Christmas in July

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This article is about the Summer marketing campaign. For the Australian celebrations such as "Yulefest" see Midwinter Christmas. For the 1940 film, see Christmas in July (film)

Christmas in July, alternatively Holiday(s) in July in the United States, is a party concept exploited as a marketing opportunity. It generally occurs during the month of July coincidentally near July 26, the feast day of Saint Joachim and Saint Anne, the grandparents of Jesus.

In Western culture, Christmas occurs on December 25. With Christmas generally comes gift-giving and much holiday cheer. During the summer months in the northern hemisphere, the weather becomes increasingly warm and many people crave the atmosphere of cooler temperatures, gift giving, and holiday spirit. To satisfy this craving, some people throw parties during the month of July that mimic the holiday of Christmas. Features of Christmas in July include Santa Claus, ice cream and other cold foods, and gifts. Often nightclubs host parties open to the public.

In many western countries, July has few marketing opportunities, so to justify sales, shops, such as Leon's (in Canada) will sometimes announce a "Christmas in July" sale.

Technically, if one wanted to hold an event to mark the halfway point in between consecutive Christmases, one should hold the event on June 24 (Midsummer in Europe, Nativity of St. John the Baptist for Catholics), which is seven days before the month of July. Thus, theoretically, the name should be "Christmas in June". However, Christmas and December are generally equated with colder temperatures and in the Northern Hemisphere the average temperatures in July are generally higher than those in June, thus the name Christmas in July is appropriate. In addition, the Scandinavian word for Yule is Jul, which happens to be the abbreviation for July in English. Additionally, July is the seventh month, seven being an important number in Christian doctrine.

Among those who mark this time at all, their response to it varies:

The television shopping networks QVC and Home Shopping Network have shows titled Christmas in July.^[1]
McMurdo Station in Antarctica celebrates Christmas in July, as well as in December. Its origins there appear to be how deliveries were made. July is in the middle of winter in Antarctica; high winds and ice once made it too dangerous for planes to land with supplies. Instead, planes parachuted deliveries (such as food and mail) to the ice; the sudden arrival in July of presents from the sky reminded some people of a "visit from Santa."
In the United States it is more often used as a marketing tool than as an actual holiday celebrated by ordinary people. Television stations may choose to re-run Christmas specials, and many stores have "Christmas in July" sales. Still, some individuals do choose to celebrate the time themselves, typically as an intentionally transparent excuse to have a party.