Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1917-12-12
CHRISTMAS FESTIVITIES
IN RICHMOND 80 YEARS AGO
Santa Claus Was in His Glory. and
Hops" Were Nightly
Affairs.
EGGN0G FOR THE THIRSTY
During Lean Years of War "Santa"
Was Imprisoned in North by Lin
coin and Grant, but He Came Back
10 Children Of South.

10 Children Of South.
n line. o.Gi Virginia gentleman. who
mas passed the three score -and-ten
mark. but is yet male and hearty. and
In the enjoyment OF n splendid memory.
was standing on Broad Street tho
o'hcr afternoon watching the throngs
or people who had neglected TO heed
TIC injunction to do their holiday shop
ping early AS he looked upon the
busy crowd his mind went back to
INC good old days long gone by. and,
a!ter a while he turned to a friend
who was with him and said: Christ
mas IS very different from what 1t
was when was young and risky"
icing encouraged so to do, the good
oid gentleman opened his memory re-
ticule and dolcd out some very utter
csting data. from which this story Of
christmas ffty years ago will be built.
TIME FOR HOME GATHERINGS
AMONG PEOPLE OF SOUTH
Christmas always was celebrated III
he South i'm Il different way from that
which prevailed in the North. Here
III virginia II was time for home
gatherings. community dances, balls
,
drinking and for pyrotcchnics. Fire
works were in season at Christmas in
stead OF the Fourth Of July. AS in the
North. And. OF course. Santa Claus
descended every chimney in the land.
These were the ways adopted by Nir-
ginians TO celebrate Christmas before
the great War Between the states.
When that war came along. and az
Ter 1T had gotten we'll under way. Sir-
Einians didn't celebrate anything much,
except now and then one or General
Lees Meeting victories. War required
all OF their attention, and they thought
OF nothing else. AS the lighting went
on and tho blockad!nE OF All ports
became effective, the people had Moth
Ing with which to celebrate except
the apple todd!eG and the c6EnoGG
and times were so on, OF joint and
the general conditions serious the
older people. as Il rule. refrained from
all attempts Ia boos; their spirits by
the aid OF the flowing bowl. The no.G
and the toddy, to great extent. took
back seats in war times.
And. AS for the young people, they
had awfully stupid times. Becarse he
could not get the necessary supplies
Santa Claus practically retired from
business. The elders invented another
myth to the effect that Lincoln and
Grant and Sherman were keeping San
ia Claus in prison up North. and posi-
lively forbade HIM 10 Journey South
of Mason and Dixon line. Christmas
IN war times, wdS indeed n dry and
stupid time III this latitude.
Four LONG YEARS
SINCE REAL CHRISTMAS
Tn. var came TO an end in the spring
OF 1865. ana by Christmas the people
were beginning to be themselves
again II had been four long years
since they had enjoyed Jolly Christ
t,...t
out of prison ana il was announced
that he was coming South to MAKE
UP for lost time. The ports were all
opened and China and Japan were
privileged 10 Hood Virginia and all Of
DiHic with popCrack ers and other fire.
works Long before December dawncd
the people, poor and down hearted
though they yet were. had determined
10 have one mort great, joyful and en-
pcnsive Christmas. 1t was talked about
for months before. and all Of the
children and all OF the youths and
maidens and all OF the tuli grown-ups
and old folks got fu!i OF the idea
The result OF all OF this was that
here in Richmond the people from the
Srandfathers down 10 the little tots
oVerdid The thing. The eSGnogs and
the brandy toddicS and the peach and
honey flowed entirely too freely. and
by far too many hundreds OF dollars
were burned up in popcrackers. Roman
candles and sky-rockets. The frolick-
3 ing was KEEP, up for several days.
and nights, TOO, and Christmas 1865
went down in history as the drunken
est time Richmond ever had" Til.
next year IS6G) there was marked
| Improvement so far as the white peo-
| pie we're concerned. They did not
ignore the rogg and tho toddy: they
partook OF them quite freely. but in a
quiet way and at home. and the chill
drcn. at the return Of Santa Claus
had glorious times but that too, was
not run TO the excuses OF the wear
before.
NEGROES REMEMBER
HOW WHITES CELEBRATED
However. the negroes. who are great
lh.itaiors' remembered how their white
friends had celebrated" the last
Christmas, and they simply turned
themselves loose. There we're at that
time hundreds OF negroes in Richmond.
who had Hooked here from the farms
and rural districts of the State and
mad not then been sent back by the
military authorities, as they after
wards were They. with the native COL
ored population, took the town. But
for them the patronage Of the we'll
stocked barrooms and whisky houses
would have been entirely out of pro-
portion to the elaborate preparations
they had made for big trade. The
military forces stationed here under
General Schofeld had to come TO the
help OF the police force to maintain
order.
These two Christmas experiences
put the people of good old Richmond
to thinking, and that probably had
much to do with the temperance wave
that came along carly in 1867 and was
pushed and encouraged all the wear
by that old ana honorcd organization.
known as the Sons of Temperance n
to. ha lx duo lar rnJ,y
'ment that the data furnished by the
friend OF three-score and ten, as we'll
as some gathered from the files of the
city papers of that day and time, are
able to bring out the fact that the
Christmas Of fifty years ago, while en-
joyablc and greatly enjoyed by the
population generally. was the most
quiet and orderly Richmond had ever