St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-12-24
CHRISTMAS DAY
Tn OUR HISTORY.
How Il Was Observed at Plymouth and
at New Amsterdam.
The Puritans crowned Upon It; With the JoviaI
Dutchmen it Was Season of Thanksgiving
and Good Cheer-HOw the Worlds Greatest
Festival Gradually Won Its Way IN American
Hearts-some Notable Events Recalled.

The first Christmases of the pioneer white
| settlers in America may be said to have passed
unrecognized and uncelebrated. So sad was the
fate of the Virginia colonists sent out by Raleigh
in 15S4-S7, that their disappearance was never
explained. The experiment OF 1907 was
failure, and it was not until about 1910, after
repeated misadventures of the same sort, and
after permanent settlement of English speak
ing colonists had been established, that the
holiday was marked even by the most informal
celebration on the part of a few scattered
families in jamestown. Of the event itself, no
record exists beyond the bare mention.
1t was in the bleak December of 1920 that the
Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth. It lacked but
few days of Christmas. They had skirted the
desolate and savage coast and now, safely an
chored inside of Clark S Island, they determined
| to establish their settlement On the mainland.
Several days were spent in choosing timber for
building, and on Christmas day, as Bradford
relates: We began to erect the first house for
common use, to receive them and their goods"
! We went On shore. adds another Pilgrim-his-
torian, g some to fell timber some to saw, some
to rive and some to carry, so noman rested that
| day" Al over the Christian world, the sacred
day was being observed, save by the Puritans in
/ England and on these shores of ours. a single
! CLEAN OF brightness is cast athWart this first
sombre Christmas of the Pilgrims by one OF their
number, who afterwards told how, after day OF
/ heavy labor during which the men-folk had been
! drinknge water aboard 1.-THE ship at night the
/ Master caused US to have some beere." Jolly
old soul, that Master of the crew! That Deere -
which his steward tapped is historic, although
! even the mugs and the barrel have long since
disappeared. Puritanism, with all its grim,
/ unbending ausJerity, was unable to utterly
/ crush out recognition of the universal holiday.
Next year, in spite Of the stern faces of the
elders. the Christmas spirit was even more pro-
! nounced. The Fortune, which had followed the
| Magttorcer, bringing some thirty-five sturdy
! young Englishmen to strengthen the colony
| had also apparently brought over with them
some who were disposed to occasional frolic
and relaxation, as can be inferred from Brad
/ ford's remarks: We had colde Christmasse."
/ he wrote. "Ye governor called them out to
worke but most of ye new conpanye excused
themselves and said it went against their con-
science to worke on that daye. Whenye others
came home at even from their worke, he found
them on We streete at play, pitching bar and
throwing ball. So he wente to them and tolde
them that it was against his conscience that
| they sholde play and others worke. If they
must keepe their houses" And the young fel-
lows, halted in the midst of their sport, stood
staring dumbly at the accusing figure of the
| grim old Puritan governor, as he stood there in
the snow, cloaked, hated and heavily booted
the representative of stern, ascetic creed that
held no parley or compromise with ''ye ungodlie
| pleasures " of the English church and its fes-
| rivals.
Affhaf Taariod ne
was in peril on both sides of the Atlantic, and
this extreme rigidity was maintained for many
years. Every trace of the holiday was in danger
4 of disappearing in America. In 1853, the Gen
eral Court of Massachusetts,, enacted that any
body who is found observing, by abstinence
from labor, feasting or any other way, any such
day as Christmas day, shall pave for every such
offense five shilings." Peter, the old historian
| of Connecticut, tells US that one of the laws OF
that State expressly forbade the keeping of
| Christmas, the making of mince pies dancing
or playing on anything except the drum, jews
harp Or trumpet. Poor old Christmas was out
| lawed and proscribedI 1t it true, IN 1851, the
prohibition act was repealed; but for nearly 30
! years thereafter, the Puritan antipathy con-
| trolled the people almost everywhere, and in
! the New England cities shops were kept open
| markets were held, and only very small pro-
portion of the population attended service in
the churches on that day.
| But if the observance of Christmas tagged
among the stern Puritans Of New England it
was quite different with the jovial Dutchmen
who, with their wives and families, had come
over to settle IN New Netherlands some four
years after the arrival of the MaEfolcer at Ply
mouth. At home, 'sKerstrydt !" tChristmas) was
the first of all their festivals, Nieuw Jahr,' -
"Paas" and ''Pinxster" paling beforeits greater
glories. Besides, to those feast-loving colonists
Christmas was a double anniversary, since it
was On Christmas that the first large party of
arrivals from the Netherlands had introduced