 |
|
Hideaway Times | Map Magic | The Trackers | Treasure Trove | Newspaper Activities | Quest Tips |
Wednesday, December 12, 2001
Cracker Christmas meager
By Lynn Bulman | News-Journal Staff Writer
DELAND — The hottest Christmas gift in Central Florida during the 19th century wasn't a new toy or electronic device.
It was, simply, a banana.
|
Hands on |
Bananas were very rare, and therefore prized among settlers of early Florida.
Therefore, a single banana might be the main gift placed in one's Christmas stocking.
And the pioneers of the day, wasting nothing, ate the entire banana. Peel and all.
Such tales of Christmas past were featured recently at "A Cracker Christmas," a program put on by the West Volusia Historic Society.
Children attending the event couldn't believe their ears. Most of them thought children of those days had been deprived -- no electricity, no computer games and no malls to visit.
Elyshia Dunagan, DeLand historic resources coordinator, said life in the 1800s was difficult and people were often poor. With little money to spend, the settlers, sometimes called Crackers, had Christmases that were very simple. Their stockings would contain only a few small items.
In addition to a banana, a typical stocking might hold a gingerbread cookie, a walnut and perhaps a handmade toy.
The Christmas stocking itself wasn't the special holiday decorative item it is today. Instead, it was usually a sock that the child actually wore, put to a different use one night a year.
Children did have toys. But few families had the large number of toys a youngster of today would commonly own.
Simple toys, such as jacks, a ball and cup, a yo-yo or marbles might be things pioneer children would receive in their stockings. But nothing was made of plastic or other synthetics. Most toys were homemade instead of purchased elsewhere.
"People used clay from the river to make the marbles," Dunagan said. Yo-yos and other simple toys were made of wood. Some would be hand-carved.
Youngsters of those pioneer days were not at a loss for things to do. Often, they had to do chores around the house and farm. "They worked hard," Dunagan said.
When children played outside, they may have climbed trees, built forts or played various games. "You entertained yourself the best you could," she said.
Christmas was a major holiday, but the Christmas season was much shorter in duration. Nineteenth century people didn't put up their tree the night after Thanksgiving.
The tree went up very close to Christmas. And, it was usually an old spruce growing nearby that the Crackers chopped down themselves. "They didn't have any Northern trees" shipped in, Dunagan said.
Decorations were simple -- popcorn strung together, or dried slices of oranges or paper chains made from torn-up magazine pages.
St. Nick did fill the stockings, but the emphasis of Christmas was not so much on Santa Claus. Instead, people focused on the religious significance. "They had a hard life and (religion) gave them hope," Dunagan said.
It was something to be thankful for if a child even survived another Christmas. Many children died from illnesses, Duna gan said. "They didn't have the medical knowledge we have today."
At Christmas and other big celebrations, pioneers probably did more cooking than usual. But "not to the extent we do," Dunagan said. They had to raise or hunt their own food, and resources were quite limited.
But, "anytime you could get together was a great time," for the early settlers, she said.
Copyright © 2009 NIE WORLD (www.nieworld.com). All content copyrighted and may not be republished without permission. The News-Journal has no control over and is not responsible for content on other Web sites. Privacy Policy. |  |