Christmas From The Past

Did you ever wonder what Christmas was like years ago? Did families gather and exchange
gifts? Well, I did quite a bit of research from several sites and blogs and it seems they did. During the 1800's some of the American Christmas tradition included many of our usual festivities. Some were decorating a tree, giving gifts, looking for Santa Claus to come, sending out cards, stockings by the fire, joyous church activities, and friends and family visiting and enjoying good food. Also, I'm sure laughter and stories of their families. 

For those far away from towns and cities, like cowboys and mountain men, they would have celebrated Christmas with homemade gifts. Their Christmas dinner was likely comprised of dried venison, moose or perhaps fresh bear meat, roasted slowly on a spit over an open fire.

I found one quote from Osborne Russell's journal, which offered some insights into Ogden Valley, Utah's first recorded Christmas gathering.  Russell recounts in his diary:  The principal topic which was discussed was the political affairs of the Rocky Mountains, the state of governments among the different tribes, and the personal characters of the most distinguished warrior chiefs. 

Doesn't sound like a festive Christmas discussion to me, but again, we are dealing with Indians and trappers. I suppose they talked about what interested them, no matter if it was Christmas, or just any other day of the year. 

Another quote was from Old-timer D.O. Newton, who was one of the original Pioneer settlers. She recounted her first Christmas in Ogden Valley in an Ogden Standard Examiner article written by Dorothy Porter many years later. "We celebrated all the holidays which are nowadays, but in a different manner. For instance, on Christmas we never had a tree and we did not receive so many beautiful gifts; it was just the spirit of the day that made everything so nice."

I also found a video that someone made about Trapper W.A. Ferris and how he spent one Christmas back in 1833. I laugh at how sophisticated he sounded. I wonder did he talk like this all the time or did he know that many years from now others would read what he said and sit back in awe at how educated he sounded. Either way, it's a nice quick story about a make shift family enjoying Christmas as they sat around the fire, talking about honesty, charity, and philanthropy.

Taken from in part here and here

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  We should also remember that Christmas for many in the  Old West was a difficult time. Those on the prairies often suffered through blizzards and savage winds. Mountain men were forced away from activities before Christmas, in preparation of the storms and freezing cold. The holidays often were meager. But, for these pioneers, Christmas would not be forgotten.

I am a huge fan of Laura Ingalls Wilder. Her life in general is amazing. I'm so happy to include a few quotes about her life and some links you might find interesting. Many of the quotes come from this blog here. 

Laura Ingalls Wilder 

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Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote of the preparations for Christmas on the Kansas Prairie: “Ma was busy all day long, cooking good things for Christmas. She baked salt-rising bread and ‘Injun bread, Swedish crackers, and a huge pan of baked beans, with salt pork and molasses. She baked vinegar pies and dried-apple pies and filled a big jar with cookies, and she let Mary and me lick the cake spoon.

 That very Christmas, Laura Ingalls was delighted to find a shiny new tin cup, a peppermint candy, a heart-shaped cake, and a brand new penny in her stocking. In those days, these four small gifts in her stocking were a wealth of gifts to the young girl.

Though perhaps modest, these hardy pioneers made every attempt to decorate their homes for the holidays with whatever natural materials looked attractive at the bleakest time of year, such as evergreens, pinecones, holly, nuts, and berries.

For some, there might even be a Christmas tree, gaily decorated with bits of ribbon, yarn, berries, popcorn or paper strings. Some homemade decorations were often dolls made of straw or yarn. Cookie dough ornaments and gingerbread men were also popular. In other places, wood was too scarce to “waste” on a tree, if one could be found at all. Other pioneer homes were too small to make room for a tree.

At the very least, almost every home would make the holiday a time of feasting — bringing out preserved fruits and vegetables, fresh game if possible, and for those that could afford it, maybe even beef or ham. Many women began to bake for the holiday weeks ahead of time, leaving the plum pudding to age in the pot until Christmas dinner.

I found several YouTube videos on Laura Ingalls so I'll share them here. I've not had time to watch them all but they seem dedicated to the woman and her life story. This one here is over an hour long HERE  This one is 30 minutes long HERE.  Last if you have PBS you might be able to watch this one HERE.

Traditions 

From here we'll change gears just a bit and talk about some traditions and how they got their start. 

Candy Canes

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A popular account for why we have the candy cane is that a choirmaster back in 1670 wished to quiet the children in church. He wanted this so much that he commissioned a candy maker to design the candy in the shape of a crook to remind them of the shepherds who came to visit baby Jesus at His birth. The candy was handed out to children as they watched plays concerning the nativity.

Most, however, agree the white candy cane made its U.S. debut in 1847 in Wooster Ohio, according to Schildhaus, when August Imgard, a German-Swedish immigrant, decorated a small blue spruce with paper ornaments and candy canes.

Who Brought Christmas Trees to America?

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The first record of one being on display was in the 1830s by the German settlers of Pennsylvania, although trees had been a tradition in many German homes much earlier. The Pennsylvania German settlements had community trees as early as 1747. 

Christmas Trees were first sold commercially in the United States in 1851 and were randomly cut down from the forests. Today, approximately 30-35 million real (living) Christmas trees are sold each year in the United States.

Fruit Cake

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You either love or hate fruit cake, either way I was curious about the origin of the fruit cake.  The earliest record of something resembling fruitcake is from Ancient Rome. Recipes for a confection called satura called for mixing raisins, pomegranate seeds, and pine nuts with barley mash and honeyed wine. It was supposedly a favorite snack of Roman soldiers. Its portability and shelf-life were valuable assets. Satura, with its hodgepodge of ingredients, is even thought to be connected to the origin of the word satire, the cutting but humorous literary form the Romans helped create. 

A version of fruitcake that more closely resembled what we eat today appeared in the Middle Ages. The Crusades led to an increase in trade between Europe and the Muslim world, and dried fruits imported from the Mediterranean became common in parts of Europe. People started baking them into their cakes for special occasions. Different countries throughout the continent put their own spin on the dessert. Be sure and tell us in the comments do you love or hate fruit cake? 
Some information about fruit cakes come from this blog here.

The Legend of St. Nicholas: The Real Santa Claus

The legend of Santa Claus can be traced back hundreds of years to a monk named St. Nicholas. It is believed that Nicholas was born sometime around 280 A.D. in Patara, near Myra in modern-day Turkey. Much admired for his piety and kindness, St. Nicholas became the subject of many legends. It is said that he gave away all of his inherited wealth and traveled the countryside helping the poor and sick. One of the best-known St. Nicholas stories is the time he saved three poor sisters from being sold into slavery or prostitution by their father by providing them with a dowry so that they could be married. 

Christmas Lights

This is one of my most favorite things about Christmas. I love putting up lights, and tinsel on just about everything. This year will be a little drab for I know that Puppy, that is just now 10 weeks old, will eat everything he can get into his mouth. Here are some fun facts about Christmas lights that I found. 

Christmas lights started out as candles. They were attached to the tree using wax or pins. The practice began in Germany in the 17th century and over the next 200 or so years; it became a popular practice in Germany and began to spread into other countries. The practice originally started to bring illumination to the ornaments on the tree. It continued until around 1900 when candleholders became popular.

It was not until 1915 that glass balls were replacing candles on trees. The world of Christmas lights became something amazing with the invention of the light bulb and electricity. In 1882, the first Christmas tree to be lit by electric lights was in New York.

It was lit by Edward Johnson who happened to be a friend of Thomas Edison. The Christmas tree was lit with beautiful red, white, and blue lights, which are still favorites of many today. It also led to the creation of the first string of Christmas lights, which were easily massed produced and were available for sale around 1890. This of course was the start of the wonderful traditions we have today of placing strings of Christmas lights around our trees and homes to liven the holiday. More on the topic here.

I hope you've enjoyed this walk back in time. I know I have Christmas is my most favorite time of the year. For me it's all about giving and having fun, and of course celebrating the Lord's birth. I pray you all have a great Christmas and enjoy celebrating and decorating in your usual manner. 

I'd like to thank Kim Grist for her help and inspiration

in getting this blog finished. Check out

her new release, it's a good one. 

Link Here

Website Facebook Group Contact Us Samantha Fury is the author of  the Street Justice Series.  She's written many articles on book covers, for Indie Authors. She operates several Indie Groups. Editing Services, Cover Artist, Helpful Indie Facebook Groups. 

Latest Release here Rachel's Ransom buy Here It is also in Kindle Unlimited