chapter 1 moravian christmas traditions and the evolution...

Chapter 1

Moravian Christmas Traditions andthe Evolution of the Holiday“The Moravians know how to keep Christmos [sic].”

— The Wachovia Moravian, December 1894

What was an earlysouthern Moravian

Christmas like? Nowhere didanyone write down in one placea detailed description of all ofthe activities at church and athome leading to the celebrationof one of the most importantevents in Moravian church his-tory: the birth of the baby Jesus.However, through diaries, jour-nals, church reports, and letters,along with an informed specula-tion, we are able to piece togeth-er a narration. So, to begin, let uspart the curtains to the past onan early southern MoravianChristmas.

It is a brisk, cold day in lateNovember about two hundred yearsago in Salem, North Carolina. Thecacophony of tradesmen’s tools, thecreaking of wagon wheels, and therhythmic clip-clopping of horses’hooves mingle with the shrill squealsof pigs being readied for butchering inseveral backyards along Main Street.Children scurry about to help theirparents in this arduous, but neces-sary task, a job so essential thatit takes precedence over school.In readiness for the making ofcider, wine, and brandy, thepungent odor of fermentingapples wafts from the directionof the brewery and distillerywest of town. Faint sounds ofmusic issue from the church wherethe organist practices a specialAdvent anthem. The first whisper ofChristmas is in the air.

As December 25th approaches,a rosy-cheeked girl, excused by herparents from school for the day,rushes importantly from one of theclapboard houses, quickly returningwith a small collection of the neighbor’s tin cookie cutters bundledin her checked apron. Eventually the spicy aroma of freshly bakedChristmas cakes drifts from the outside oven sheltered in a lean-to at the back of the narrow lot. Themouth-watering smell mingles withthe honeyed odor of warm beeswaxemanating from a nearby shedwhere several women are dippingcandles for the lovefeasts. Twoyoung men emerge from the commu-nity store with some loosely-wrapped sugar candies, purchasedfor their godchildren, and walkbriskly down the dirt street. As theystride along, deep in conversation,indistinct German phrases floatupward, linger, and fade. All

through town households are beingtidied and doorsteps and yardsswept (if the mud is not too great).In between their everyday choressome mothers, older sisters, aunts,and grandmothers find time in theirorderly houses to hem a smallwoolen petticoat or cut out a stripedshort gown for a little girl, knit somewarm socks or sew up a new linenshirt for a growing boy. If they finishin time, these useful gifts may beplaced on a table in the sitting roomto be distributed when the familyreturns from the Christmas Evelovefeast at the church.

A few days before Christmasthe schoolteacher and some of hispupils, all wearing closely knit warmcaps, pass by on a borrowed horse-drawn wagon bound for the countrywhere they will seek out a supply ofpine, cedar, laurel, and moss to usein the church decoration. Whenthey return, the teacher and severaladult friends from the SingleBrothers’ house begin to constructtheir essential Christmas decora-tion, the Putz. During the construc-tion they hang some bedsheets toconceal the unfinished project.

They painstakingly build aframework to be placed atthe back of the minister’stable and then piece togetherthe green garlands, festoons,and swags, attaching tothem large cut-out paper

letters of German words thatwhen translated read “Glory to Godin the Highest.” A small watercolor

transparency of the Holy family isplaced in the center of the arrange-ment, and a number of candlesticksare arranged beside and behind it toeffectively illuminate it when thetime comes. After many hours oreven days of work, on completionthey celebrate at the afternoon ves-per with a glass of wine, a slice ofapple cake, coffee, and perhaps agood cigar.

Christmas Eve arrives at last. Tosimplify matters, a late vesper andearly supper may be combined. Asthe afternoon fades, mothers withtheir babies and small children walkto the church at the corner of thesquare for the five o’clock lovefeastservice especially designed for thelittle ones. Two hours later families,including their larger children, returnfor the Christmas Eve service. Theydivide into their special choir sectionsupon entering at the two separatedoors, the men and older boys sittingon one side, the women and oldergirls on the opposite side. Children sitat the front. Led by the minister, whoreads the Christmas story from thesecond chapter of Luke, they enjoysinging in unison as well asantiphonally (responsively) somecarefully selected hymns accompa-

nied by musicians playing violins, aviola, trombones, clarinets, andFrench horns. There are a dozen ormore visitors in the sanctuary, manyof them guests at the tavern, andthey sing the familiar tunes softly intheir own language, while theenslaved African Americans seatedon the long bench at the back of thechurch follow along as best they can,some in German and some inEnglish. By the soft light of the gold-en-colored candles the devout groupdrinks warm tea or sugar-sweetenedlovefeast coffee mixed with milk andsavors the hearty and substantialyeast bread. The children receive giftsthat have been neatly tied to twosmall evergreen trees arranged oneither side of the nativity scene. Criesof delight indicate their appreciationof the printed Bible verses lovinglyembellished by the minister’s wife,shiny red apples, and spicy cakes(Lebkuchen). The older boys andgirls recite their verses received at lastyear’s celebration before they are allpresented with lighted candles to rep-resent Christ as the light of theworld. It is quite dark now, and theflickering flames dance and weave,forming giant shadows on the walls.Stepping into the cold night air, the

2

Let them believe in Santa Claus, or St. Nicholas, orKriss Kringle, orwhatever the namethe jolly Dutchsaint bears in your region.

Marion Harland

The ChristmasHolly, 1867

Putz at the Salem Tavern, early twentieth-century. Old Salem HistoricPhotograph Collection, Old Salem Museums & Gardens (hereafter OSHPC).

3

congregation observes snowflakesgently cloaking the trees in white. As they tread gingerly through thepowdery mixture, some of theolder adults reflect on their own longago childhoods in Pennsylvania, aswell as various countries of Europe,England, and Africa.

Upon reaching home, the parentsstir up the coals from the ashes of thefireplace, add more wood, andobserve that a bucket of water on theopposite wall has begun to freeze.While the children remove outer gar-ments and nibble on their cache ofsweet cakes from church along withapples and cider, a fire is built in thesitting room and finally that door,which had concealed the adults’Christmas preparations including thePutz and some small gifts, is openedwith a flourish. Revealed on the tableis a small carved wood or papernativity set, lovingly unpacked froma chest in the garret and carefullynestled in moss and evergreens witha few sheep grazing close by on arocky slope. The young people aremesmerized at the sight of such adiminutive scene highlighted by the

tallow candles, andthe parents are con-tent with their effortsto bring the story ofthe beloved Jesus intotheir home. A song issung, a prayer is said,and the young peoplemay again repeat their memorized Bibleverses. As the familyretires, they hear thenight watchman’svoice calling the hourand chanting a versefrom one of the hymns earlier sung at church. Tomorrow morning thechildren will carefully place the tinyinfant in the empty crib and lingerthere, repositioning the animals andadding to the straw as they relisheach tiny detail of their own Putz.

Christmas Day begins withchores and perhaps some work proj-ects. There may be two morningchurch services, the first liturgicaland the second a longer preachingservice at which there are againsome visitors to whom the ministermay offer a portion of the sermon in

English, and of coursethere is much music.At home for dinnerserved at about noonthere is a piece ofroasted pork, or maybea turkey, sauerkrautor cabbage, potatoes,pickles, bread and but-ter, a fruit pie, poundcake, and beer, wine,or cider. Later in theafternoon there areshort choir meetingswhere a vesper of cof-

fee or tea with the Christmas gingercakes is enjoyed. A few neighborswith their children may visit eachother’s Putz decoration. A supper ofleftovers is taken in haste so as to hurry again to church for moremusic, worship, and fellowship. Atthis meeting perhaps some of theschool girls present a well-rehearsedode, a recitation and musicaldialogue about the birth of Jesus,which has been prepared by theminister.

As Salem grows and evolves overtime, the English language becomes

MORAVIAN CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS

A few neighborswith their children mayvisit eachother’s Putzdecoration.

Salem Putz at Home Moravian Church’s Candle Tea. Courtesy of Women’s Fellowship, Home Moravian Church.

prevalent and many more goods are brought from afar. As a result,sometime in the mid-century,Moravians in Carolina begin toobserve increasingly elaborateChristmas traditions. However, thechurch services are still at the center of the celebration. The Frieschildren are curling up at homewith a little book in which the giftbringer is pictured coming down thechimney with a pack of toys.Another picture book shows a deco-rated tabletop tree covered with

small presents. The Putz grows toinclude buildings, running water,and an expanse of space. Trees areladen with homemade as well asstore-bought gifts. A drink ofeggnog is enjoyed upon arising onChristmas morning, and importedoysters, oranges, figs, nuts, andchocolates are part of the day’s farefor those who can afford suchextras. An assemblage of usefuland edible items gathered for thefew enslaved helpers is passed outin a little ceremony during the day.

The scene fades. The years pass.Additional elements of Christmascelebration are introduced.

The vignettes above illustratethe active participation of chil-dren in all of the MoravianChristmas traditions. Althoughthe nineteenth century was thereal beginning of the Americanmodel for Christmas as we recog-nize it today, the Moravians hadindeed been known as partici-pants in a meaningfully celebrated

Bethlehem: “The Christmas City”Morav ian a rch iv i s t Dr.

Adelaide Fries called Bethlehem’sname “a Christmas souvenir.” i

Although contemporary histori-ans have asserted that the nameBethlehem had already beenpicked in Europe, the followingstory is a charming one of the little settlement’s first Christmas,as related by Fries:

“In 1741 Count Zinzendorfwas spending the Christmas seasonwith the Brethren in the log housewhich had been built near thebanks of the Lehigh,—a houseconstructed Continental fashion,with dwelling rooms and stableunder one roof. Following the custom of that day the Brethren on the Lehigh were holding aChristmas Eve Watch Service, the

Count presiding. During the service, on a sudden impulse, theCount arose and led the companyinto the stable, there continuingthe service and singing a very old Christmas hymn which began‘Not Jerusalem, Rather Bethle-hem, Gave us that which Makethlife rich.’ The little village, thus far without a name, took the nameBethlehem from this idea.”ii

Engraving of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, 1750-60, engraved by J. Noual, London. Collection of Old Salem Museums& Gardens (hereafter OSMG).

5

Christmas Day for much longer.As a writer in The Moravianin 1863 wrote, “In our ownChurch, it has ever been the custom to dedicate [the festival ofChristmas] almost exclusively to [children’s] instruction and enjoyment.”1 In 1870 the editorreminded adults “Let us rear theChristmas tree for them [the chil-dren], and make the house full ofjoy and Christmas warmth andlight. But let us not neglect to tellthem what it all means [emphasisadded].”2 The reason for thatattention was well explained inthe Southern Church publicationsome years later: “The manner inwhich the Son of God entered ourhuman nature has sanctified theestate of childhood. He came as ababe laid in the manger in orderthat the little children might beloved and prized as they neverhad been before. If, therefore,in homes and Sunday schoolswe make children happy, we aredoing what Jesus did in his birthat Bethlehem.”3

Perhaps the greatest contrib-utor to the value that Moraviansgave to the nurturing and educa-tion of children was the promi-nent church leader and bishopJohn Amos Comenius (1592-1670). Comenius, known far and wide as the “Father ofEducation,” instituted manypositive and still enduring theo-ries of an early and broad educa-tion for children. Teaching bypictures as well as by text andentertaining children as they werelearning were creative approach-es used by Comenius in his bookOrbus Pictus, published in 1658and considered the “first illustrat-ed school book,”4 or “the firstchildren’s picture book.”5

Employing pictures, visualimages, and even plays to mental-ly and emotionally teach andinspire churchgoers had long beena successful method of theCatholic Church, particularly forthose who were illiterate. Forexample, it is said by many

historians that the miracle plays or“Moralities” presented in medievalEuropean churches of Bible stories(such as Adam and Eve with aParadise tree hung with apples)was the scene from which camethe forerunner of the Christmastree and probably the Putz. TheMoravians were also adept at usingthese techniques effectively andmeaningfully, not only with chil-dren but also with adults. Theyunderstood the impact of imagesand symbols and used such thingsas greenery-enhanced illuminatednativity scenes, colorfully executed

Bible verses, the light of candles, astar, a lamb, and even Christmastrees and pyramids to inform andenlighten.

Underscor ing that theMoravians were always mindfulof their children and of theimportance of visual referencesto reinforce their faith, BishopAugust Gottlieb Spangenberg, in his definitive exposition ofMoravian beliefs published in1778, wrote “God gives his angelsto the service of children; andtherefore children, who are of somuch value with God, should


Early gift bringer image, mid-nineteenth century. Courtesy of theNorth Carolina Office of Archives & History.

6MORAVIAN CHRISTMAS IN THE SOUTH

likewise be precious and dear tous.”6 As a group in the churchvery young children themselveswere known as angels.7 Religioussupport groups called choirswere formed to correspond to thechildren’s ages, and thus suitableinstruction was ongoing in theprogressing stages of life.8 Angelswere an important and commontheme at that time; nineteenth-century Christmas picturessometimes depicted childrenas angels and the gift bringer tothe children as a young angel.9

The use of Christmas candleson 24 December 1747 in Marien-born (near Herrnhut, now inGermany) for a Christmas Evewatch service illustrates theMoravians’ early use of visualsymbols for children. BrotherJohannes von Watteville, son-

in-law of Count Zinzendorf,told the children of the birth ofJesus and to remind them of Hisgreat sacrifice presented each lit-tle one with a burning taper, tiedwith a red ribbon. Holding theirlighted candles high as BrotherJohannes sang, the childrenclearly grasped the symbolism ofChrist’s redemptive love as thelight of the world in the heartsof people.10

Seemingly in contradictionto this long Moravian traditionof recognizing children as mem-bers of the congregation in needof special attention is the factthat the Moravians emerged froman unmistakable European com-munal society. In Salem, theMoravians had lived in familyunits from the beginning, buttheir strong sense of church and

mission work had emphasized aChrist-centered focus above allelse. In Europe, and even occasion-ally in Salem, to carry out God’swork sometimes meant departureand separation from family formonths or years, but with thesecure understanding that otherresponsible adults were alwaysavailable to act as surrogates fortheir children in choir groups, inthe church, and in homes.11

While the communal aspectsof eighteenth- and early-nine-teenth century Salem made theMoravians distinct from theirCarolina neighbors, by the mid-nineteenth century Salem societyhad changed significantly. Theeighteenth-century model of acongregation town with service toGod and the church placed aboveall else had all but disappeared and

A children’s lovefeast, 1760, engraved by I. Rod Holzhalb, France or Germany. OSMG.

1. Begin to train your children from the cradle.From their earliest infancy, inculcate the neces-sity of obedience.

2. Unite firmness with gentleness.

3. Never give them anything because they cry for it.

4. Seldom threaten; and be always careful to keepyour word.

5. Never promise them anything, unless you arequite sure, you can give them whatyou promise.

6. Always punish your children for will-fully disobeying you; but never pun-ish in a passion.

7. Do not be always correcting yourchildren; and never use violent or ter-rifying punishment. Take the rod (soSolomon says,) let it tingle, and prayGod to bless it.

8. On no account allow them to do atone time what you have forbiddenunder the same circumstances atanother.

9. Teach them early to speak the truthon all occasions.

10. Be very careful what company yourchildren keep.

11. Make your children useful as soon asthey are able, and find employment forthem as far as possible.

12. Teach your children not to waste anything; to be clean and tidy; to sit downquietly and in good order to theirmeals; to take care of and mend theirclothes, to have “a place for every thing,and every thing in its place.” (I Cor. XIV,40. John VI, 12.)

13. Never suffer yourself to be amused byan immodest action; nor, by a smile,encourage those seeds of evil which,unless destroyed, will bring forth thefruits of vice and misery.

14. Encourage your children to do well;show them that you are pleased whenthey do well.

15. Teach your children to pray, by praying withand for them yourself. Maintain the worship ofGod in your family, if you desire his blessing todescend on you and yours.

16. Impress upon their minds that eternity isbefore them, and that those only are truly wisewho secure eternal blessings.

17. Above all, let parents be themselves what theywould wish their children to be.”

The Maxims for Parents on Rearing ChildrenThe Moravian published some maxims for parents in 1863.iii Originally appearing in a handbill published inBirmingham, England, they began with a quote: “When the ground is soft and gentle, it is time to sow theseed; when the branch is tender, we can train it easiest; when the stream is small, we can best turn its course.”

Maxim illustration, nineteenth century. Author’s collection.

MORAVIAN CHRISTMAS IN THE SOUTH

a recognizably American communityemerged with the family unit as thefocus. This movement away fromcommunal organization was drivenby gradual assimilation of southernMoravians into American society.And not only was the family receiv-ing closer attention in Moravian com-munities in Wachovia, it was becom-ing more important in Americanhomes in general. For both groups,the individual pockets of culture of eighteenth-century, backcountryAmerica had often formed insulatedunits. By the later nineteenth century,for better or for worse, the Americancultural “tossed salad” was beginningto be stirred into a “melting pot.”12

For the Salem Moravians, assimila-tion into American society hadbeen occurring in increments sincethe town’s beginnings, but official-ly took place in 1857 when Salemceased to exist as a closed churchcommunity or theocracy, less thana century from its founding.13

As the nineteenth century pro-gressed, the Moravians in Salem andtheir fellow Americans increasinglymade a niche for family, friends,and charges to gather around thefigurative hearth for bonding, fel-lowship, and conversation. Painfulmemories of the Civil War increasedties to home. “Let the fires of homereligion be kindled anew,” pled TheMoravian of 1868.14 The editor of The Moravian remarked in 1870,“Christmas is emphatically a home-festival.”15 “Home, sweet home” wasbecoming an American goal, althoughit poignantly had not always beenso in the American reality. A CivilWar soldier had written in 1863 in “The Children’s Column” of TheMoravian in Bethlehem to expresshis “New-Year’s greeting from thearmy.” He described his life as a soldier in realistic terms: the tent-covered “pine twigs” and “corn-blades” makeshift bed dug into a

8

“Marie Agnes von Zinzendorf”(1735-84) by Johann ValentineHaidt. Courtesy of the MoravianArchives, Herrnhut, Germany.

Emil De Schweinitz of Salemwith his toy train, c. 1868.OSHPC.

Anna Paulina De Schweinitz ofSalem with her doll in carriage,c. 1868. OSHPC.

trench, and the “cracker-box”table on which he was writing.A positive touch was a “nice fire,”so life was not totally unbearable,although he stated, “‘Home,Sweet Home’ is far preferable.”16

Religion was an integral andinfluential part of a large segmentof eighteenth- and nineteenth-century life in America, especiallyas the country became more set-tled and traveled, industrialized,urban, and materially endowed.Many people were moving fromrural farms to take jobs in facto-ries in the cities. The middle classwas expanding and becomingmore educated and refined as itpurchased cheaper and moreaffordable manufactured goods,thereby increasing its comfortsand leisure. As some mothers hadfewer children, and health careand improved sanitation helpedthose offspring to live longer, aheightened interest in the familyemerged. The broader dissemina-tion of printed materials in theform of books, periodicals, andnewspapers increasingly servedto inform and enlighten peopleon many topics. The results of theIndustrial Revolution were moreand more apparent in the variousMoravian communities. Thetrades town of Salem found itharder to sell its more expen-sive handmade goods, and somills and factories began to beestablished and manufacturedgoods were brought in from out-side, thus contributing to thedemise of the little church townas a closed community.

One national social trendthat occurred was that childrengradually began to receive moreattention and status within thefamily from what had been amore repressed condition. Youngmothers did not necessarily knowhow to cope with children in thisnew role, and so magazine andbook writers dispensed neededadvice not only in straightfor-ward treatises, but in the guise of“domestic fiction,” “woman’sfiction,” or “sentimental fic-

tion.”17 Such writers as Mrs.Lydia Maria Child, MarionHarland, and the Beecher sisterswrote manuals with compila-tions of recipes and remedies aswell as advice on housekeeping,domestic economy, and raisingchildren.18 The Beecher sisters“affectionately inscribed” TheAmerican Woman’s Home in 1869to “The Women of America inwhose hands rest the real des-tinies of the republic, as mouldedby the early training and pre-served amid the maturer influ-ences of home.”19 Such bookswere immensely popular andsometimes went through as manyas a dozen printings.

In 1856, in the first volumeof the newly started paper TheMoravian, “Mr. Moravian,” thechildren’s editor, highlighted thepleasures of winter, Christmas,and the comforts of home in thefollowing passage: “Apples andgrapes, and chestnuts, and hicko-ry nuts, and Christmas and new-

year’s gifts, and snow and ice,and sleds and skates, and warmfiresides and home comforts riseup before you at the sound oftheir names.”20 A number of yearslater in a story in the same publi-cation entitled “The ChristmasBlessing,” home was given itsimportant place. “Christmas ispreeminently also a family, aswell as a Church, festival...cele-brated in the domestic circle as inthe Church with particular refer-ence to the children... .”21

The loving scene described byMr. Moravian did not alwaysembrace America’s early children,however. For them, life was some-times a litany of “dos and don’ts”with their infrequent appear-ances at adult functions strictlycontrolled and regulated by theidea that children were often nei-ther to be seen nor heard.Consider the 1805 edition (origi-nally appearing in 1783) of apopular and widely used text-book for American students,

9 MORAVIAN CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS

Home Sweet Home die cut decoration, Germany.Author’s collection.

Adam and Eve ChargerThis delftware charger “Adamand Eve” was made in Bristol,England, about 1650-1690 by anunknown potter. Polychromeddishes like this were more decora-tive and meant to be hung on thewall or prominently displayed as asign of some affluence. The sub-ject here is the fall of Man andincludes an apple tree entwinedby a serpent to represent evil. Thismotif was in part popular because

of the publication in 1667 of JohnMilton’s poetic immortalization“Paradise Lost.” It also has aChristmas significance comingfrom the Christian medievalchurch “mystery” or “miracle”plays, popular in the fourteenthand fifteenth centuries, in whichstories of the Bible were depictedwith props to visually teach themostly illiterate parishioners.Even after the plays were no

longer performed sometime inthe fifteenth century, peopleremembered the depiction of the “Paradise” tree representingimmortality and the Tree of Lifeand Adam’s fall, all as associationsof Christmas. On the early saintscalendar Adam and Eve Day wason December 24. It was, therefore,only natural to erect a tree deco-rated with apples for this signifi-cant event.

Collectionof the

Museum of Early Southern

Decorative Arts, Old Salem Museums &

Gardens (hereafter MESDA).

11

Noah Webster’s The AmericanSpelling Book. Some of the rulesof behavior for children were outlined:

Be a good child; mind yourbook; love your school; and strive tolearn. Tell no tales; call no illnames; you must not lie, nor swear,nor cheat, nor steal. Play not withbad boys; use no ill words at play;spend your time well; live in peaceand shun all strife. This is the wayto make good men love you, and saveyour soul from pain and woe... . Asfor those boys and girls that mindnot their books, and love not thechurch and school, but play withsuch as tell tales, tell lies, curse,swear and steal, they will come tosome bad end, and must be whipttill they mend their ways.22

An earlier edition of Webster’sbook was in use in Salem in Mayof 1791 when President GeorgeWashington visited the classroomof Samuel Kramsch where a read-ing session was in progress.23

During this period Anna RosinaGambold, at the remote Spring-

place, Georgia, Cherokee Missionestablished by the Moravians, hadthirty-eight books, which includ-ed Noah Webster’s The AmericanSpelling Book.24

Webster’s occasionally laboriousbook nevertheless was considereda welcome respite from the evenheavier scholastic materials for-merly employed, with the excep-tion of Comenius’s writings. Bookssolely for the pleasure of childrenhad only become available in thesecond half of the eighteenthcentury, and many of these“wagged their fingers in print”against anything “playful andimaginative,” as the child had tobe early converted to save himfrom a quick and unexpecteddeath with the eternal accompa-nying damnation.25

Up until such books asWebster’s, the catechism andhornbooks for learning the alpha-bet were considered the basics forthe few children who were privi-leged to learn to read and write.Then chapbooks, religious and

otherwise, often sold by peddlersand containing all kinds of stories,became very appealing and, thus,popular. Moral instruction wasbeing encouraged by the SecondGreat Awakening, which sweptthrough the country from 1795 to 1836 and hence promotedupright, enlightened living. TheSunday School movement, havingstarted in England in the 1770s forunderprivileged children, began in1816 in Wachovia. It fosteredmemorization of Bible verses, aswell as some general education.26

Salem children, of course, alreadyreceived both, so a local SundaySchool for them was not begununtil 1849.27 The Sunday SchoolUnion and the American TractSociety both issued moralistictracts, and churches sponsoredmen called colporteurs (an effortin which the Moravians participat-ed), who traveled the countryside,passing out tracts, Bibles, and thedispensation of religion by wordof mouth in order to reach eachand every uninformed soul,including children.

An image of a family Christmas,early-nineteenthcentury, from an AmericanTract Society publication.Author’s collection.



Long before the advent ofSunday Schools, however,Moravian children at Christmashad been given pretty colored orilluminated Bible verses as partof their gift from the church,along with the aforementionedcandles and perhaps a tastytreat, like a ginger cake. Theywere encouraged to take theverses home and memorizethem. When African Americansin Salem obtained their ownchurch, they, too, benefited fromsome education. On 26 December1841 at the African American logchurch, the children recited theChristmas verses they hadlearned and then received cakes.28

The Morav ian Churchbelieved that educated peoplecould enhance their lives by reading the word of God directly

from the Bible and thus becomestronger Christians, so it is not sur-prising that schools were an earlypart of the establishment of theirtowns. As Comenius wrote in TheSchool of Infancy about Solomon’swisdom, “A young man dulyinstructed as to his way, evenwhen old will not depart from it.”29

The Moravians’ “heart religion”encouraged a simple, direct, famil-iar, and joyful communion withGod to whom one could alwaysturn in times of need, whateverthe age. In knowing God, oneknew oneself and grew in thatknowledge. This, not doctrine, wasthe essence of Moravian theology.

Such activities as singingtogether bound people to eachother and to the church. Theywere used on a national scale bycertain influential adults as a

way of creating traditions mean-ingful to families and their chil-dren and bringing them not onlyto each other and the church,but to the larger community as awhole. For the Moravians, musicwas an essential ingredient intheir faith.

Outside the church in theSouth, revelry associated withthe holiday had long been manifested by such activities asshooting matches, fox hunts,cock fights, races, dances, balls,parties, dinners, games, lotteries,noise making, and the inevitabledrinking, an issue that eventual-ly led to the temperance move-ment. Some of these activitieswere escalating into what couldbecome a population out of control, particularly in the cities.America needed its own solid,

Illustration from Harper’s Weekly, December 1886. Author’s collection.

13

suitable, inspiring celebrationsfor special occasions, not thedrunken, boisterous, unruly,loud, and destructive behavior,which was increasingly becom-ing a problem, both locally andelsewhere. Social reform wasrequired, and so a renewed inter-est in religion had developed,ranging from temperance meet-ings to Bible societies, mission-ary societies, Sunday Schools,and gospel tract ministries. Somelocal agnostics, like the outsider(non-Moravian)30 Dr. GeorgeWilson of Bethania, thought theproliferation of such organiza-tions stifling, but many citizensthought them essential.31

The various tract and SundaySchool writings, as we havenoted, were particularly pro-lific in advancing the state ofmorality in children andadults. The earliest so-calledChristmas books for childrenwere usually filled with sto-ries about naughty boys andgirls who learned valuablelessons to improve and thegood children who becamebetter by example.

A poem (right) appearedin 1821 in The Children’sFriend, a little illustrated vol-ume in which “Santeclaus”arrived on Christmas Eve. Ittaught a number of lessonsand warned of punishmentfor transgressions: the “birch,logic, and religion”32 aspectssometimes delineated by well-meaning but autocratic adults.

This poem was only one inwhat proved to be an increas-ing abundance of Christmasmaterial. In the 1820s, NewYorkers John Pintard, Washing-ton Irving, and ClementMoore (responding to unseem-ly public rowdiness as well as the need for American traditions) had begun to laythe groundwork for the newAmerican Christmas, and, inthe 1840s, Charles Dickens’sredemptive story of Scrooge’s

change into a model of charity wasvery influential.35 Pintard andIrving concentrated on Nicholas,the Dutch bringer of gifts, andMoore, of course, wrote the nowimmortal poem “An Account of aVisit from St. Nicholas,”36 whichmay have had as one of its sourcesthe poem from The Children’sFriend, although Moore portrayedthe gift-bringer as a genial andnon-threatening character.

A Pennsylvania-publishedChristmas book said to have anenormous impact on the devel-oping Christmas in America,according to that state’s Christmashistorian Alfred Shoemaker, wasKriss Kringle’s Christmas Tree, pub-lished in 1845 and widely distrib-uted. It validated Kriss Kringle as

one of the gift bringers, includingthe names of Santa Claus and St.Nicholas, and even the antecedentof Kriss Kringle, Christ-Kindlein (theChrist Child who brought presentsto Protestant children in Germanyand in America).37 This little bookhad on the cover the picture of anelfin gift-bringer in the act of placing toys on a small tabletopChristmas tree, thus introducingmany American children who sawthe book to some of the symbolsassociated with the secular Christ-mas.

One entry in the Kriss Kringlebook is a poem called “TheChristmas Gift” in which a boy isoffered by a charitable lady hischoice of one item from an arrayof “baubles and toys.”38 He is

greatly attracted by a toy whitehorse, a warrior’s accou-trements, and some books, butultimately settles on a Bible,which he knows his motherloves most and that he canshare with his siblings. Alongwith the obvious lesson ofchoosing the Bible over tempo-ral objects, this story representsthe charitable giving to under-lings and the less privilegedthat became so prevalent as a theme in literature and in lifeof the nineteenth century.Chapter Three will exploresome of the Moravian instancesof youthful giving.

Emphasizing the good willtowards children long expressedby the Moravian Church, Mr.Moravian wrote affectionatelyto his young readers onChristmas Day, 1857: “Wehaven’t forgotten the delightwith which we used to look forward to Christmas Eve and morning; and whilst the feeling has become deepenedand hallowed, it is as joyousas ever... . It does us good to seeyour smiles, and to hear yourmerry, ringing laughter. Itwakes up the memory of earlydays, when we used to run toour stockings, and tables, andChristmas trees, to see whether


Old SANTECLAUS with much delightHis reindeer drives this frosty night,O’er chimneytops, and tracks of snow,To bring his yearly gifts to you.

The steady friend of virtuous youth,The friend of duty, and of truth,Each Christmas eve he joys to comeWhere love and peace have made their home.

Through many houses he has been,And various beds and stockings seen,Some, white as snow, and neatly mended,Others, that seem’d for pigs intended.

Where e’er I found good girls or boys,That hated quarrels, strife and noise, I left an apple, or a tart, Or wooden gun, or painted cart;

To some I gave a pretty doll.To some a peg-top, or a ball;No crackers, cannons, squibs, or rockets,33

To blow their eyes up, or their pockets.

No drums to stun their Mother’s ear,Nor swords to make their sisters fear;But pretty books to store their mind.With Knowledge of each various kind.

But where I found the children naughty,In manners rude, in temper haughty,Thankless to parents, liars, swearers,Boxers, or cheats, or base tale-bearers,

I left a long, black, birchen rod, Such, as the dread command of GodDirects a Parent’s hand to use When virtue’s path his sons refuse.34


Mr. Santa Claus had rememberedus or not. He was sure to do it.Candies, cakes, nuts, fruits, wax-candles, books and gifts of allsorts for juveniles were there;and though we don’t care quiteas much for some of these thingsnow, as we did then, we are glad tosee you enjoy them, and are happyif you are happy.”39 In the middleof the Civil War in 1863, Mr.Moravian again reiterated, “It is aseason rightly devoted to childishjoy. Blessed are the children whoare spending a happy Christmas...[as] they sported around theChristmas-tree... . The holiest asso-

ciations of childhood clusteraround this Christmas festivaland influences proceed from itwhich are never lost.”40

The development of theAmerican Christmas is epito-mized by what many such writersas Mr. Moravian were promoting.One of them said it thusly:

Never deny the babies theirChristmas! It is the shining seal set upon a year of happiness. If thepreparations for it—the deliciousmystery with which these areinvested; the solemn parade ofclean, whole stockings in the chim-

ney corner; or the tree, decked insecret, to be revealed in glad pompupon the festal day-if these andmany other features of the anniver-sary are tedious or contemptible inyour sight, you are an object of pity;but do not defraud your children of joys which are their right, merelybecause you have never tastedthem. Let them believe in SantaClaus, or St. Nicholas, or KrissKringle, or whatever the name thejolly Dutch saint bears in yourregion. Some latter-day zealots,more puritanical than wise, havefelt themselves called upon, inschools, and before other juvenileaudiences, to deny the claims of the patron of merry Christmas topopular love and gratitude. Theirsis a thankless office; both parentsand children feeling themselves to be aggrieved by the gratuitous disclosure, and this is as it shouldbe. If it be wicked to encouragesuch a delusion in infant minds, itmust be a transgression that leansvery far indeed to virtue’s side.

All honor and love to dear oldSanta Claus! May his stay in ourland be long, and his pack growevery year more plethoric! Andwhen, throughout the broad earth,he shall find, on Christmas night,an entrance into every home, andevery heart throbbing with joyfulgratitude at the return of theblessed day that gave the Christ-child to a sinful world, the reign of the Prince of Peace shall havebegun below; everywhere thereshall be rendered, ‘Glory to God in the highest,’ and ‘Good-will to men’ shall be the universallaw—we shall all have becomeas little children.41

This thought brings us backto the Moravian bishopComenius’s statement “TheLord himself declares ‘Except yebe converted, and become as little children, ye shall notenter into the kingdom ofheaven.’ Since God thus willsthat children be our precep-tors, we owe them the mostdiligent attention.”42 In addi-Cover of Kriss Kringle’s Christmas Tree, 1846.

Author’s collection.

15

tion, Comenius made anotherstatement which the Moraviansmay well have taken to heart inregard to Christmas: “Parentsought to be especially carefulnever to allow their children to bewithout delights,” for “the joy of the heart is the very lifespringof man.”43

As a result of this recognitionof children there was the develop-ment of a new kind of Christmas,one which centered on the family,the home, and the gifts that beganto be offered as tokens of friend-ship and love. If happiness didnot reign supreme at the hearth,which was the symbol of familybonding and togetherness, moth-ers were told how to achievedomestic bliss through the afore-mentioned religious tracts, advicebooks, magazines, and other publications. As the nineteenth

century progressed and as fewerfathers worked at home, themother found herself as one of thecornerstones of family life, whocame to be largely responsible forthe religion, culture, behaviorand manners, education, clothing,food, household furnishings, andmanagement of her children. Inessence, in the burgeoning middleclass she was the managing partner,as her spouse was the financialpartner.44 Expansion of education inchildhood would ultimately allowadults to be better equipped toact responsibly, a desirable goal inthis growing republic. Carefullymolding children with positivereligious principles would assuresuccess in our democracy. Justsuch a foundation was exemplifiedin a familiar classic of the period,Little Women by Louisa May Alcott,written in 1868 and set in New

England during the Civil War. OnChristmas, the four sisters wereasked by their mother to give uptheir presents in recognition ofthe war and to take their holidaybreakfast to a poor family, a typeof charitable offering, whichbecame increasingly popular in the new society. They did, in fact,each receive a gift of a small Bibletucked under their pillows, thecolored covers carefully selected bytheir mother (beloved “Marmee”)to correspond to their tastes, witha few inscribed personal words.The girls gave no gifts to eachother but took their bit of moneyto buy or make some smalltokens for their mother, whichthey planned to put in a basketon the table in the parlor.

Thus melds the sacred andthe secular in our path to themodern day Christmas, and we


Engraved illustration from an American Tract Society publication, 1820s. Author’s collection.

can begin to see why a Charles-ton woman in 1912 called theholiday the “great domestic festival.”45 Back in Salem in the1920s, Winifred Kirkland’s bookWhere the Star Still Shines, spon-sored by the Woman’s Auxiliaryof Home Moravian Church,invited adults to drop the “crippling pack of maturity andbecome once again a little childstepping along a Christmasroad.”46 As a writer in theWachovia Moravian stated inDecember 1895, “The Moraviansknow how to keep Christmos[sic]”, but “the simple secret” ofsuch a Christmas is “that theLord Jesus Christ must have thefirst place in it.”47 Now, let us,too, step on the path to discovereven more of the Christmasroots of the Moravian past, par-ticularly in the South, but also tosome extent in America andeven Europe. During the journeywe will explore some of the mostloved and recognized traditions,which bring to us all “the myste-rious quickening to life of...[our]buried childhood.”48

Frolicks and Other Christmas TemptationsSuccumbing to the exhilaration of hunting and other such tempta-tions was a continual problem in Wachovia through the years. On 21 May 1806, the Elders in Salem recorded, “A public warningshall be given in all our congregations, reminding our Brethren not togo to horse races, musters, shooting matches, or frolics, with noticethat failure to observe our rules will not pass unnoticed.”iv “Frolick” (aperiod spelling) was a commonly used word during this period. An1828 dictionary with a provenance from Salem described it as a wild prank, a flight of whim or gayety.v Frolicks took place duringChristmas, as well as other times, and the mere fact that theMoravians were warning against them meant that they were beingheld by the outsiders all around. Examples of local frolicks includedharvest corn huskings and other such farm-related activities, as wellas country weddings, planned during the winter months when moreleisure existed. Putting up Christmas decorations at church couldeven be construed as such an occasion, especially if accomplished bya group of young people of both sexes not properly chaperoned.vi

Consequences of participating in a frolick could be momentousfor a Moravian. The Bethania Committee reported in 1816, “thatthe single Anton Hauser here in the village, on the secondChristmas Day of the past year, took part in a Negro-frolick in thisneighborhood. Hauser was excluded from the community.” vii

MESDA’s Cherry Grove Parlor.

Salem’s HomeMoravian Church.

19

Moravian sister AnnaRosina Gambold record-

ed the first written documenta-tion of the Christmas tree in the South on 21 December 1805,at the Moravian Indian Missionin Springplace, Georgia. Shewrote: “Soon after breakfast wedrove with our pupils in our cartto the Connasaga River, about 3 miles from here, to fetch a small green tree for Christmas... .”[ grune Baumchen fur Weynachten].1

That same year, at the beginning of Advent on December 1,Missionary Gambold remarkedthat the children had been askingfor a long time how many Sundaysthere would be until Christmasand smilingly rejoiced that thenumber was dwindling. OnSunday the 8th there was aSingstunde, a song service, atthe conclusion of the regularservice. Then, on the 24th,“a happy lovefeast” washeld at which “burningwax candles were distrib-uted” and selected verseswere sung. Spruce branch-es had been strewn on thefloor2 and a wreath hungin the window. Soon afterbreakfast on ChristmasDay the children receivedsmall presents and “verseswith colorful borders.” Onthe 26th they presented tothe Cherokee chief’s wife,Mrs. Vann,3 “a little painted

wreath” with a text inside thatread, “Unto You is born aSaviour!” During the week afterChristmas “many Indians” cameto look at the “Christmas decora-tions.”4

The next year, again on 21December, Sister Gambold wrote,“In the afternoon Brother Byhanwent with our children on horseto fetch shrubs and little trees forthe Christmas decorations. This

was a delight to the children... .”5

These shrubs would have beenpart of the frequently erectedMoravian Putz6 decoration,whichincluded assorted greenery andthe Nativity at Christmas; “the little trees” were probably intend-ed as Christmas trees.

One wonders about theappearance of those early Christ-mas trees. To enhance our imag-ination we may consider one of the earliest pictorial depictionsof an American Christmas treecreated by Lewis Miller (1796-1882). Miller, a German carpenterand chronicler of people andevents by his folk drawings inYork, Pennsylvania, sketched apicture of Seifert, a blue dyer, withhis family, and in the back-ground was a Christmas tree,which appears to be decoratedwith springerle cookies andfruit, perhaps apples.7 Thedate on the drawing is 1809,which would make Miller sixteen years old when hemade the picture. However,he was a neighbor of Seifertat that time, and the curatorof the collection of theHistorical Society in Yorkbelieves it to be an accuratedate, although the possibilityexists that Miller may havedrawn the picture later, as part

of his reminiscing collection of“a looking glass for the mind.”8

Chapter 2

The Christmas Tree and the Pyramid

“a treat for our young ones with a little decorated tree”— John and Anna Rosina Gambold,

Springplace, Georgia, Moravian Indian Mission, 24 December 1814


Another source sets the date forthe Miller drawing between 1819and 1821.9 Regardless of the exact date, it does afford a visualrendering of an early AmericanChristmas tree, such as theGambolds might have put up atSpringplace.

There is a lapse of some yearsbefore the mention by Gamboldof the next reference to a decorated tree in Georgia, whichappeared on 24 December 1814.The translation from the old

German script of this documentreads as follows: “Soon after theservice [which was held in theevening] the party left Brotherand Sister Gambold’s to go to ourBrother’s house where Gonstadihad prepared a treat for our youngones with a little decorated tree,[mit einem gepuzten Baumchen] andwe sang as if with one heart andmouth, ‘I will rejoice in God mySaviour!’”10 Gonstadi was a youngboy of about five who had beenbrought by his father to be educated at the mission. A child

of this age would probably havebeen guided in such a decoratingproject by his teacher. The“Brother” was probably JohnGambold’s brother Joseph, andthe reason that they went to hishouse was to keep the tree a com-plete surprise in order to heightenthe drama until the moment ofrevelation. The dramatic unveil-ing of Christmas trees was com-mon behavior at that time.

One may well ask why theGambolds instituted the use ofChristmas trees at the GeorgiaMoravian mission. The ReverendJohn Gambold (1760-1827) andhis wife Anna Rosina Kliest(1762-1821) were the couple in charge of the mission atSpringplace beginning in 1805and were devoted to service inGod’s kingdom. They had bothbeen part of the Moravian community of Bethlehem, andhe maintained close connec-tions as well in Nazareth,Lititz, Salem, and Wachovia.The founders of these com-munities had ties to Germanywhere the birth and death ofJesus had long been honoredwith visual images. The upperRhineland is thought to be thesource of the first EuropeanChristmas trees.11 The Moraviansin Bethlehem may have had thefirst Christmas tree in America.For a synod in 1748 the churchminutes described a lovefeast forthe children in October, whichincluded what appeared to be a Christmas-like tree. At thatchurch meeting in the Saal(meeting hall and chapel) of theSingle Brothers’ House there wasa green tree from which hunggifts of apples and Bible versesfor the boys and girls of the con-gregation.12 If such decorationswere used for a synod lovefeastin October, then they wereundoubtedly used for Christmasas well. The Gambolds were simply following such belovedtraditions for festive occasions atSpringplace.

Embellished wreath from Springplace Moravian Indian Mission, 1807-13. OSMG.

To better understand theundertaking of the Gambolds atthe Springplace Moravian IndianMission, one may read the com-ments of distinguished scholarHenry Steinhauer who was headof the Fulneck school in Englandto train the ministry and was then principal of the YoungLadies’ Seminary in Bethlehem.Steinhauer wrote:

The indefatigable exertions ofBrother Gambold and his wife arealmost beyond credit. Besides provid-ing food, raiment, shelter and fuel forthemselves and their scholars, attend-ing to the school daily, acting as advis-ers and physicians to the whole neigh-borhood, entertaining every visitor—and they are numerous who draw ontheir hospitality—writing letters, andon Sundays teaching, admonishing,etc., they find time, even, to obligetheir friends in various ways.i

Steinhauer went on to marvelat the ability of Sister Gambold toreply to his request for “botanicalproducts” by sending “betweentwelve and fourteen hundredspecimens of dried plants, besidesnear a hundred packets of seeds,several minerals, specimens of allthe Indian manufactures of cane,etc. and a number of othercuriosities,” with apologies for nothaving done more.ii His opinionwas that it represented at least ahalf year’s work “for one person’s

undivided attention, under themost favorable circumstances. Andyet this person, banished as sheis from civilized society, cheerfullylaboring year after year withscarcely any promise of success,yet undauntedly persevering wasthe first teacher in the BethlehemYoung Ladies’ Seminary, andseemed its main support... .”iii

Anna Rosina took her studyof natural history seriously andvalued her collection. After herdeath, Reverend J. R. Schmidtwrote to Salem from Springplaceto say that “Anna Rosel” (anendearing moniker) had givenhim her botanical collection, andhe intended to apportion it alongwith some of his own additionsto three people: Von Schweiniz (anoted botanist) and Van Vleck inSalem and Huffel in Bethlehem.iv

In a similar testimonial,Correa de Serra, Portuguese minister to the United Statesand a “distinguished naturalistand linguist” himself, spent aday and night in Springplace andwrote in a letter:

Judge of my surprise, in the midstof the wilderness, to find a botanicgarden, not indeed like that atParis, or yours at Kew; but a botanicgarden, containing many exotic andmedicinal plants, the professor, Mrs.Gambold, describing them by theirLinnean v names... . I there saw the

sons of a Cherokee Regulus learningtheir lesson, and reading their NewTestament in the morning and draw-ing and painting in the afternoon,though to be sure, in a very Cherokeestyle; and assisting Mrs. Gambold inher household work or Mr. Gamboldin planting corn. vi

John Gambold had writtenafter his wife’s death, “We couldhardly do without her and a Sisterwill never be found again whoworks with such engagement forthe salvation of the poor Indians.I love the Indians sincerely. Shetoo.”vii He was never able to write her Lebenslauf (Memoir),viii

although former pupils like JohnRidge wrote from Connecticut toask about a published testimonialof her life.ix

Embellished wreath fromSpringplace Moravian IndianMission, 1807-13. OSMG.

The Gambolds of Springplace

Watercolor of girls and teachers atthe BethlehemGirls’ School presenting a program, 1801.Courtesy of the MoravianArchives,Bethlehem,Pennsylvania.


Anna Rosina Gambold, a rareperson for any era and truly awoman for all seasons, was a gifted teacher who enjoyed usingimaginative, inventive tools inher roles as innovative leader, linguist, naturalist, and botanist,so it is not surprising that shewould choose the Christmas treefor the pleasure of her students in Georgia. While “principaltutoress” at the girls’ boardingschool in Bethlehem, SisterGambold was “willing at all timesto vary the monotony of its rou-tine by the offerings of her fertileinventions.”13 She was describedas having a “superior facility inoral instruction,”14 and was“sprightly...in fancy and imagina-tion.”15 Leaving the comforts ofBethlehem for the wilderness, shemarried late in life, at the age of43, greatly attracted by the idea of being a missionary to theCherokees with her new husband.

Sister Gambold brought con-siderable talent to the missionall year long but most particular-ly at Christmas. One of her spe-cialities was the creation of littlepainted flower wreaths intowhich she printed verses fromthe Bible, a task in which herhusband sometimes assisted.Indeed, they were unique, asBrother Gambold referred oncein a letter to the “verses with theSpringplace borders.”16 However,the idea of creating small paintings as gifts and tokens ofremembrance was not unique toSpringplace. Old Salem Museums& Gardens’ Paula Locklair wrotethat there was “a distinctivebody o f work . . .produced in Salem in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.”17

Such paintings also existed in Pennsylvania. Did AnnaGambold teach the children tocreate these little wreath-encir-cled verses as gifts to their par-ents and friends? Certainly,drawing and writing were part of a child’s education. HenrySteinhauer from Bethlehemremarked once after a visit to

Springplace that he saw theCherokee boys studying andreading the New Testament inthe morning, and “drawing andpainting in the afternoon,though to be sure, in a veryCherokee style.”18 That thewreaths were produced with cer-tain identifiable characteristicssuch as distinctive borders is tes-tified by Anna’s husband John in1813 when he remarked on thegifts to the children of “theChristmas wreaths painted by awell-known hand with verseswritten on them... .”19 The littlepaintings were given as gifts andas reminders of the Savior’s lovefor His children, and they weretreasured by the recipients, oldand young, who kept them fromone year to the next, oftenbringing them back to theChristmas service and recitingthem from memory. As incen-tive, the wreaths were withheldfrom those who showed apathyto God’s word.20 Thus, rewardsfor good behavior helped in pro-ducing tangible results.

Christmas at the mission atthis time included “a publicexamination in Bible andChristian Doctrine”21 and awards,which probably included these

delicate paper treasures. Whetherthe children executed wreaths orother designs of their own imagi-nation, some were obviously welldone, as the Gambolds sent sam-ples of artwork of a boy namedDarcheechy to the Super-intendent of Indian Trade, inWashington, D.C. in 1817.22 Totheir gratification, Superinten-dent Thomas McKenney respond-ed with a gift to the mission of$100 and to the boy “a box ofcrayons [pastels] and brushes anda very elegant penknife.”23

Such wreaths could have beenused to decorate the SpringplaceChristmas trees. This speculationis based on a letter from theGambolds to Christian Benzien inSalem about a birthday party atthe mission on 15 August 1810,where water-colored wreaths werefastened on a white cloth on awall as part of the festive decora-tion, along with greens and flowers. The honoree had receivedthe painted wreaths “for herChristmas and birthdays since our being here... .”24 Althoughwe do not know exactly how theSpringplace Christmas trees weredecorated, Anna Gambold’s men-tion of flowers as decorations on 25 December 1807 providesanother possibility. She wrote thatin the children’s house they had“made a putz from pine branchesand had tied little flowers ontoit.”25 As a botanist, Anna had col-lected hundreds of specimensfrom the area, so even if nothingwas blooming in December shemay have had dried specimens.Flowers were often used asChristmas decorations.26 SeeChapter Three for other relatedreferences to their use.

The beautifully executedwreaths combined the words ofthe Gospel with small flowersand apples from God’s ownhands along with perhaps a fewcandles to represent Christ as thelight of the world—what betterdecorations could the devout sister have desired for the little trees!

After Anna’s death of dropsyof the chest (heart edema) in1821, the new mission leader,the Reverend J. R. Schmidt,wrote to Salem to reiterate theimportance of the little decorat-ed wreaths. He emphasized thispressing matter well ahead of timein anticipation of Christmas thatyear.

I almost forgot an importantrequest. It is customary here [illegi-ble]...Christmas Eve for the people[illegible]...are distributed. Nowdear Anna Rosel, who made the[wreaths] is not here any more.Perhaps our dear Brother Van Vleckwould be so good as to make arequest for us in the boardingschool. Perhaps the pupils will feelmoved and make us about 150wreaths for here and Oochgelogee [a nearby newly created missionwhere widower John Gambold hadmoved]. The Savior will bless themfor this, and it brings great joy toour dear ones here.27

There is a possibility that aChristmas tree existed in Salemas early as 1786, nineteen yearsbefore Anna Rosina Gambolderected the Springplace MissionChristmas tree. A brotherly dispute reported in the churchrecords in Salem on 27 Decem-ber 1786, reads: “Br. Schnepffcomplained that last Sunday,during preaching, John Tesch,the apprentice of Charles Holder,cut a small pine tree in his fieldwhich he [Schnepff] had beentaking special care of. John Teschshall be asked whether he wastold to cut this particular tree,for Holder has said he had sentfor one from the woods.”28 Thiscomplaint was registered on aWednesday, two days afterChristmas, and referred to anincident taking place on Sunday(Christmas Eve), which was whenChristmas trees were generallyput up at that time. Dr. AdelaideFries, editor of the MoravianRecords and a church archivistwho translated more materialfrom Wachovia church recordsthan any other person, append-


ed a footnote to this quote, stating that the cutting of a treeon Christmas Eve produced theassumption that it was aChristmas tree, and therefore“the first mentioned in theSalem records.”29 The statementis hard to dispute, because withall the trees available at the time,it is peculiarly relevant that thisone was of such great impor-tance to these two men on that particular day, unless theyboth recognized it as a perfectspecimen for a Christmastree. Unfortunately, nowheredoes anyone refer to the treespecifically as a Christmas tree.

Strongly related to Christmastrees were conical-shaped decora-tions known as pyramids. Somescholars have cited pyramidserected on 25 December 1747 and 1748, by the Bethlehem,Pennsylvania, Moravians as the“first Christmas trees” inAmerica.30 However, those pyra-

mids were not actual trees, but tri-angular structures probably creat-ed with sticks of wood and green-ery. Nevertheless, their appear-ance was quite similar to aChristmas tree. A more detaileddiscussion of the pyramid is givenlater in this chapter.

In contrast to the Moravianpyramid citations by some scholars and the circumstantialevidence for southern Christmastrees already presented, notedChristmas historian Alfred Shoe-maker established the date of1821 in Pennsylvania as the ear-liest mention of a Christmastree in this country. His referenceis from the diary of Lancaster resident Matthew Zahm, whorecorded that on 20 Decemberthree young people were “out forChristmas trees” on a nearby hill.31

Although apparently unawareof the Springplace references,Shoemaker did, nevertheless,acknowledge that there had

been “no greater celebrators ofChristmas...than the Moravians”in Pennsylvania...who “wereamong the very first to put upChristmas trees.”32 He cited anarticle of 1855 in an Eastonnewspaper in which “the inhab-itants of Bethlehem...are chieflynoted for their great taste theydisplay in arranging Christmastrees.”33 His validation contin-ued with the statement that“The Moravians made more of Christmas than any other religious denomination in thiscountry—from colonial timeson.”34 It is important to reiteratethat Anna Rosina Gambold, whoput up the first Christmas treein Springplace, Georgia, in 1805,came out of the Bethlehem envi-ronment.

Undoubtedly, trees were insome Salem homes as early asthey were in Bethlehem. How-ever, to date, the following is theearliest written specific domestic

“Christmas Eve” by John Lewis Krimmel, 1812-13. Courtesy of The Winterthur Library: Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and Printed Ephemera.

25

reference so far found to aChristmas tree in Wachovia. InSalem in 1861, Caroline “Carrie”Fries noted in her diary on 24December: “We fitted the treetonight.”35 The next day Carriewrote: “Loula [her two-year-oldsister Louise Sarah] went downstairs for the first time to see thetree...Mother and I went to theChristmas dialogue and werequite well pleased.”36 This is avery matter-of-fact referencealluding to what appears to be acommonplace custom in Salemby 1861, which is as one wouldexpect, given the close connec-tion to Pennsylvania where treeswere widely used in the 1840s.

Carol ine noted on 24December 1862: “Mary John and Iwent to church, and afterwards wefilled the tree.”37 The choice of theword “filling” the tree indicates

placement of the gifts on the treein the German manner. “Filling” issynonymous with other common-ly used period terms of “dressing,”“fitting,” or “fixing” the tree.38

Another lengthy reference toa Christmas tree in the Fries family was in 1864 in a letter from Mary Fries Patterson at PalmyraPlantation on the Yadkin River toher sister Carrie in Salem.

We moved the little bed awayfrom the window, in Mother’s room, & put the tree in its place... . A largewhite pine stands in front of the window, which tips over at the ceiling ‘in German style’ & extends to thebureaus on either side.—At its base isa large hill with a spring & pond &covered with most beautiful mountainmoss... . You know I gave out no presents when I came up, but hungthem all on the tree. It is quite loadedfor wartimes & looks very pretty.39

The implication here appearsto be that before “wartimes” thetree was decorated more extrav-agently. As to the “tipping over atthe ceiling,” there is a colored inkdrawing of Zinzendorf’s coffin inthe salon of the Herrnhut manorhouse in 1760 in which two ever-green trees droop gracefully fromthe top to form almost an arch asthe background.40 The landscape“decoration” at the base of thePatterson tree is the Putz, so fre-quently mentioned in Moraviandescriptions of Christmas and onethat usually includes the Nativity.In an article on “MoravianCustoms,” written in 1936 byAdelaide Fries,41 she noted thatthe Putz, sometimes called “aChristmas garden,” was arrangedaround the bottom or beside the Christmas tree in Moravianhomes, thus uniting two bindingsymbols of the holy day. This

“Christmas Tree, 1809,” from the Journal of Lewis Miller, vol. I, p. 16. Collection of the York County Heritage Trust, York, PA.

THE CHRISTMAS TREE AND THE PYRAMID


concept of a “garden” mayexplain the frequent placement of a fence around the tree, asdepicted in John Lewis Krimmel’sdrawings and elsewhere.42

Other historians have recog-nized the lavishness of Germansettlers in “providing Christmastrees for the amusement of the young folks.”43 In so doing,the celebration gradually movedfrom public to private and by themid-nineteenth century focusedon the children in the home asthe primary theme within thefamily.44

European Roots of theChristmas Tree

The European roots of theChristmas tree are not easy toidentify, but most certainly thetrails lead to the Germans. Folklegends intermingle with the facts,and there are many conflictingspeculations. An eighth-centurylegend of the Christmas tree’s ori-gins concerns St. Boniface, whowas an English missionary to the

Germans. The story, which in dif-ferent sources varies in the details,tells of his coming upon a groupof pagans ready to make a humansacrifice in front of an oak tree. Hestruck the huge tree with suchforce that it fell with one blow,impressing and instantly convert-ing the pagans to Christianity.Then pointing to a small evergreenfir tree, the saint suggested it as afitting symbol of their new faith.45

According to another sourcethe use of fir trees supposedlyhelped make the custom moreacceptable for Christianity. Thestory is set in the Garden of Edenwhen Eve bit into the apple, atwhich time the leaves of Christ-mas trees became sharp needlesand the fruit hard cones. On thenight of Christ’s birth, however, firtrees bloomed and produced fruitand flowers together—clearly amiraculous event.46

In the tenth century other sto-ries were told of trees miraculous-ly blooming at Christmas. Onewas the Glastonbury hawthorn,

which was said to have beenbrought to England in the firstcentury by Joseph of Arimathea.47

The custom of cuttingbranches of flower- and fruit-bearing trees to bring indoors andforce into bloom for Christmasbecame widespread in Europe by the late Middle Ages. Some people brought into the housecherry tree branches on St.Barbara’s Day (4 December) toforce blooms by Christmas.These were then sometimes dec-orated. The cherry thus connect-ed to this saint’s day is still one of the folk symbols used todecorate springerle cookies.48

These anise-flavored cakes wereimpressed with motifs from amold or a carved rolling pin andthen enhanced with coloredicings. They made excellentChristmas tree decorations. Thereader will find further mentionof cookies in Chapter Five.

A related German legendabout the Christmas tree wasthat of a poor, ill-clothed child

Rolling pin for springerle cookies by John Vogler, nineteenth century. OSMG.

27

appearing at the door of a wood-cutter and his wife to ask for helpone bone-chilling night. Thenext morning their little guestrevealed himself as the Christchild and presented them with atwig from a fir tree to plantand blossom yearly thereafter. Totheir amazement it took root andgrew into a splendid fir treeadorned with gold and silverapples and nuts. Each year there-after it miraculously bloomed atChristmas.49

A mid-nineteenth-centurylegend, particularly popular withLutherans, concerned MartinLuther. This story was fostered bya fictional painting depicting theLuther family with a Christmastree in the sixteenth century.Luther was said to have beenwalking out under the stars onChristmas Eve when he had theidea of affixing candles to a littlefir tree that he brought into theparlor to provide a symbol to hischildren of Christ as the light ofthe world.50

The most plausible explana-tion of the origin of the earlyChristmas tree dates from thelate Middle Ages (fourteenth andfifteenth centuries) when theCatholic Church used enact-ments called miracle plays or“Moralities” to teach the mostlyilliterate parishioners certainBible stories.51 A popular scenedepicted the Garden of Eden inwhich a fir tree hung with applesas a symbol of human sin wasused to present the story ofAdam and Eve driven from paradise, but always with thepromise of redemption at theend. On the Church calendar, 24 December was the specialsaints’ day for Adam and Eve.Thus, long after the plays ceasedto be performed, the symbolismof the paradise tree and eternallife remained in the minds ofcertain people at this time ofyear, and they began to erectsimilar trees in their homes. Aslate as the nineteenth century insome sections of Germany “figures

Title page from Kriss Kringle’s Christmas Tree, 1846. Author’s collection.


of Adam and Eve and the ser-pent” were sometimes placedunder the “Tree of Life,” orChristbaum (Christ Tree), as itoften came to be called.52

An ancient Celtic custom oftree worship manifested in thecustom of maypoles as the fore-runner of a Christmas “MayPole,” was used particularly byGermans from the Palatinateand Alsace. Many AmericanMoravians came from thePalatinate. This Christmas may-pole evolved into a limb set in atub and decorated with suchitems as apples, wafers, honeycakes, and perhaps marzipan orother sugary treats.53

Many scholars believe that thelavish use of greenery by theRomans in the celebrations ofSaturnalia, Kalends, and suchrites as the winter solstice at the end of the year established aprecedent for the Christmastree. Greenery represented eternal life and the promise ofrebirth in the midst of a seem-ingly endless, cold, and lifelessseason. Thus, magical propertieswere attributed to the greens,and they also helped to dispelthe gloom of winter when dayswere short and sunshine mini-mal. Branches and then treeswere hung upside down fromthe ceiling beams. This cen-turies-old folk custom of hang-


Whatever its exact origin,the tree is widely accepted as aGerman-developed tradition. In1531 in Alsace, Christmas treeswere purchased at the market inStrasbourg to be set up in homesundecorated. Curiously, in thesame area in 1561, an ordinancewas passed that no individual“shall have for Christmas morethan one bush of more than eightshoe lengths.”55 Whether this wasto encourage conservation orlimit iconic representations forthe solemn holy day is unknown.

There is a citation of a decorated tree (Dattelbaumchen) in a guild hall in ProtestantGermany in 1570. The custommay have spread and becomepopular from such municipalcelebrations. The decorations on that tree consisted of dates (datteln), apples, pretzels, nuts,and paper flowers. The tree was shaken by children on ChristmasDay or Twelfth Night in order toobtain the goodies.56 TwelfthNight, also called Epiphany, celebrated the coming of theMagi to Bethlehem.

An Engl i sh v i s i tor toStrasbourg in 1605 spoke of “firtrees set up and hung with paperroses of many different colors andwith apples, flat wafers, gildedcandies, and sugar.”57 The flatwafers were related to the communion host, a symbol ofthe body of Christ, and so awafer-decorated tree was termed aChristbaum, or Christ Tree. A treewith edible ornaments, such ascookies and candies, was some-times also called a “sugartree.”58

The rose was a symbol of beautyand love and in Christian art represented the Virgin Mary.59

Gilded decorations, includingfruit, nuts, cakes, and even onone occasion potatoes, were pop-ular for centuries.60

As Christianity replaced pagan religions, people, especiallyin northern Europe, continued to use evergreens for special occasions, although the CatholicTwentieth-century Thanksgiving postcard. Author’s collection.

ing decorated trees upside downcontinued in Germany into thenineteenth century.

Christmas scholars do notagree on what is the first docu-mented reference to a Christmastree. Phillip Snyder notes that theearliest historical references toChristmas trees appeared in Latviaand Estonia where in two differ-ent towns, one in 1510 and the

other in 1514, it was recorded “onChristmas Eve, after a festive din-ner, black-hatted...merchants car-ried an evergreen tree decoratedwith artificial roses to the market-place” where they danced aroundit and then set fire to it.54 Whetherthis scene describes a pagan rite ora celebration with the revered treeburned as a sign of respect, we willnever know.

29

Church in particular sought todiscourage this carryover practicebefore finally embracing it byreinterpreting it as a Christiancustom. Eventually the tree, soensconced in German culture,became transformed into aChristian symbol, but not with theapproval of everyone. In aboutthe middle of the seventeenthcentury, a Strasbourg theologianspoke of “the Christmas- or fir-tree, which people set up in theirhouses, hang with dolls andsweets, and afterwards shake anddeflower.” He did not approveand thought they were “far better...to point the children tothe spiritual cedar-tree, JesusChrist.”61

At about the same time theEnglish Puritans who came toAmerica did not approve ofChristmas pageantry either. Theywere reacting to the carnival-likeatmosphere of sometimes sinfuland lewd behavior, a significantdegeneracy that had developed atChristmas in England, which wasrepresented by the verse, “Let’sdance and sing, and make goodchear, For Christmas comes butonce a year.”62 An English almanacpublication called Poor Robin in1702 wrote of the change there inChristmas celebrations during theReformation, which ultimatelylimited the festivities and decora-tions in New England for a longerperiod than in the rest of thecountry.

Although Prince Albert, theGerman husband of QueenVictoria, is credited with bringingthe Christmas tree to England andmaking it fashionable, a memberof the court recalled a tree in 1800in the lodge of Queen Charlotte,who was also German.64 He wrote,“In the middle of the room stoodan immense tub with a yew treeplaced in it, from the branches ofwhich hung bunches of sweet-meats, almonds, and raisins inpapers, fruits, and toys, most taste-fully arranged, and the whole illu-minated by small wax candles.”65

Prince Albert’s trees were decorated with small containers ofexpensive sweets of all kinds,including gilded gingerbread andsugared fruits. In 1848 an engrav-ing appeared in the IllustratedLondon News of the royal familyaround the tree. Two years later thesame engraving, but without theroyal trappings, appeared inAmerica in Godey’s Lady’s Book. Itsinfluence was unmistakable. SarahJosepha Hale, the publication’senergetic editor, had long cam-paigned for the recognition ofThanksgiving as a national holi-day, and a Christmas holiday wasanother of her top priorities forAmerican families. Using her influ-ence she published stories on theChristmas tree in 1853, 1855, and1860.66 In the latter, for the firsttime in print, “a floor tree in adomestic setting” appeared.67

The redemptive story ofScrooge and Tiny Tim in AChristmas Carol (1843), created bythe popular English writer CharlesDickens, had a profound effect onthe development of Christmas.Some years later in 1850, Dickensdescribed a laden tree, which hecalled a “pretty German toy,” for amagazine article:

I have been looking on, thisevening, at a merry company ofchildren assembled round that pret-ty German toy, a Christmas tree.The tree was planted in the middleof a great round table, and toweredhigh above their heads. It was bril-liantly lighted by a multitude of littletapers; and everywhere sparkledand glittered with bright objects.There were rosy-cheeked dolls, hidingbehind green leaves; and there werereal watches (with movable hands,at least, and an endless capacity of being wound up) dangling frominnumerable twigs; there were Frenchpolished tables, chairs, bedsteads,wardrobes, eight-day clocks andvarious other articles of domesticfurniture (wonderfully made in tin)perched among the boughs, as if in preparation for some fairyhousekeeping; there were jolly,broad- faced little men, much moreagreeable in appearance than manyreal men—and no wonder, for theirheads took off, and showed themto be full of sugarplums; therewere fiddles and drums; there weretambourines, books, work boxes,paint boxes; there were trinketsfor the elder girls, far brighter thanany grown-up gold and jewels; therewere baskets and pin cushions inall devices; there were guns, swordsand banners; there were witchesstanding in enchanted rings ofpasteboard, to tell fortunes; therewere teetotums [a child’s toy similarto a top but spun by the fingersinstead of string], humming tops,needle cases, pen wipers, smellingbottles, conversation cards, bouquetholders, real fruit, made artificiallydazzling with gold leaf; imitationapples, pears, walnuts, crammedwith surprises; in short...everything,and more.68

Although Dickens’s storiesattracted much attention to thespirit of Christmas and to theChristmas tree, the Moravians,as we have already observed,made use of Christmas symbol-ism much earlier. Former Salemschoolteacher Peter Wolle, livingin Lititz, Pennsylvania in 1828,wrote: “Our little Christmas tree

But now landlords and tenants too

In making feasts are very slow;

One in an age, or near so far,

Or one perhaps each blazing star;

The cook now and the butler too,

Have little or nothing for to do;

And fiddlers who used to get scraps,

Now cannot fill their hungry chaps;

Yet some true English blood still lives,

Who gifts to the poor at Christmas gives,

And to their neighbors make a feast,

I wish their number were increast,

And that their stock may neverdecay,

Christmas may come again in play,

And poor man keep it holyday.63



draws considerable attentionand was visited by a good manyfriends.”69

The Christmas Tree InEarly America

The novelty of a “famousChristmas tree”70 attracted atten-tion, as Peter Wolle observed,and some enterprising peoplebegan to exhibit one to raisemoney for charity. One suchgroup was the Dorcas Societyof York, Pennsylvania, in 1830.This association of charity-minded women, also organizedlater in Salem, may have dis-played the first public tree in thiscountry. The profits from thesale of a ticket for six and 1/4cents would provide clothing for“the poor widow and thefriendless orphan.”71 Similarly,

later in Salem in 1885, theReverend Edward Rondthalermade an observation on “...thepoor children’s Christmas tree,for which as an experiment verypoor children were gatheredfrom far and near.”72

Christmas scholar, Dr. AlfredShoemaker, portrayed Pennsyl-vania as richly decorated withtrees by the 1840s:

In the 1840s the Christmastree began to become more or lesscommonplace. Literary pieces, allud-ing to the custom of putting up trees at Christmas, began to appear with some regularity each returningChristmas season. The very popu-lar, and widely advertised children’s book, Kriss Kringle’s ChristmasTree, published in 1845 in Philadel-phia, brought a pictorial representa-tion and knowledge of the Christ-

mas tree and Kriss Kringle to childrenall over the nation. Trees startedgoing up everywhere in the state,from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh.73

The editor of the KrissKringle book prefaced the 1846edition with what is curiouslycalled an “Advertisement,”which it certainly was! He wrote:

Fashions change, and of lateChristmas Trees are becoming morecommon than in former times. Thepractice of hanging up stockings inthe chimney corner for Kriss Kringleto fill with toys, pretty books, bon-bons, &c., for good children, androds for naughty children, is beingsuperseded by that of placing aChristmas tree on the table to awaitthe annual visit of the worthySanta Klaus. He has, with his usualgood nature, accommodated him-self to this change in the populartaste; and having desired a literarygentleman to prepare his favouriteChristmas present in accordancewith this state of things, the follow-ing volume is the result of the newarrangement, and all parents,guardians, uncles, aunts, andcousins, who are desirous to con-form to the most approved fashion,will take care to hang one, two, or adozen copies of the book on theirChristmas Tree for 1846.74

Most people, particularly inrural areas cut their own trees. Itis interesting to note for thosewho did not cut their own,Christmas trees were on sale inPhiladelphia markets as early as1848.75 In 1851, entrepreneurMark Carr from the CatskillMountains brought the firsttrees to Washington Market inNew York City and thus createdinstant success and the begin-ning of that city’s ongoing holi-day tradition.76

In Charleston, South Carolina,in 1850, a lighted tree wasarranged for Jenny Lind, thefamous singer called the “SwedishNightingale,” who toured thecountry sponsored by P. T.Barnum.77 Some ladies of the city

Cover of The Christmas Tree by Hans Christian Andersen, nineteenthcentury. Author’s collection.

31

saw to it that the tree under herwindow was illuminated onChristmas Eve.78 One of JennyLind’s friends was Hans ChristianAndersen, a Dane who becameknown as the father of the modernfairy tale. Five years before Lindwas in South Carolina, Andersenhad produced a story, translatedvariously as “The Christmas Tree,”or “The Little Fir Tree,” whichbecame very popular in the moral-istic literature of the times and wasincluded in numerous children’spublications, along with anotherof his poignant Christmas tales,“The Little Match Girl.” Andersen’sfairy tales often depicted characterswho find happiness in life (or atthe end of it) only after adversity.In “The Christmas Tree,” the littlefir tree longs for recognition andfame reaching far beyond its tran-quil forest home. Sadly, themoment of glory and adornmentfor which it had yearned soonpasses, and its final humiliation isto be burned to ashes, leaving onlythe overlooked gold star thatcrowned its peak on the happiestday of its life.79

Along with stories likeAndersen’s, American newspapersand magazines such as Harper’sWeekly, Godey’s Lady’s Book, GoodHousekeeping, Ladies Home Journal,and Peterson’s National LadiesMagazine all helped to spreadknowledge of the custom of erect-ing and decorating a Christmastree. As a telling example, MahalaEggleston, a niece of JeffersonDavis who had married JamesRoach and lived in the Vicksburg,Mississippi, area, wrote in herdiary of Christmas in 1851: “Thechildren had such a number ofgifts that I made a Christmas treefor them; Mother, Aunt and Lizcame down to see it; all said it wassomething new to them. I neversaw one but learned from some ofthe German stories I had been read-ing” [author’s emphasis].80

Many other Americans learnedfrom newspaper and magazinearticles about important citizens’Christmas celebrations. Former

President Andrew Jackson, who issaid to have loved Christmas,had a pine tree frosted and encir-cled with little flavored ice ani-mals in 1835.81 In 1856, PresidentFranklin Pierce (1853-57) fromNew Hampshire had the firstChristmas tree set up in the WhiteHouse.82 During his presidency,Teddy Roosevelt (1858-1919)banned a tree at the White Housefor reasons of ecological conserva-tion, but his determined sonArchie revealed to the family a lit-tle Christmas tree secreted in acloset on one Christmas, thusembarrassing his father andprompting a lecture, but notchanging the presidential mind.83

Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924)was the first president to presideover a “national Christmas treeceremony” on 24 December 1913,and Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933)initiated the first official lightingof such a tree in 1923.84 Duringthe Second World War from 1942to 1945 there were no official trees

in Washington. A “Pageant ofPeace” was attached to the cere-mony “after the Korean War”85

and has since then been intro-duced sometime each year wellbefore the traditional ChristmasEve. In recent years, Old SalemMuseum & Gardens has joinedin the national celebration bycontributing handmade orna-ments to be placed on one of theoutdoor trees for this pageant.

A Christian newsletterspeculates that American culturewas so influenced by thePuritans’ negativity towards thedesecration of the holy day ofChristmas that there were onlyeighteen states that officially rec-ognized Christmas by the 1860s.86

When that happened, the firststates to legally acknowledge theday were southern—Alabama in1836, followed by Arkansas andLouisiana in 1838. Surprisingly,Pennsylvania waited until 1848,perhaps due to its many Quakercitizens. North Carolina adoptedthe official holiday in 1881.

It was sometimes at a SundaySchool gathering that Americanchildren had their first intro-duction to the Christmas tree.Although Sunday Schools, anineteenth-century phenome-na in America, embraced theChristmas tree, it was not withoutheated opposition. The earliestschools to adopt the custom inthe 1840s and 1850s usuallycharged admission to the festivalsand used the money for supplies.In 1840, a newspaper reported at a German Protestant Church inRochester, New York, that onChristmas evening the childrencelebrated “according to the cus-tom of the Old Country”87 with areligious exercise and an ever-green tree of ten to twelve feethigh, “brilliantly illuminatedand adorned with a great varietyof toys and sweetmeats suspendedfrom the branches.”88 However, inPuritan-influenced New England,as a carry-over from the Reforma-tion, Christmas was still a work-day for the common man in

Although decorationscalled the Putz alongwith green trees hadlong been used in the

Moravians’Springplace Indian

Mission, inBethlehem, and in Wachovia, the official Moravian

Records first beganto mention Christmastrees at church inWachovia in the

1870s.



1855, and in Boston in 1870school children were in class onDecember 25.89

Although decorations calledthe Putz along with green treeshad long been used in theMoravians’ Springplace IndianMission, in Bethlehem, and inWachovia, the official MoravianRecords first began to mentionChristmas trees at church inWachovia in the 1870s. Thisdoes not necessarily mean thatthere were no local Christmastrees earlier. It could be thateither certain diarists did notconsider such decorations wor-thy of mention in the records orthat perhaps they were so com-monplace as to need no men-tion. In Salem in 1871, there wasa Christmas concert given by theSunday School, and Albert Oerterdescribed the sanctuary: “A largeChristmas tree had been erectedon the platform, the pulpit

having been removed. It reachedup to the keystone of the archbehind the pulpit, and was deco-rated and hung with numerousornaments and beautifully illu-minated with wax candles.”90 In1874, the Bethania decorationincluded “finely proportioned”pine trees decorated “with brightgilt and other coloured paperand illuminated with wax tapersas Christmas trees.”91

In Salem at the AfricanAmerican Church, St. Philips, atree was noted on 25 December1874: “A Christmas tree occu-pied the platform before the pulpit.”92 Trees were also men-tioned in 1872, 1873, 1875, and1876; on the fourth occasion “itwas lit up.” 93 On Christmas Dayin 1879, “the church had a large[illegible: tree?] which was [illegi-ble: laden?] with gifts for thechildren.” 94

By the 1870s , manyAmerican Sunday Schools hadjoined the Moravians in cele-brating Christmas with gifts andtrees as the centerpiece of theevent. Mississippian MahalaRoach noted as early as 1860that her family went “to theEpiscopal Church to see theChristmas tree for the SundaySchool (both white and black).”95

By the late 1800s, descrip-tions proliferated of trees for thechildren at Moravian churches.In 1897, in Friedland near Salemat the close of the Sunday Schoolexercises, “the Christmas treewas made bare of its contents.”96

In other years, trees were men-tioned in Bethania, at Mt.Bethel, and at Carmel where “abeautiful Christmas tree gracedthe occasion heavily laden withcandies, apples and many otherpresents which were distrib-uted.”97 In 1898 at Wachovia’s

Young people sledding in Salem’s God’s Acre, c. 1885. OSHPC.

33

Christ Church for the SundaySchool entertainment, volunteerscreated a vignette of a room inreadiness for Christmas. Curtainswere drawn from across the plat-form at the front where wasrevealed the “interior of an oldfashioned room on Christmasnight. Over the fireplace hungthe filled stockings; near by wasa cradle with its sleeping dolls;and in the opposite corner stooda lighted Christmas tree.”98

The students at the SalemGirls’ School were not overlookedat Christmas, as the followingdescription attests:

On Christmas morning wegirls, usually so sleepy, needed nosecond warning to make us quit ourcomfortable beds, but were up and

dressed in a twinkling. We madeour way down stairs in the greydawn of the early morning, to find our rooms resplendent. TheChristmas trees, which had beenplaced in every room, were brilliantlyilluminated, and on all of our deskswere lighted tapers and curiouslooking bundles. 99

By 1885, for those whoremained at school, there weresleigh rides while covered withbuffalo robes, and “richly filledboxes, Christmas trees, surprisesgiven and received”.100 In 1886,there was a Christmas treeflanked by “two pyramidal trans-parencies” in the church for theSunday School cantata.101 “Mostof the dwelling-rooms had trees,and evergreens wreathed aroundthe pictures, nothing more.”102

A Salem resident spentChristmas Eve of 1936 inHerrnhut, Germany, and describedthe evening service at the churchwith “two large fir trees...adorned with lights” flanking thepulpit. Afterwards the minister’sfamily celebrated with “a largetree all alight with candles.” Theysang Christmas carols, openedtheir presents, and had refresh-ments.103 In Germany the typicalpattern was, and to some extentstill is, to gather on the night ofChristmas Eve for the opening ofpresents around a candlelit tree.104

The Pyramid

Earlier in this chapter thepyramid, described in both 1747 and 1748 in Bethlehem,Pennsylvania, was mentioned as

Salem Girls’ School students riding in a sleigh, c. 1894. OSHPC.


Four-tiered pyramid from Erzgebirge, Germany, 1910-20. Collection of the Old Salem Toy Museum (hereafter OSTM).

35

a brushwood creation used bythe Moravians as a decoration atChristmas and was even called aChristmas tree by some scholars.

A 1747 quote from Beth-lehem reports:

For this occasion several small pyramids and one large pyramid of green brushwood had been prepared, all decorated with candlesand the large one with apples andpretty verses. On either side werepictures drawn in perspective and,also, illuminated with candles. One represented the angels andtheir care of the children. The other represented the Child Jesus in thearms of his mother. Close by wereto be seen the Bethlehem stable,with the oxen and the asses, asalso, the shepherds, to whom, first,the joyous tidings of the Savior’sbirth had been brought. Below all of this the word Children!”105

In a similar vein, it wasrecorded in the Bethlehem Diaryon 25 December 1748:

Quite early, the little childrenenjoyed a delightful festal occasion.Their brethren had decorated variouspyramids with candles, apples, andhymn stanzas and, also, drawn apicture in which the children wererepresented as presenting their Ave tothe Christ-child all of which BrotherJohannes [von Watteville] explainedto them in a child-like manner, sothat the love-feast conducted for themat the same time had a very blessedeffect upon them as well as upon allthe brethren and sisters present.106

The candles as ornaments arethought by some to be the mostimportant element of the pyra-mid, and one German name for itis the Lichtstock, or light stick.Traditionally the nativity wasplaced on the broadest shelf alongwith other adornments such asapples, gingerbread cakes, green-ery, and illuminated Bible verses.If the decoration was in thechurch, the items on it wouldlater be distributed to the childrenin the congregation. By the seven-teenth century, the pyramid was a

popular tradition at Christmas in Germany. Sometimes it wasgarnished and suspended fromthe ceiling.107

Although not a Christmasreference, the following quotecontributes to the lavishness ofcelebratory Moravian decora-tions. In an eighteenth-centurydescription of a use of a pyramidby the Moravians in Germanyfor the consecration of the dor-mitory of the Brethrens’ Housein Herrnhut on 31 October1745 included what wasremarked as “an incompara-ble sight,” as the entire house“resembled a sea of flames fromtop to bottom. Pyramids andindividual candles turned... .These lights and the illumina-tion of the other two Brethrens’Houses were probably the mostbeautiful thing we have hadin Herrnhut... .”108

A variation of the pyramidheld a propeller at the top, whichby heat of the lighted candlesturned the revolving shelves onan axis. This type is still madetoday, sometimes by Germans inthe same area of Saxony wherebuilding pyramids became athriving cottage industry by themid-nineteenth century. The spe-cialized craft was an outgrowth of the construction of full-sizewooden structures like ventilat-ing windmills in the local saltmines.109 Saxony continues to beknown for its diminutive, woodenChristmas folk items, such as pyr-amids, nutcrackers, “smokers,”110

and ornaments. One scholarbelieves that a tree and a pyramid,the first unlighted, the secondlighted, stood side by side in manyGerman homes by the late-eighteenth century.111 Anotherscholar believes that the pyramidbecame a “common substitute”112

for the tree in Saxony and othercountry places during the nine-teenth century, and that a grad-ual shift of the candles from thepyramid to the Christmas treetook place.

A paucity of quotes concerningpyramids in Salem exists, althoughthey were almost certainly thereat an early date, since they werementioned in Pennsylvania in1747. In describing the JubileeFestival of 19 February 1816,Peter Wolle wrote that there wasan elaborate pyramid with fiftyburning tapers along with twenty-five other candlesticks.113 On 1 January 1818, Wolle wrote,“This afternoon Herman tookapart and put away his beautifulpyramidal Christmas Putz with 8 inscriptions.”114 After his moveto Lititz, Pennsylvania, Wollerecorded fixing a frame for apyramid and purchasing greens on23 December 1829.115 SusannaKramsch wrote of decorating apyramid on 22 December 1822in Salem.116 Also in Salem, onEpiphany (6 January) in 1872 atthe church, “A pyramid hadbeen made and placed on theupper platform of the pulpit... .”The text “Go ye into all theworld...appeared on the pyra-mid in illuminated letters.” Fourlong festoons of greenery andartificial flowers were drapedwith the number fifty at the top in white.117 In 1874 at theBethania church “a pyramidalfour-sided transparent inscrip-tion with three representativescenes occupied a place beforethe pulpit, and on each side ofthis a finely proportioned pinetree was placed, decorated withbright gilt and other colouredpaper and illuminated with waxtapers as Christmas trees.”118

Cedar garlands in festoons com-pleted the display.

No early Christmas pyramidstructures exist locally, under-standably so, since if they wereconstructed from brushwood theywere simply discarded or burnedfor kindling after the intended use. However, as Wolle observed,Brother Herman’s structure wasspecial enough to be packedaway, at least for some period oftime.



Other Types of Trees

One type of artificialChristmas tree from Germanythat became very popular in the last third of the nineteenth century was the feather tree.These were patterned after thewidely spaced limbs of theGerman fir tree or white pinetree and provided ideal displayspace for ornaments. Again, theindustry was a German cottage-based one with some basic partsfactory made, such as wire, wood,and berries. Feathers most com-monly used were from turkeysand geese and sometimes swans.They were dyed and strippedfrom the quills and attached tothe trunk with wire. Red berrieson the tips of the branches and asturdy wooden base completedthe ensemble. A variety of sizesand colors was made. The treeswere easily collapsed for storageand brought out year after year,thus making them convenientand economical.119

Another somewhat uniqueregional tree was created by wrap-ping the branches of a bare treewith cotton batting to simulate asnow-covering and was docu-mented in Lancaster, Pennsyl-vania, in 1897. Shoemaker calls it “a not uncommon practice in

Berks County since at least1900.”120 Snyder ascribesthe custom to “thriftyGerman farmers in Penn-sylvania [who] strippedChristmas trees of theirneedles after they weredried out and placed theskeleton in the attic. Thefollowing year the treewas brought down againand wrapped in cotton, sothat it resembled a tree inthe forest after a snowstorm, and then it wasdecorated. After Christ-mas the tree was returnedto the attic, where it wascovered with old news-papers to keep the cottonclean.”121

Christmasfeather tree, nineteenth-century.OSTM.

Twentieth-centuryChristmas postcard.Author’s collection.

37

A cotton-covered Christmastree was reported to be the causeof a domestic fire in Indiana.122

Fires have long been a hazardfor Christmas trees, but few whoused candles seemed deterred bythat fact. Some took precautions,such as having on hand a wetsponge tied on a long stick, orseveral buckets or cups of water inreadiness,123 but whatever the

case, Christmas trees continuedto escalate in popularity.

By 1900, one family in fivehad a Christmas tree in America,124

although most children knewabout them from Sunday School,school, or a neighbor’s house. Thecustom continued to spread, andby 1910 in most parts of the coun-try “nearly all children had a treeat home... . By 1930 the tree had

become nearly a universal part of the American Christmas.”125

Harkening back to those Cherokeepupils at the Moravian SpringplaceIndian Mission, on Christmas Eveof 1805, countless children in the last two centuries have experi-enced the same awe of the magicaltree that those few must have feltin that simple room in the Georgiawilderness so long ago.

Early-twentieth-century photograph of a Christmas tree in the home of the Petersens of Salem. OSHPC.


The sanctuary of Salem’s Home Moravian Church decorated for Christmas. Courtesy of Home Moravian Church.

38

chapter 1 moravian christmas traditions and the evolution...

Documents