The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1904-12-21
Christmas In Old Times.

in the new year approach the mind re-
Verts to some customs and traditions
OF the olden time. In every house
the women got busy early in the fell
go as to weave the jeans and other
cloth aud have the winter supply Of
clothing ready by the first OF Decem-
Der. Those who owned negroes made
their clothing. Remember that the
cloth was made, tho garments cut and
every article the negroes wore was
made on the farm.
The white boys Jared little better.
Many of the smaller children did not
get their new shoes until Christmas
eve. Shoes were ell made on the
farm out Of leather tanned at home,
or by some neighbor who kept tan
yard.
Three-quarters of century ago
there were no sewing machines.
cooking stoves, buggies. breech-lc Ad-
ers, cocaine, delirium tremens, dispcn-
saries, and pistols were So rare that
many persons grew to manhood with
out seeing such things. Shooting
matches with flint and steel rifles,
home made, hunting the game that.
was then abundant, with an OCCASION
al Stew afforded amusement for
the men.
If the Charleston Club wishes to
try stew at Christmas they will need
three. gallon iron pot and two gal
Ions of corn liquor. such as was made
in the old days. Enough spice and
ginger was added to flavor the same.
1t was sweetened with brown sugar to
suit the taste. That was said to be a
very "sarching'' drink, especially if
the weather was below the freezing
point. The young people managed 10
get up quilting as an excuse for get
ting together. That closed up with
dancing, or "twistifcation," or
plays There is not a member Of
St. Cecilia Society today who can
teach her set classification and carry
them through the old-time plays,
which had nothing to do with the
stage, but there were various games or
marches, with songs and forfeits, and
it is said that our grandparents were
not averse to kissing as method of
paying forfeits. Of course their des-
cendants never do anything so very
absurd in these days of germs and
bacilli, and very much modern fool
ishness. 1t would make porpoise
laugh to see Charleston young four
hundred playing and singing.
80 Sister Phoebe! How merry were
The night We sat under the juniper
tree"
Christmas morning the men in the
UP country had considerable fun
shooting Christmas guns. There was
no firecrackers then. About two
hours before day two or three would
start out with their guns loaded with
powder only. They quietly went to a
neighbors house, and getting their
guns very close to the bed room, they
would fire away. There would be no
more sleeping in that house that
night. The man thus aroused would
get his gun and by daylight there
would be dozen or more. After the
morning exercise you might imagine
that they were ready for stew with a
little taste Of the raw while the stew
was preparing.
Thus the people celebrated Christ.
mas in the first third of the last cen.
| tury. In many respects it was bet.
ter plan than the modern methods
with fre-crackers, fire.water, all night
carousals and the free use of pistols
In those old days no one was shot in.
tentionally, and never accidentally
In fact the old English shotguns and
muskets were so long that one could
never get the muzEle to bear on hie
anatomy unless he got on stump.
There was another custom preye
lent in the up-country in the old days
That was writing buckets" OF
course the editor and staff of the News
and Courier know what bucket is,
but it is doubtful whether the scholar
ly professor of English in the Char
lesion College would know bucket il
he should see one. IF he knows why
anonymous communications dealing in
abuse and defamation were called
buckets he will let it be known.
| It was usual when our people begar
to migrate westward for some of them
to send letter back to his old home
| L. 800 L. J:,1.1~.S