Christmas on the Prairie

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It’s easy to romanticize the Currier & Ives yuletide days of long ago, with families gathered around warm fireplaces, children marveling at their stockings hanging from the mantle, and warmly dressed folks merrily bringing in the Christmas tree or arms full of presents.

But what about celebrating the yuletide season on the prairie or in the mountains in the old Wild West?

In the 1800s, the pioneers and cowboys on the prairie celebrated Christmas in much the same ways we do today. There was Santa Claus, presents, holiday decorations and, of course, the Christmas feast.

The difference was evident in the humbleness of the gifts and decorations. Life on the prairie was hard and unpredictable. There were often terrible blizzards and howling winds. Yet, these hardy and hard-working pioneers would not forget the spirit of Christmas.

The women would begin baking for the holiday feast weeks in advanced, bringing out the preserved fruits they’d ‘put up’ in the summer and dried vegetables. If possible, fresh game–wild turkey or venison–added to the feast. Or for those who could afford it, maybe even beef or pork.

The tradition of Santa Claus was popular among children on the frontier as well. In 1873, a children’s journal called “St. Nicholas” became available for children in isolated areas. It included stories, poetry, contests, games and crafts. Many a mother saw this journal as a way to keep her children entertained during the long winter months on the prairie.

Most likely, gifts, corn husk dolls, sachets, carved wooden toys, and clothespins, were all made with love by the family members. Sometimes, the mother made a doll from corn husks, (a Scandinavian tradition), or with straw or yarn and snippets of leftover “store bought” material. Maybe a little girl would get some new hair ribbons. Boys might get a “store bought” ball, a homemade wooden carved boat, or some other type of toy. Maybe a homemade checkerboard?  Or maybe the child would get a “store bought” book, or one that was “used,” (already read), and given as a gift from a neighbor. A girl’s hand-embroidered handkerchief was folded and twisted into an angel that was hung on the tree and then given to a little girl on Christmas morning.

Very few presents were wrapped with expensive paper under the tree. Sometimes old newspapers were used, but often, presents weren’t wrapped at all. Often the children found the gift unwrapped by their plates on the table on Christmas morning or they had to hunt for them in the barn or under a bed.

As in our homes today, the tree was the tangible focus of the holiday. In many cases, however, sagebrush, a red cedar bush–or in the homes of German immigrants, a feather tree–would do nicely. Bits of ribbon and yarn were hung on the Christmas tree’s branches.

Decorations were homemade, unless special ones were brought from the “old country” or from back east. Local stores didn’t stock Christmas ornaments in the early days. They used evergreen branches, pinecones, holly, nuts, and berries to brighten up the bleak log walls or the stone fireplace. Popcorn strings were used as were paper loops glued together with a homemade paste of flour and water. They hung cookie dough ornaments or gingerbread on the branches. The children knew, because of the mother’s instructions, not to eat the gingerbread men until after Christmas was over.

(Side Note: I made sugar cookie dough ornaments one year much to the delight of my two-year old son who took a bite out of every cookie ornament his little hands could reach!)

          

With the discovery of gold and silver in the West in the early-to mid-19th century, mountain men, government explorers, trappers, and Native Americans led a lonely existence. And while they might not see each other often, small gatherings always took place on December 25 to celebrate Christmas. Years later, writer Bret Harte told of a night of Christmas merriment among some cowboys holed up together in a bunkhouse. To these men, finding a kindred spirit to spend Christmas with was essential to keeping their spirits up.

Determined to bring the spirit of Christmas alive on the American frontier, these tenacious pioneers looked forward to forgetting their hard, everyday lives to focus on the holiday.

May the peace and blessings of Christmas be yours, and may

the coming year be filled with happiness!

Just in Time for the Holidays!!

He made a promise to a dying friend.
She vowed never to love again.
“You can’t continue living like this, Linnea. You’ve become a hermit.”
Linnea Nyland heard the concern in her sister-in-law’s voice. Still filled with grief and missing her husband a year after his unexpected passing, she didn’t have the inclination to disagree with the statement. Though she dearly missed working her magic in the family bakery, she liked her life on the farm just the way it was…solitary.

Especially after Deputy Finn McBride came calling with his ridiculous proposal of marriage!

In a moment of panic, Finn made a heart pledge to Erik Nyland to take care of Linnea, to marry her. He’d bungled his first attempt, and he’s not sure his heart can endure the vow he made knowing he’d been in love with her from the day he came to Holly Springs.

Giving it one last try, he challenges her to a holiday baking competition. If he wins, she must agree to let him court…if she wins, he’ll leave her alone…forever.

Throw in a matchmaking landlady, a Norwegian Buhund dog, and a missing special ingredient, the lonely deputy prays for a Christmas miracle.

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Gabe Dawson didn’t believe catastrophes came in threes.

That is, until his grandfather died, a fire nearly destroyed his home, and his grandmother started showing signs of forgetfulness.

When Hope Brody discovers Nora Dawson wandering in a snowy field and learns of the family’s loss, she sets out to recreate the quilt that was destroyed in the fire. But in order to present it to her at the Annual Christmas Eve Quilt gathering, that meant she’d have to get to know the taciturn Gabe Dawson.

Despite thwarting her efforts at friendship, Gabe finally acknowledges that Hope’s visits are helping ease his grandmother’s anxieties. Soon, he finds himself falling for the lovely quilter. But with only a small farm and almost constant care of his ailing grandmother, he has nothing to offer and would never be a woman’s first choice.

As Christmas approaches, will Hope look beyond his obligations and see a future blossom from a special, once-in-a-lifetime friendship?

P.S. The quilt in the background is one I made for our bed at home.

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To be entered in the random drawing for your CHOICE OF EITHER BOOK (digital copy only), leave a comment about how you would decorate your home on the prairie in the 1800s.

Author at JMV Creative Enterprise | jrobertsauthor@yahoo.com | Website |  + posts

Born and raised in western Massachusetts, Jo-Ann Roberts was fascinated by America’s Old West and always felt she was destined to travel on a wagon train following the Oregon Trail. With her love of history and reading, she began reading historical romance during high school and college. Victoria Holt, Jude Deveraux, and Roseanne Bittner were among her favorites. Influenced by her father, she fell in love with John Wayne, James Garner, and her all-time favorite, James Stewart and grew up watching Wagon Train, Bonanza and Rawhide.
A firm believer in HEA with a healthy dose of realism, Jo-Ann strives to give her readers a sweet historical romance while imparting carefully researched historical facts, personalities, and experiences relative to the time period. Her romances take her readers back to a simpler time to escape the stress of modern life by living in a small town where families and friends help one another find love and happiness.
When she isn’t creating believable plots and relatable heroes and heroines, Jo-Ann enjoys spending time with her husband, children and grandson. She also enjoys baking, quilting and eating way too much chocolate.
After 38 years in public education in Connecticut and Maryland, she’s now calls North Carolina home.

46 thoughts on “Christmas on the Prairie”

  1. I can’t even imagine how it was back then. I loved how your son took a bite out of the cookie ornaments. Merry Christmas ?

  2. I’m sure that they also saved tin cans and repurposed them into decorations.
    I’d be sorely tempted to pull a sugar cookie off a tree ! when we docorated a tree in one office, we also put wrapped candy canes for anyone’s enjoyment… They went pretty fast!

  3. I remember as a child stringing popcorn and cranberries as garland for the tree – not as simple as one would think, as the popcorn would break apart and mess up your pattern!!

  4. Good morning Jo Ann, since I do live on the Prairie in SW Kansas. I would use the ever present tumbleweed. I’d stack a big one, then a medium one, a smaller one, with a tiny one on top for my tree. I’d use pretty leaves, corn husk & cobs, & feathers for decorations.
    If I could find a stalk of Milo or wheat that wasn’t harvested I’d make a pretty decoration using them with feathers, husks, and ribbon as my top.
    This was fun.

    • @Tonya

      This sounds lovely!!!

      We have tumbleweeds where I live too and when a friend was here from Florida she was super thrilled to get up close and take a picture with one. 🙂

    • Hi, Tonya,

      We get plenty of tumbleweeds in the Mojave Desert in CA and the idea of a snowman-type Christmas tree has crossed my mind on occasion. Earlier this month, someone did write in to P&P saying that this is done in their town (somewhere in the U.S. west or southwest).

      I don’t know what I’d have come up with on my own; probably using yarn (I knit) or fabric (I sew) scraps. From an otherwise forgotten historic novel, I recall reading about saving papers that had a gold or silver finish and came as packaging on food, in order to make paper chains or other ornamnets for Christmas.

      Thanks for the comment and Merry Christmas!

  5. Besides the traditional decorations of popcorn strings, etc., I would make tiny quilted squares out of my smaller scraps and hang them for ornaments on the tree.

  7. When I was a kid, our Christmas tree was a cedar tree cut from our cow pasture, and my mom always brought red berries and pine branches (some with pinecones attached) in to decorate the mantle. I would have likely done the same on the frontier.

  8. Merry Christmas Jo-Ann!

    I would be a pioneer in Florida or maybe Georgia where some of my family of the past lived. The ever present cedar tree would be in a corner and tied with old scraps to the branches. And use some branches scattered around the windows and on the table along with Holly tree branches. With some pine ones also. And there would be a fire in the fireplace if it was cold enough! LOL

    • Welcome, Tracy! That sounds lovely! When we lived in Connecticut, we would place pine boughs on the windowsills, with berries, cinnamon ornaments, and red ribbons. Thanks for sharing. Merry Christmas!

  9. thank you for sharing. I have picked up a lot about how they decorate in books. Thank you to all you authors who research so much and try to make your books as correct as possible. Hmm that is a great question. I f I lived where I could get a tree easily, I would start with a tree. If not I would make a small tree from paper and twigs. I would love to pop and string popcorn. Make ornaments from anything available. Ribbons from scraps of material. Make little angels from scraps of material. I would put out candles on the mantle, table top etc. I would have the kiddos make an ornament from what ever we have for their rooms.

  10. I guess I would decorate using anything I had on hand. Years ago, Daddy wanted a real tree that he could replant in our yard, and found a cedar tree. For quite a few years, Mom would go out and cut pieces off the tree and bring in to decorate around the house. We lost that tree to a hurricane in 2004.

    • Welcome, Trudy! We did that for a few years until the roots invaded our septic system. Eventually, we had to replace it. After that, we went to a tree lot and cut our own. Merry Christmas!

  11. Thank you for sharing. Loved the story of your two year old. They must have looked so tempting! If I had lived back then, I would have strung popcorn and cranberries and made Christmas cookies to hang on the tree and made bows with leftover material.

    • Welcome, Barbara and thanks for commenting. I would imagine many families did something similar, saving bits and pieces throughout the year to make the tree special for the holiday. Merry Christmas!

  12. I think at that time, I would have tied pieces of string, cloth and ribbon to decorate and hoped for a community tree at the schoolhouse or church. Honestly, if I lived out on the prairie, I assume I wouldn’t have had much extra to work with.

    I read a book about the history of Christmas traditions that started with the early 1700’s in North America and it’s much different than what we think of now because it was truly a religious holiday for many people and conversely involved quite a bit of drinking and revelry for others.

    • Welcome, Rachel! Yes, early Christmases in the colonies were religious events without presents or big gatherings. In my home state of Massachusetts, the Puritans banned Christmas, Easter, and the like, stating only the Sabbath was an acceptable day to rejoice. Despite this, revelers still found a way to celebrate. Thanks for commenting. Merry Christmas!

  13. I would definitely use lots of evergreen boughs, any berries that could be found and perhaps some bright colored ribbon or fabric to highlight the green. Pine cones as well, would be welcome.

    • Welcome, Judy! I would imagine many families did something similar, saving bits and pieces throughout the year to make the tree special for the holiday. Thanks for commenting. Merry Christmas!

  14. I would use whatever evergreens I could find, holly berries, little handmade ornaments for the tree, candles, and cookies.

    • Welcome, Connie! I would imagine many families did something similar, saving bits and pieces throughout the year to make the tree special for the holiday. Thanks for commenting. Merry Christmas!

  15. I would use holly berries , ribbon, ornaments made from scraps of material , popcorn strings or whatever else was available .

  17. I’d string popcorn and cranberries (if I had them) and make cookie ornaments if I had the ingredients. Interesting blog post.

    • Thanks for commenting, Vickie! I imagine mothers might have set aside some sugar or flour to make it special for the family in anticipation of the coming holiday. Merry Christmas!

  18. As a child, i lived in Mexico, where trees were rare… so I’m very familiar with using other materials in place of a tree! Tumbleweeds do a great job as a replacement if trimmed and with a bit of imagination being utilized.
    I can easily see myself using a tumbleweed and decorating it with ribbons, cookie cutouts, colored paper, foil stars and bells, popcorn string, and tin cutouts!

    • Welcome, Ami! I would love to see a Tumbleweed tree decorated for Christmas! I would imagine mothers saving every bit of leftover yarn, thread, ribbons, and tin cans in preparation for decorating the tumbleweeds. Merry Christmas!

  19. My Christmas trees sported hand-made ornaments for years. I loved making them so I would probably be right at home on the prairie.

    • Welcome, Rhonda! I love hand-made ornaments on trees! It gives a glimpse into different personalities of each family member. For years, my daughter asked for gold ornaments every year; while my son wanted whatever sport or musical instrument he was playing at the time. However, once they moved out and took their ornaments with them, we found we had to purchase more. It’s become a tradition in our home to purchase an ornament from places we visited. Thanks for commenting and Merry Christmas!

  20. If we had room, we would have a small tree. If not, I would decorate with garlands of evergreen around the doors and windows but not on the mantel (it dries out too much from the heat.). I would get ribbons for the girls for Christmas gifts, scrap fabric, and tie them on the garland. Popcorn strings and cookies would also be used to decorate them. There would be extra cookies kept in a tin to replenish those that the kids just could not resist. On the mantel would be a couple candles, pinecones, and found items like pretty rocks the kids bring in. Feathers, mosses, shells, etc. would adorn window sills and the garland as well as small wooden toys which would be gifts. If any of the kids needed a new slate for school, I would get one to put on the mantel with a Christmas message.
    One year we rented a cabin and I brought along a 2 foot tree. We went for a hike and collected small pinecones, moss, lichen, feathers, and snail shells. It was a great little tree and meant a lot doing the collecting with our granddaughter.

    • I forgot about the tin ornaments made from cans. I would also pierce some to put candles in for a luminary effect.

    • Welcome, Patricia! What a wonderful visual image you created! I love the idea of bringing along a tree and collecting objects from nature to make it special. What a wonderful memory for your granddaughter! Merry Christmas!

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