The phenomenon of the "commercialized" Christmas and holiday season is thought to be a modern invention, one cooked up by retailers and driven by the devices of a greedy society, which is collectively continually searching for the perfect gift.

 So often today, we hear the older generation yearn for the past, an era gone by us when Christmas was not so much about game consoles and glitzy gifts as it was about spending time with kith and kin.

 But if one were to take a step backward in time to the days of Christmases past, the posters, advertisements and store windows of Bridgewater, the service centre of the LaHave River Valley at the end of the 19th century, might tell us a very different story.

 For you see, even amid the snow-covered dirt of Commercial Street, the very heart of old Bridgewater's riverfront business district, the Christmas season meant late nights, window shopping, displays aglow and a certain spirit of giving that was unique to that time of year.

 Trotting from store to store along the wooden sidewalks lining Commercial Street, children and adults would peer in windows, ponder purchases and wonder what products would most delight their senses.

 And, make no mistake, Bridgewater's merchants were well aware of the importance of Christmas to the life of their business, making special efforts to ensure that patrons, locals and travellers alike, knew what sorts of wares were available.

 The Patillo brothers, for example, wanted to make sure that every family in the region got the absolute best out of their Christmas season by shopping at their general store.

 As such, the brothers took out an edgy, eye-catching advertisement in local newspapers, saying, "If some of the melody does not get into your house, it will be because[,] like the foolish virgins, you waited 'til the eleventh hour."

 The meaning behind the advertising phrase, of course, was that if one waited too long to find the ideal gift for loved ones, the stockrooms of Bridgewater could be depleted and that ideal present may elude the late shopper altogether.

 Naturally, the Patillo Brothers store offered the perfect solution to shoppers, as they claimed to carry the very best in suspenders, street gloves, dress shirts, ties, handkerchiefs, silk mufflers, silk umbrellas and cardigans. The Patillos also had a healthy selection of warm wool ulsters or, as we know them today, fitted and belted overcoats.

 The Patillo Brothers store was, indeed, one of the select establishments in Bridgewater that could truly fit the need of virtually any customer, especially near the Christmas season.

 "The large and handsome store," they heartily declared, "is filled from cellar to roof with dry goods, haberdashery, gents' furnishings, clothing, rugs, curtains, fur goods and countless articles, which cannot fail to delight all who behold them."

 The other Patillo business in Bridgewater in the 1890s was a furniture store operated by H.M. Patillo, which proudly decreed that it had not only a fine selection of settees, chairs and other devices for the home, but also toys galore and fancy china in its storerooms.

 The selection was sure to "delight the children and the big folks."

 James T. Powers & Company offered their season's greetings to all in local publications and reminded residents that if they wanted to see the handsomest line of "toilet, tea and dinner and tea sets in the county," they should stop on by before the holiday rush.

 If toiletries weren't preferable, a portrait done by local photographer H.O. Dodge might have been the perfect gift-giving solution. The Dodge photography studio was the venerable "centre of attraction for some weeks" during the Christmas season, as families dressed in their finest for portraits, and sweethearts snapped on a sultry, secretive smile for their special someone.

 And despite the demanding climate and the clunky nature of technology, Dodge promised his customers who arrived within five days of Christmas that their portrait prints would be ready for pickup in time for the big day.

 Not all stores, however, offered strictly specialty wares or services, such as perfumes, teas and photographs, that some residents might have perceived as a luxury.

 Wile & Murdock, for example, offered what they liked to call "sensible presents." The footwear merchants offered slippers, starting at just 15 cents per pair; bargain lots of infants' shoes, priced at 25 cents for each set; and a healthy selection of overshoes, rubbers and cardigans.

 Suffice it to say, the footwear specialists offered the perfect option for those parents and spouses who were more inclined to purchase a practical gift for their loved ones.

 Another famous proprietor, W.K. Stoddart, operated both a tailoring business and a harness-making enterprise.

 A Christmas season feature in the Bridgewater Bulletin in December of 1898 praised Stoddart's establishments, saying that, thanks to the quality work available therein, "since friend Stoddart opened his tailoring business, there really has been no necessity to go outside for clothes that fit and are stylish."

 And if W.K. Stoddart didn't have what you were looking for, there was a good chance you could find it at the variety of other clothiers along Commercial Street, including Boston House, which specialized in discounted imported goods, from caps to jewellery.

 Beyond the textile goods available in 19th-century Bridgewater, of critical importance to the Christmas tradition was the annual feast, and Bridgewater's grocers made sure that, even though the winter season had descended, there was plenty of food to go around.

 H.C. Barnaby & Son had a large supply of groceries and confectionary suitable for Christmas or any other time of the year, while J.W. Hebb stuck to their motto, even in the December cold: "Fresh groceries, fresh confectionary, fresh everything."

 And if, by chance, you were wondering if Santa Claus came to bring gifts to all the good little girls and boys throughout the world in those bygone days of more than 100 years ago, then fear not, my young friends: on December 20 in 1898, Santa himself had already visited Porter's Drugstore.

 The jolly man reportedly left behind his overstocked goods at Porter's to help ensure everyone, young and old, had the chance to look upon and dream about a variety of "fancy goods," including toys, dolls, work boxes, dressing cases, fancy cups, albums, cards, booklets and skates.

 And so, having peered into the windows of storefronts in old Bridgewater through the descriptive magic of the written word, it is clear that even in those days the Christmas season was every bit as much about the spirit of generosity and giving - commercialized though it might have been - as it is today.

 True, the gifts might be more expensive and perhaps even less appreciated, but the fever of holiday shopping, the anticipation of finding that perfect something for the people in your life, was just as prevalent more than 100 years ago as it is today.

 The more things change, the more they really do stay the same.

 Sources: The Bridgewater Bulletin; The LaHave Gazette.

Written and researched by Patrick Hirtle.