What Christmas Was Really Like In The Wild West

Fans of the legendary Currier and Ives Christmas cards love the scenes depicting wagons full of cozy people dashing through the snows of yesteryear. It's easy to romanticize those yuletide days of long ago, with families gathered around warm fireplaces, children marveling at their stockings hanging from the mantle, and warmly dressed folks merrily bringing in the Christmas tree or arms full of presents. Legends of America verifies that our Christmas traditions of today follow many of the same customs of well over a century ago. But what about celebrating the yuletide season in the old Wild West?

Keep in mind that the west was still relatively young back then, and far more remote than eastern cities where folks could celebrate the holidays in style. Cruelly cold conditions in the high country could include blowing snow and blizzards, says Buckaroo Leather, making it difficult for families to gather in a bleak and barren land. A good old fashioned Christmas in the west, according to historian and author Sherry Monahan, was often meager with simple presents, simple food fare, and a gathering of friends if possible—although cowboys and miners might find themselves stranded in storms with nobody around them for miles. Read on to discover how the hearty pioneers of the Wild West celebrated Christmas.

In the early Wild West, it was extremely difficult to find the commercial Christmas decorations we see on the shelves today. But especially after the traditional song "Deck the Halls" was translated from a sixteenth century Welsh tune in 1862, says Live About, the idea caught on to put out "boughs of holly" and other goodies around the house. Quartz claims the song inspired folks to decorate their homes with native flora, including wreaths. In the west, says Legends of America, the tradition of using "evergreens, pinecones, holly, nuts, and berries" was common. And Live Science confirms that the addition of mistletoe under which couples shared kisses is actually an Ancient Greek tradition.

The Spruce Crafts says that especially in the clutter-loving Victorian era, every "sideboard, mantle, banisters, and most any other wooden surface available" would be decorated with primitive decorations like evergreen garlands. Then there was the Yule Log, which Why Christmas explains was specially selected from year to year, and always lit with the remains of the one from the previous year. At the very least, searching for the right log made the chilly business of finding suitable wood for the fireplace more fun. Inside, meanwhile, making sure the decorations were up was the responsibility of the lady of the house; one 1896 magazine decreed that the woman who failed to go all out on the decorations was "a disgrace to her family."

For many pioneers, living in the Wild West often meant a meager, almost skeletal existence when it came to food and clothing, let alone Christmas. California pioneer Elizabeth Le Breton Gunn wrote of filling the family stockings with such practical items as "wafers, pens, toothbrushes, potatoes, and gingerbread, and a little medicine." Other gifts included cake, candies, nuts, raisins, and even "a few pieces of gold and a little money." Lacking books to give, Gunn and her husband wrote the children letters to put in their stockings as well. Twenty years later, Army wife Frances Roe was sad to "not have that box from home" at Christmas, although other women around the post "sent pretty little gifts to me." Still, Frances admitted to being a little homesick.

Legends of America did find evidence that other homemade gifts could include hand-carved wood toys, dolls made of corn husks, embroidered handkerchiefs, pillows, and sachets. But these were scarce, and hardly ever store bought. Remember that episode of Little House on the Prairie where Laura Ingalls and her family are secretly shopping for each other for Christmas? Yeah, that didn't really happen. In reality, young Laura's gifts one Christmas consisted of "a shiny new tin cup, a peppermint candy, a heart-shaped cake, and brand new penny."

Rachel Urban was not the only madam to provide for others. In 1909, Colorado madam Blanche Burton purchased a ton of coal for needy families at Christmas. But Christmas charity in the west goes back much further; in 1846, Virginia Reed of the ill-fated and starving Donner Party recalled her mother selflessly saved "a few dried apples, some beans, a bit of tripe, and a small piece of bacon" for Christmas dinner, telling her children "eat slowly for this one day you can have all you wish." Although the New York Tribune (per History Today) would comment on how charitable American cities were during "Christmastide," things in the west were obviously far more bleak.

There was, for instance, that time during the 1880's when writer Cyrus Townsend Brady remembered Christmas dinner with a poor family who had no presents. Afterwards Brady went to the local church and filled a basket with items from his own sewing kit, his penknife, and some candy for the children at the house. Christmas charity was largely relegated to the public, with businesses such as Best and Company reminding Christmas shoppers to choose from their "marked-down goods" for gifts for the poor. One of the best stories comes from the San Francisco Call in 1895 wherein schoolchildren were asked to bring one potato and one stick of wood for Christmas baskets for the poor. The sympathetic kids brought not only these items, but also canned goods and clothing in large quantities.

Legends of America verifies that a typical Christmas in the west included singing around the Christmas tree or fireplace, and that soldiers sang carols in the many forts scattered across the countryside. Yet interestingly enough, says Digital History, the tradition of caroling was still rather young during the Wild West era. "Silent Night," for instance, was written as recently as 1818. Even newer were "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear," "Joy to the World," and "O Come All Ye Faithful," all published during the 1840's. More songs would come during the Wild West years beginning in the 1860's, including "O Little Town of Bethlehem," "Up on the Housetop," and "What Child is This?" says Psychology Today. 

By 1878, Oliver Ditson & Company of Boston was advertising their "Holiday Music Books" in western newspapers like The Canton Advocate in South Dakota. At Eureka, Nevada in 1879, the Society of the Methodist Church threw an "English Tea" which included Christmas carols. Indeed, Battlefields says that by the mid-1800's, Christmas carols had become a staple of Christmas all across America. And by the turn of 1900, folks lucky enough to have a phonograph could bring recordings of Christmas carols into their homes.

Ham or turkey wasn't the only meat at the Christmas tables in the west; sometimes there was venison, says Buckaroo Leather, or even grizzly bear steak! Writer Jeannie Watt recounts California pioneer Catherine Haun's memory of paying $2.50 for grizzly steak for her Christmas dinner. Things were a bit fancier for William Kelly, says Sherry Monahan, who feasted on bear meat, venison and bacon, but also apple pies, "fancy breads," and plum pudding at a mining camp. When it came to Christmas dinner, folks gathered what they had on hand, too. In 1884, Mrs. George Wolffarth joined others in a "watermelon feast" in Texas, while Evelyn Hertslet of California and her party dined on meringues, mince pies, plum pudding, "tipsy cake," and "Victoria sandwiches."

Just about everyone had stored away preserved fruits and dried vegetables to be brought out at Christmas, says Legends of America, with the ladies of the house sometimes baking for weeks beforehand to have enough. Food Timeline cites one recommended menu from the Buckeye Cookery and Practical Housekeeping, of 1880 that included clam soup, baked fish, turkey, quail, and chicken, not to mention scads of fresh and canned vegetables, baked goods, and plenty of desserts from peach pies to chocolate drops and ice cream. Woe to those who didn't plan ahead: North Pole West tells of being forced to dine on "boiled mule and snow" in one instance.

Then as now, Christmas was time to make merry with whiskey and other libations. Historians today still talk about Richens "Uncle Dick" Wootton, the "New Mexico merchant" who showed up in young Denver at Christmas in 1858. History Net reports that Wootton brought his famous "Taos Lightning" with him, handed out tin cups, and proceeded to get the whole camp drunk. Jolie Gallagher quoted one observer as recalling, "the whole camp got hilarious." Later during the Civil War, says American Whiskey Trail, a group of Union soldiers drank a "full 15 gallons of bad whiskey all by themselves" at Christmas.

Indeed, saloons were big business during the holiday. In 1877, author Brad Courtney wrote, one Big Jim Donigan got into a Christmas scrap in a Prescott, Arizona tavern. And in Ruby Hill, Nevada, according to the Eureka Daily Sentinel of 1879, the Christmas party went on for a full three nights with dances and crowds of people drinking cups of Christmas cheer in the saloons. After the turn of 1900, boxing matches became quite popular as well. The 1909 Grand Valley News in Colorado was just one of many newspapers reporting on a boxing match, between Young McFarlan and Gig Cree, which was scheduled to take place Christmas night.