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 Do you want Historical Information on
Christmas in
Southern Ontario?
Christmas in Upper Canada
Early Canadians did not
celebrate Christmas the same way we do today even though the
Christmas holiday was old in tradition by the time Canada was
settled by Europeans.
Most Canadians did not have a
Christmas tree. In the first place, there was no room for a tree
in a small log cabin. In the second place, most of the United
Empire Loyalists were of English, Scottish and Irish descent and
the idea of having a Christmas tree did not originate in those countries but
actually originated in Germany. The settlers who came from
Pennsylvania and who were of German descent brought the idea of a
Christmas tree to Upper Canada before Prince Albert, Queen
Victoria's husband, introduced it to Britain.
The custom, which came from the
British Isles, of hanging "greens" was much more
appropriate to the cabins of Upper Canada. The "greens"
of Merry Olde England, however, had included holly, ivy and
mistletoe which were not available in Upper Canada in the winter.
Other native evergreens were made into garlands. Garlands were
used to decorate mantles and banisters of great staircases and
were hung around exterior doorways. In England, there was the
custom of the "kissing ball." A large sprig of
mistletoe was hung above an interior doorway. Often the mistletoe
was surrounded by a framework ball of evergreens. In Upper Canada,
the garland and "kissing ball" took on different forms.
Exterior doorways were not very large, so the garland became the
doorway wreath. The mantle was still decorated with a garland.
There was no inside door to hang one in, anyway. Instead a
garland was worked into a hanging ball which was decorated and
hung from the rafter. This ball also took the place of the
Christmas tree.
Decorations were "natural." Little pine cones, nuts, bright bittersweet berries in place of
holly berries, feathers and other attractive bits from the woods
were put on the ball. Early decorations were cranberry and
popcorn chains. Cranberries were a late fruit grown in bogs and
popcorn was one of the early corns developed by Canada's First
Peoples. Later, pieces of ribbon, lace and even bright coloured
bows of calico were added. Children often made straw or yarn
figures to put on the ball or decorate the garlands. Gingerbread
men and other cookie dough figures were not added to the tree
decorations until the later Victorian period (1860's).
Christmas wrapping paper and
Christmas cards did not exist; however, there were stockings hung
on the mantle or the bedposts. If the children had been good and
if the harvest had been successful, the stockings contained
presents. There might have been a gingerbread figure but it was
not cut out with cookie cutters because there weren't any.
Someone had used little balls of dough and shaped the figures.
There would have been an apple or other fruit. There might be a
treasure such as a jack knife or a "house wife." Perhaps there would have been a
homemade toy such as a puzzle, a
puppet, a doll or a wooden horse. If the children were very lucky,
they would have found such treasures as a sled or a Noah's ark or
snowshoes waiting for them. Special gifts were almost always
clothes of some sort. Even an orange was a big treat.
Children made gifts for their
parents, brothers and sisters and other friends and relatives, if
they could. The list of gifts children could and did make was
limited only by ability and available materials. Preparing for
next Christmas usually began on December 26th. Potpourri or
sachet and pomander balls were a great gift for both men and
women. There were times when men liked to sniff a pomander ball.
Hankies could be hemmed or scarves, mitts and socks knitted. Any
little girl of five or six could hem and knit. A "housewife"
for women might be a gift from several children and even from the
husband whose pennies would buy needles, pins and thimble. Boys
might make boxes as presents. Boxes could hold many kinds of
treasures. There were many different toys to be made for other
children. Grandma or Grandpa would enjoy a footstool or pillow
for an aching back.
There would be candy as well as
cookies. The candy was usually in the shape of sticks or balls.
It was a hard candy to suck for hours. These sweets were
flavoured with fruit juice, such as cherry or peppermint. This
was the forerunner of our peppermint candy canes, lollipops,
jawbreakers and even lifesavers.
On Christmas Day after stockings
were emptied, games were played, such as hide-the-thimble and blind-man's-bluff. Dinner would be of the
best quality possible. There would
probably be mincemeat pie and plum pudding made with fruits that
grew naturally in the forest.
After Christmas was over, it was
visiting time because farm work was almost at a standstill.
Sometimes visiting began at Christmas and the house was filled
with friends and relatives. Friendship, food and firewood made
the Christmas gathering a wonderful time for everyone.
Christmas and Children
It was Queen Victoria's
influence, which began to allow children to be children; they were
allowed to play more and work less. Parties were held not only
for the adults but for children at Christmas time. The following
is a poem that was printed in a newspaper in the 1860's; it
clearly shows the change in the approach and the concern for
children in general.
"Christmas
has come, with gifts and toys,
For little girls as well as boys.
Mary has got a picture-book,
And Jane has got a gilded fan,
And something nice has come for Ann,
Baby has got a neat doll, dressed
In scarlet coat and bright blue vest -
Mary and Jane, and Ann I know,
When Christmas comes with frost & snow
We'll think upon the girls and boys
Who get no pretty Christmas toys
Who suffer want, and cold, and care,
And help them both with alms and prayer."
A Christmas Chronology
1510 A decorated Christmas tree
recorded at Riga, Latvia.
1610 Tinsel invented in Germany.
ca. 1660 Record of a tree lit with candles in Germany.
ca. 1800 Tree ornaments were manufactured in Europe
1819 Popular sketch by Krimmel released depicting an American
family with a Christmas tree on the table.
1822 German merchants living in England have decorated trees in
their homes.
1822 Clement Moore, an American, writes "A Visit From Saint
Nicholas" for his family (now known as 'Twas the Night Before
Christmas)-published in 1848
1833 Red poinsettias sold in Philadelphia.
1841 Christmas crackers were manufactured in England.
1843 Charles Dickens writes A Christmas Carol.
1846 Illustration London News publishes a picture of the Royal
Family gathered around a Christmas tree. The picture helps
popularize the table top Christmas tree.
1880 German glass ornaments sold in Woolworth's.
1882 First electric Christmas tree lights sold in New York.
1892 Wire hook for hanging tree ornaments is patented in the
United States.
1896 The T. Eaton Company produces its first Christmas catalogue
1905 Santa Claus arrives by wagon at the T. Eaton Company store
in Toronto.
1917 J.C. Hall (of Hallmark) imported fancy decorated envelope
linings from France to sell as "gift dressing".
1939 "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" created by Robert May for an
American department store as a Christmas promotion.
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