Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1890-12-25
CHRISTMAS BEFORE THE WAR

/ rom EdI per DdLaf
Before the war Christmas was one day
of all days, or rather a pastoral Saturnalia
that set dull care at defiance. From
Christmas Day to Twelfth night-popu-
larly known as "Old Christmas
only'work done was that of charity or
necessity. December was taken up with
getting ready for the holidays. Axes
rang merrily at every wood side; wagons
piled high with oak and hickory logs cut
deep ruts in the soft plantation roads,
and at last made them quagmires.
Sometimes the wood-pile covered half
an acre. Children white and black took
perilous rides on the long plant saplings
projecting from each end. When it
came to be cut into fire lengths there
was fun indeed. The choppers raced
one with another. On the big hickory
ack-Iogs they showed dark, perspiring
silhouettes in half-rims of cleaning
steel So rapid were their motions that
the eye quite lost the outline of axe and
arm. That, of course, only through the
race; but all day the big logs melted
into fire. wood that was stacked and
piled at the back and front doors.
Wood-sheds are unknown there, but the
saddle house was half filled with clean,
new, sweet-smelling chips to kindle fires
with if there came rain or snow. Picking
them up was the children's part. When
the saddle house bank got higher than
their small heads, they began to pile
them in the kitchen, where black nanny
was baking Christmas cake. Each bask-
etful was worth lump of sugar, not the
tasteless white sugar of this era, but
generous bit as big as your fist from the
heart of the hogshead of live, coarse |
grained, brown sweetness that was not
a month away from its native Louisiana |
plantation. OF course there was white
sugar for frosting, and SO on.
All houses were open houses. The |
young folk went nightly from one to
another to dance or play the old
fashioned ring games. When New
Years came, the most pious people !
watched it in with hymns and prayers.
Those not so pious danced the old year
out, and slept deeply into the morning
of the new one. So time flew velvet
winged till Twelfth night came, There
was little dancing or play upon it, partly
because of WEAKNESS, more because
everybody wanted to be fresh for the Sth
of January balls. "Jackson's Day"
ranked with the Fourth of July. Whose
did not honor it was poor spirited indeed.
So cards and question games engaged
the merry makers until midnight stru ok.
Then everybody scrambled after
lantern bearer to the COW pen to find
out whether or not cattle really did
kneel upon Old Christmas. Derision
lay usually in the mind of the investi-
gator Believers in the tradition found
The attitudes of the resting ruminants
devout Infidels declared
there could not be much worship in
kneeling upon hams. The dispute was
lively enough to keep all hands awake
till they got home. The darkies never
doubted. Indeed, their faith in cow
prayers was only equalled by their faith
in the devils mark on hog. Inside
5he foreleg there are five small curious
that the negroes say show
where the devils went in to possess
HEM If the holes get filled with for
eign substance the animal pines and dies.
At least plantation swine-herds would
ell you so to a man. The race is, in
'act, born to believe Freedom and
'ree schools have sadly cut down their
Christmas, but faith in the miracle of
he manger remains.