Christmas in Colonial America
December 19, 2007
In this busy season of shopping, decorating, and partying, it might be good to reflect on what Christmas was like for our forefathers. This excerpt from Spring House describes Christmas in 1765 for Adam and Jennetta Mitchell:
The Mitchells, as was their custom, met at Uncle Robert’s house on Christmas Eve for a celebration of the birth of their Savior Jesus Christ. This year the Reverend David Caldwell came by with his new bride Rachel, who was the third daughter of Reverend Alexander Craighead. …
After dinner the family attended the first Christmas Eve service conducted by Reverend Caldwell at Buffalo Creek Presbyterian Church. The new minister’s wife, Rachel Caldwell, had brought a large box of beeswax candles, which had been given to her as a wedding present. She thought it would be nice for the head of each family to light and hold a candle during the service. She’d seen this done at one of her father’s churches and thought it would add a special ambiance to her husband’s service.
After church Adam and Jenny walked the short distance to their log cabin. Jenny gave Adam the warm hat with ear flaps she’d knitted. Adam surprised Jenny with the lavender soap he’d been saving for the occasion. Jenny was delighted with the gift – she’d never had soap scented with lavender before, and Adam was both impressed with Jenny’s talent and glad for the practicality of the hat. This Christmas was a joyous one for the newlyweds.
[tags]Early American trivia, Spring House, Christmas[/tags]
Thanksgiving
November 22, 2007
Today is Thanksgiving. Some people are looking forward to a big meal of turkey, dressing, and pie followed by an afternoon of football. But those are secondary to the meaning of Thanksgiving.
Traditionally, the thanksgiving celebration held by the Pilgrims in 1621 is considered the first Thanksgiving.
However, as described in The True Thanksgiving Story by Dennis Rupert, other observances had come before the Pilgrim Thanksgiving.
The first recorded Christian thanksgiving in America occurred in Texas on May 23, 1541 when Spanish explorer, Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, and his men held a service of thanksgiving after finding food, water, and pasture for their animals in the Panhandle.
Another thanksgiving service occurred on June 30, 1564 when French Huguenot colonists celebrated in solemn praise and thanksgiving in a settlement near what is now Jacksonville, Florida.
On August 9, 1607 English settlers led by Captain George Popham joined Abnaki Indians along Maine’s Kennebec River for a harvest feast and prayer meeting. …
Two years before the Pilgrims on December 4, 1619, a group of 38 English settlers arrived at Berkeley Plantation in what is now Charles City, Virginia. The group’s charter required that the day of arrival be observed yearly as a day of thanksgiving to God.
All of these thanksgiving observances had one thing in common, though. As George Washington said in his Thanksgiving proclamation, they were
… observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God …
Our first president recognized the role of “that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be” in our national life. And today we can’t have the Ten Commandments in the courthouse square!
During the early days of our country, the focus of Thanksgiving was on giving thanks to God, not on food and sport. But it’s interesting to know what would have been on the menu around the time George Washington made his Thanksgiving proclamation.
It’s likely that a Thanksgiving meal would have been similar to the wedding feast for Elizabeth and Adam that I described in Spring House:
A great feast of venison, wild turkey, hominy, and the traditional “johnnycake” or “Indian pudding” as the settlers preferred to call it followed the wedding ceremony. Indian pudding or johnnycake was made of the native Indian maize, which the settlers now called corn; to the ground corn, flour, milk, eggs, and molasses were added … with just a touch of corn whisky.
Whatever they ate, however, we know they took the time to give thanks to Almighty God for the blessings He had bestowed upon them.
Early American Trivia: Put your best foot forward.
October 20, 2007
You’ve probably been told to “put our best forward.” Did you ever wonder what it means?
Since you have only two feet, the phrase “put your better foot forward” would make more sense as best implies comparison among three or more. However, the saying “put your best foot forward” has been used since somewhere between the 15th and 17th centuries.
The Idiom Site says:
To ‘Put Your Best Foot Forward’ or ‘to make a bold start’ originated when ladies looked for a well turned leg in men.
The Phrase Finder says:
Meaning
Embark on a journey or task with purpose and gusto.
Origin
First recorded in 1613 from Sir Thomas Overbury: “Hee is still setting the best foot forward.”
The Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings dates “Always put your best foot forward” to 1495, but provides no supporting evidence for that.
‘Put your best foot forward’ is rather an odd saying as it implies you have three or more feet. Cows may be able to put their best foot forward but ‘put your better foot forward’ would make more sense for humans. Shakespeare used a form of that expression in King John: “Nay, but make haste; the better foot before.”
However, that’s not what I learned from a museum guide on a historic tour of Greensboro, North Carolina.
The guide explained that when young ladies curtsied and young men bowed, they were advised to “put their best foot forward” to make the best curtsy or bow possible. It seems that people are left- or right-footed just as they are left- or right-handed. So parents wanted their children to put forward their “best” foot, depending on whether they were left- or right-footed.
Now you know …
Please share your early American trivia in comments.
Early American Trivia: Sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite!
October 12, 2007
I love to learn little-known historical facts and trivia. So I’ve added a category of “Early American Trivia” to answer questions you don’t have with information you can’t possibly use. 
I’ll start off with something from my book Spring House: Book 1 in the Westward Sagas. I want my books to read like the stories I heard growing up, and I tried to include little items that give glimpses of life in early America.
So the first trivia item comes directly from Spring House:
He tucked each of the children into bed, as always saying, “Sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite” as he cranked the ropes of their loft bed tight.
I don’t know if this saying is common where you live, but here in Texas, people still tell other to “sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite.”
The quote from Spring House gives a clue to where the expression “sleep tight” came from. The ropes that were used to support the bed tended to sag and stretch from use. Beds had a crank that could tighten the ropes to give the sleeper good support. It was better to “sleep tight” with the ropes cranked tightly than to sleep on sagging, loose ropes.
Early Americans had no way to fumigate the feathers in their beds to get rid of bed bugs, which feed on human blood. Since the bite isn’t painful at first, people didn’t know they were being bitten in their sleep and could wake up covered with bites that itched for a week or more.
So now you know …
Do you have any favorite early American trivia to share? I’d love to hear about them in comments.
[tags]early American trivia, little-known historical facts[/tags]
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