangi o Aotearoa have put together some great resources about this festive time of year. This includes the history behind the day off on Christmas Day  - did you know that it wasn't always a public holiday?