Christmas on the Prairies in the 1860s-1880s – by Donna Schlachter

 

Christmas, 1876

Many of the images we conjure regarding Christmas have been around for a long time, including Christmas trees, Christmas pudding, fruitcake, and Santa Claus. Some are strictly American in origin, including the notion of Santa as a jolly, old elf. Most were brought to this country by immigrants from primarily Europe, including Germany, England, and France.

Cattle in snow storm

 

And while much of the more civilized parts of America were enjoying many of these traditions, life was much harder on the prairies, where a single winter storm or a poor crop due to insects or drought could mean the difference between life and death.

Farming and ranching still require attention to fields and stock every single day of the year, leaving no room for the week-long festivities we often enjoy today. Neglecting chores could mean no food tomorrow—or even today.

Plenty of food, with enough to share

Still, many families, particularly those with children, endeavored to set apart the day and celebrate Jesus’ birth. Laura Ingalls Wilder, who famously catalogued life on the prairies in her series, Little House on the Prairie, says that her mother cooked all day long, baking bread, beans, and pies.

In the forts, soldiers caroled while venison roasted over an open hearth. Depending on their country of origin, a family might bring in a Christmas tree, although perhaps they’d have hung it by the trunk from a beam. Children gathered at the kitchen table to make homemade decorations, including miniature corn husk dolls or yarn angels. If there was a little extra cookie dough available, they cut out gingerbread men and punched a hole in the raw dough, stringing a piece of ribbon or yarn through after it was baked before hanging it on the tree.

Preserved fruit and vegetables were enjoyed, with the women often beginning the process weeks in advance.

Yarn doll

 

Gifts were simple, usually homemade, and most often something the person needed. Knitted and sewn items such as caps, mitts, and scarves were favorites, as well as occasionally socks or a sweater. Knit or carved toys for the little ones were also enjoyed, and if the family enjoyed a good year financially, perhaps a few candies, fresh fruit, or a small gift from the mercantile in town would appear in their stockings, which were hung on Christmas Eve, often after church service or a time of family singing in their own home.

Carved toys

 

Following is a recipe used by Mrs. Isabel Beeton, a native of England:

Victoria Sandwiches

4 eggs (weigh them in their shells)

Caster sugar, equal to the weight of the eggs

Butter, equal to the weight of the eggs

Flour, equal to the weight of the eggs

¼ teaspoon salt

Jam or marmalade, of any kind

Cream the butter for about five minutes then add the sugar and beat for about two-three minutes. Add the eggs and beat for three minutes. Add the flour and salt and beat for an additional five minutes.

Butter a 9”x9” baking tin and pour in the batter. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. Use a toothpick to test for doneness. Allow to cool on a cake rack.

Cut the cake in half and spread the jam over the bottom of the cake. Place the other half of the cake on top and gently press the pieces together. Cut them into long finger pieces. Pile them in crossbars on a glass dish and serve.

***

Mrs. Beeton’s Cookery and Household Management, Isabella Beeton,
1874, London.

 

However you celebrate your Christmas this year, despite the changing world we live in and restrictions on numbers permitted in a group, I pray you’ll find the true meaning and joy of the season—Jesus becoming Emmanuel, God with us—and carry that with you all year through.

 

 

Resources:

https://truewestmagazine.com/christmas-on-the-frontier/

https://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-christmas/

 

 

About Donna:

Donna lives in Denver with husband Patrick. As a hybrid author, she writes historical suspense under her own name, and contemporary suspense under her alter ego of Leeann Betts, and they have been published more than 30 times in novellas, full-length novels, devotional books, and books on the writing craft. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Writers on the Rock, Sisters In Crime, Pikes Peak Writers, and Christian Authors Network; facilitates a critique group; and teaches writing classes online and in person. Donna also ghostwrites, edits, and judges in writing contests. She loves history and research, and travels extensively for both. Donna is represented by Terrie Wolf of AKA Literary Management.

 

Where to find me online:

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Historical Christmas Traditions We Don’t Question

Christmas is full of small mysteries, including a number passed down through history. Christmas traditions with little-known origins can seem lame -- even slightly deranged. Who first thought it would be a good idea to cut down a perfectly good tree and haul it inside to bedeck the floor with needles? Why, exactly, do folks find it romantic to kiss beneath a noxious parasitic weed tied with ribbon? And what’s with the stripes on candy canes?

Don’t get me wrong – I love Christmas as well as the next person. But I mean, really… Really? Let’s look into this, shall we? 

Where Did Christmas Trees Originate?

Martin Luther, the renowned 16th-century German theologian and scholar, is said to have started the Christmas-tree tradition. While walking home through the woods late one night, he admired the stars shining through the trees. Eager to share this experience with his wife, he cut down a fir tree and set it up in his house with lighted candles in the branches.

The first Christmas tree recorded is a sculpture on the keystone of a home in Turckheim, Alsace. The sculpture dates from 1576. Use of Christmas trees spread across Europe. It flourished in England due to the influence of Queen Victoria, who adored them.

Why Do We Kiss Beneath the Mistletoe?

British servants started the Christmas tradition of Kissing beneath the mistletoe, but the practice orginated in response to a legend in Norse mythology. The unromantic truth is that mistletoe is a parasitic plant that robs the nutrients of its tree host. However, in ancient times it was valued as a healing herb. Because the plant is evergreen, it was seen as a symbol of vitality.

Why are Candy Canes Striped?

The first candy canes, made about 350 years ago, had no hook, were white, and contained no added flavors. Legend holds that in 1670 a choirmaster at Germany’s Cologne Cathedral bent the white candy sticks to represent shepherd's hooks for the children who attended the church’s ceremonies.

The first use of candy canes at Christmas was documented in 1847 when August Imgard, an immigrant living in Ohio, hung candy canes to decorate a tree. By the early 18th Century, Christmas cards contained white sugar canes.

It wasn’t until the turn of the 19th Century that the white-and-red striped peppermint candy canes appeared. These weren’t used to commemorate Christmas until Bob McCormack from Atlanta gave them to his friends and family in the 1920’s.

Candy canes were made laboriously by hand through the 1950’s, when Gregory Keller of Bob’s Candies invented a machine that automated the process. This led to worldwide distribution.

Many believe that candy canes are formed to hold special meanings. The red stripes are thought to represent the blood of Christ, and the white stripes to symbolize Jesus’s purity. The three fine stripes stand for the Trinity. The candy’s shape resembles the first letter of ‘Jesus’ or a shepherd’s hook. The candy is hard like the bedrock foundation of the Church. Peppermint stems from hyssop, a Biblical herb symbolic of purity and sacrifice.

These meanings are nice to think about, but we can’t state them for certain. What we do know is that the candy cane, like the other traditional items we discussed, is an indelible part of Christmas.

About Janalyn Voigt

Janalyn Voigt's unique blend of adventure, romance, suspense, and whimsy creates breathtaking fictional worlds for readers. Known for her vivid writing, this multi-faceted author writes in the western historical romance, medieval epic fantasy, and romantic suspense genres.

Janalyn is represented by Wordserve Literary Agency. Her memberships include ACFW and NCWA. When she's not writing, she loves to garden and explore the great outdoors with her family.

Explore Janalyn Voigt's interactive website.

Christmas Traditions in the 1700s

By Tiffany Amber Stockton

Last month, I shared about the history of the New York Symphony. If you missed that post, you can read it here: https://www.hhhistory.com/2018/11/new-york-symphony-debuts.html.

Now, let's go from the crafted instruments of music to holiday traditions.

* * * * *

Christmas Traditions - 1700s

I wavered and pondered and struggled over the topic I'd select for today's post. With Christmas right around the corner, I didn't want anything to feel "contrived." On the other hand, the theme seemed perfect.

So, today, I'm going to cover Christmas traditions in the 1700's.

Christmas wasn't always celebrated the way it is today. In fact, the Puritans of Massachusetts banned any observance of Christmas, and anyone caught observing the holiday had to pay a fine. Connecticut had a law forbidding the celebration of Christmas and the baking of mincemeat pies! A few of the earliest settlers did celebrate Christmas, but it was far from a common holiday in the colonial era.

The first record of Christmas trees in America was for children in the German Moravian Church's settlement in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Christmas 1747. Actual trees were not decorated, but wooden pyramids covered with evergreen branches were decorated with candles.

The custom of the Christmas tree was introduced in the United States during the War of Independence by Hessian troops. Decorations included lace, ribbon, tin, food items and lit candles. Most other early accounts in the United States were among the German settlers in eastern Pennsylvania. Just as the first trees introduced into Britain did not immediately take off, the early trees introduced into America by the Hessian soldiers were not recorded in any particular quantity. Even so, it is known that the Pennsylvanian German settlements had community trees as early as 1747.

Decorations were still of a 'home-made' variety. Young Ladies spent hours at Christmas Crafts, quilling snowflakes and stars, sewing little pouches for secret gifts and paper baskets with sugared almonds in them. Small bead decorations, fine drawn out silver tinsel came from Germany together with beautiful Angels to sit at the top of the tree. Candles were often placed into wooden hoops for safety.

One of the primary reasons Christmas wasn't celebrated is due to its pagan association. Puritans and Protestants alike frowned upon any connection to this celebration. Any observance was made primarly by German and Dutch colonists in the Middle Colonies. German gifts such as nuts and apples were given to needy children by St. Martin and St. Nicholas know to be the forefathers of Santa Claus as we know him today. Kris Kringle evolved from the German name for the Christ Child (Christkindlein). Dutch settlers coming to America changed St. Nicholas to Sintr Claes who became the gift giver.

However, as the dawning of a new century approached, we begin to see a greater occurrence of the traditions so many celebrate and enjoy today.

* * * * *

NOW IT'S YOUR TURN:

* Do you have any German or Dutch ancestry/roots that have influenced what you do today?

* What traditions are special in your home?

* What traditions did you have a child that you continued with your own family?

---

BIO

Tiffany Amber Stockton has been crafting and embellishing stories since childhood, when she was accused of having a very active imagination and cited with talking entirely too much. Today, she has honed those childhood skills to become an author and speaker who also works as a force for literacy as an educational consultant with Usborne Books. On the side, she dabbles in the health & wellness and personal development industry, helping others become their best from the inside out.

She lives with her husband and fellow author, Stuart Vaughn Stockton, along with their two children and two dogs: Nova, a Shiba-Inu/Besenji mix and Nugget a Corgi/Chihuahua mix, in Colorado. She has sold twenty (21) books so far and is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube Agency. You can find her on Facebook, Twitter, GoodReads, and LinkedIn.

Be a Tree Fad of the 1900's

Whoever said history was boring, must not have researched very long. I can't tell you how many times I have come across some of the most interesting, random and comical things while researching for a story or article. Since holiday decorating is now in full swing, I thought I'd share one of my favorites.

Christmas decorations haven't always been the way they are today. So when I was writing a Christmas story set in the early 1900's, I had to do a little bit of research and see what kinds of decorations were popular at that time period. It was just during the emergence of Christmas lights, so those were yet sparse. But I did run across one method of Christmas decorating that took me completely off guard.

Most of us are familiar with the couture and fashions of the holiday season. From the simple and elegant black dress, to the ugly sweaters, to those new holiday outfits that we love to shop for, fashion has been as much a part of Christmas as turkey and eggnog. However, some of these fashions are more...shall we say...interesting, than others.

It seems that during this Edwardian, Titanic era, folks had a fascination with dressing up in Christmas tree costumes. And some of the costumes are very authentic, if nothing else.The Christmas tree during this era had a lot of tinsel and a lot of homemade ornaments. The days of pretty, uniform, professional looking ornaments was not yet upon us, and only businesses or the more astute citizens would have lights on their trees. So perhaps the people were seeking a way to make the Christmas tree more exciting and full of life. What better way to do that than to actually BE a Christmas tree?!

While I was unable to find any particular reason or history behind this fad, I did find numerous pictures. From children, to full grown women, it seems that people of all ages joined in on the idea.

My best guess is this fad was much like the "ugly sweater" contests of today. The embarrassment and oddness of the costumes became part of the game, and part of what made it "cool" and festive.

Photos source: vintag.es.com

What do you think...would you dress up as a Christmas Tree for your next holiday party?

*****

Two-time winner of the Christian Indie Award for historical fiction, Amber Schamel writes riveting stories that bring HIStory to life. She has a passion for travel, history, books and her Savior. This combination results in what her readers call "historical fiction at its finest".  She lives in Colorado and spends half her time volunteering in the Ozarks. Check out Solve by Christmas on Amazon for a great holiday read.

 

Shaping the Holidays One Cookie at a Time

Bakers, wives, and mothers have been passing out creatively-shaped treats ever since the early Egyptians first made small molded cakes sweetened with honey and spices. 

GodeNehler, MEK-Pfefferkucheform, Wikimedia.org

In the 1500s, creative German woodcutters perfected sweet-dough molds by adding metal edges or inserts to the forms, and from there, other Europeans developed tinned steel shapes with crossbars for support. Some molds embossed patterns and designs into the top of the dough, much like a cookie stamp.

However, *cookie cutters as we know them soon followed with flat backplates that conformed to the cutter’s shape. Often a hole was punched in the middle of the plate through which a woman could push resistant dough from the form.

 

Side A                                              Side B

In the 1700s, tinsmith peddlers thrilled American homemakers with tinned steel cutters, many with tin “strap” or wooden handles. By the late 1860s, companies looking for profitable business in the post-Civil War atmosphere began producing cookie cutters stamped with their name, such as the Dover Company and A. Kreamer Co. from Brooklyn, N.Y.

Aluminum sliced its way into the business in the early 1900s, and plastic pushed through following World War II.

Aluminum strap-handled cutters

Family cookie cutters are often passed from generation to generation, and I have several of my mother’s aluminum cutters from the early 1900s, as well as old handled biscuit cutters that were passed down to her. (Let me just say that it’s startling to discover the kitchen tools you grew up using are now considered antiques!)

American biscuit cutters

Regardless of the material or maker, cookie cutters have long pressed imaginative designs into people’s lives during special holidays such as Christmas or Easter. They’ve also been used to cut vegetables, cake, fruit, tea sandwiches, and fondant icing. Not to mention salt dough for small, playful hands.

Cookie cutter shapes are limited only by the designer’s imagination: birds, animals, people, geometric designs, and the ever-popular circle, star, and heart. If you’d like to try your hand at making a heart-shaped cookie cutter, click on this video link for a quick and easy tutorial: Make a cookie cutter.

For fun collectibles that don’t take up much space, try shopping antique stores and estate sales for old cookie cutters. They can also be used to decorate the Christmas tree by hanging them with colorful yarn or ribbon. It’s a fun way to display a piece of history in your home during the holidays.

And if you’re anywhere near Joplin, Missouri, stop by the National Cookie Cutter Historical Museum and check out their amazing collection. Or you could join the Cookie Cutters Collector's Club.

Speaking of cookie cutters, do you have a favorite cookie you’ll be making for the holidays? Let us know by mentioning it in the comments below.

*In British English, cookies are called biscuits – not to be confused with those wonderful sourdough, cast-iron skillet concoctions upon which the American West was established.

Lena Carver works as her physician brother’s medical assistant, housekeeper, and cook despite her disfigurement from a childhood accident. Each year, the Christmas holidays come with contradictions—cherished memories of a mysterious encounter and painful recollections of a great loss. She lives with the belief that she is beyond love’s reach, until a dark-eyed cowboy arrives broken, bruised, and bent on changing her mind.

Wil Bergman wakes in a stranger’s house with a busted leg, a bullet-creased scalp, and no horse. Trail-weary, robbed, and penniless, his dreams and plans for a future are suddenly unattainable. Forced to recuperate in the home of a country doctor, he finds himself at the mercy of a surgeon whose sister’s healing touch has power to stitch up his lonely heart and open his eyes to the impossible. 

~

Bestselling author and winner of the Will Rogers Gold Medallion for Inspirational Western Fiction, Davalynn Spencer keeps busy #lovingthecowboy and writing heart-tugging romance with a Western flair. And she’s fairly certain her previous career as a rodeo journalist and crime-beat reporter prepared her for life in Colorado wrangling Blue the Cowdog and mouse detectors Annie and Oakley. Learn more about her books at https://www.davalynnspencer.com.