Ho ho! Happy historical holidays to you!
Christmas was not observed as a holiday in America until the late 19th century. The Church had declared December 25th as the day of Christ’s birth in the fourth century. This date coincided with ancient festivals that celebrated the winter solstice. Puritans considered these rituals of dancing, drinking, and merry making pagan and unchristian. However, beginning in the mid-19th century, Americans began to observe Christmas, marking the occasion with family gatherings and gifts to children. The celebration steadily gained in popularity, and in 1870, Congress declared Christmas a federal holiday.
In 1882, Henry Sheldon established the Sheldon Museum. Its rich archival collections attest to how Christmas was celebrated in Middlebury and Vermont. Letters, diaries, newspapers and other records show that during most of the 19th century businesses were open on Christmas Day and there were no formal religious observances, reflecting the Calvinist tradition of Vermont’s founders.
Beginning in the 1860s, local residents write of the “Illumination” of the “Christmas Tree,” and ask, “What did Santa Claus bring you?” In the 1870s, Addison County newspapers begin to post advertisements for “gifts suitable for the holidays.” A definitive sign of changing times appears in the Middlebury Register on Dec. 25, 1896: “The bank will not open today and the post office will be closed. Most stores will do no business.”
On December 25th, Christians and non-religious people will gather around Christmas trees for the holidays. However, during the month of December other religious and non-faith groups will celebrate their own traditions, including Jews, Buddhists, Sikhs, Baha’is, Kwanza observers, Native Americans, Zoroastrians and others. All these rituals are rooted in the spirit of our historical past, although our celebrations may reflect our modern spirit.
Christmas Cards
The first Christmas card was created and sent by Sir Henry Cole of England in 1843 because he found he was too busy with pressing deadlines to respond to all of his holiday letters. He and his artist friend, John Horsley, designed the first card and sold them for 1 shilling each. The card had three panels. The outer two panels showed people caring for the poor and in the center panel was a family having Christmas dinner. Cole added the words “A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You.” The cards were a huge success in England, but didn’t catch on in America until after the Civil War.
A Boston printer and lithographer, Louis Prang, “Father of the American Christmas Card,” produced America’s first mass-distributed Christmas cards. As can be seen from Prang cards and other Christmas cards from the Sheldon Museum collections, imagery on the cards were usually of flowers, children, birds, and scenes.
It wasn’t until the early 20 century that religious images began to appear on cards. An affordable and reliable postal service, inexpensive four-color printing, and overall economic prosperity helped establish the Christmas card tradition that we still enjoy today.
Cookbooks, programs, tickets, and other archival items from Sheldon Museum collections give us a chance to share what the earlier Christmases of mothers, fathers, children, aunts, and uncles from Addison County were like.
Cooking, like today, was a big part of celebrating Christmas. Women did a lion share amount of work and cooking had to be all done from scratch. The diary of Susan Pinney Cushman of Middlebury, who lived in house on Washington Street, tells of her baking and cooking – and how tired she was!
Christmas 1867: “Baked a chicken pie.”
Christmas 1872: “Baked a turkey” and “cleaned up in general.” “Baked bread mince and cream pies. Baked chickens and prepared turkey for the oven, fixed cranberries,” also “fried doughnuts.”
She also mentions having “swept, dusted, tidied, polished the silver and cleaned the china cupboard.”
Christmas 1887: “Baked bread, mince cream and pumpkin pies, baked garlic bread and fried donuts. Am dreadful tired tonight.”
Christmas 1891: “Baked a chicken pie. Rather a lovely Christmas. The first in 20 years I have not made a large dinner.”
Exhibit Photos
Below you can see photos from the installed exhibit in the Sheldon Museum, featuring antique Christmas cards, holiday advertisements, and a toy pig meant to bring good luck and prosperity in the new year! Click on the photos for more information!
