Christmas Memories of Early Rideau Township
The items below are drawn from the Tweedsmuir histories of Kars, North Gower and Manotick, and used here courtesy of the Rideau Branch, City of Ottawa Archives, North Gower.
"Christmas was a time we all looked forward to. We always went to Grandpa 's house in Merivale on a flat sleigh, with straw on the bottom. Bricks that had been heated in the oven and wrapped in paper were placed to keep us warm. A lantern was placed under the driver's knees to keep him warm.
We always hung up our stocking and we always got only one toy, maybe a stuffed homemade doll . I can't remember ever having a bought doll. We dressed the stuffed doll in our own baby clothes. We also received an orange, apple and candy.
We had goose and turkey, as Grandpa liked both, and since the whole family went for Christmas, I guess the extra poultry was needed.
I remember going over to the slide at W.J. Craig's; Mrs. Craig was baking pies, and we went in and took some of her agate pie plates to slide on as we had no sleds. She wasn't too happy about this.
We had a wonderful dad, and I'm sure if our children did some of the things we did, we would be crazy."
"Christmas Day was celebrated much as it is now but with a lesser variety of foods and gifts. I have not found one person able to remember the last part of the 19th century or even the first few years of this 20th century who remernbers eating turkey at Christmas time . Few families raised geese, but if they did then a goose was the fare at Christmas time. Most people remember Christmas dinner as follows:
- Roast or boiled chicken
- Potatoes, boiled and mashed
- Carrots or turnips or both
- Gravy and stuffing
- For dessert, mince pies and homemade candies sometimes .
Many I have spoken to remember only the Christmas treats they were given, but very few received gifts. The treats were usually an orange, apple, sometimes nuts or candies. Christmas trees were not put up in the houses until about the second or third decade of the 20th century. The family made paper chains and paper decorations . The pretty delicate glass type decorations came much later on."
The story below, brought to us by Karen Craig, is from "Christmas in Canada: Heartwarming legends, Tales and Traditions" Edited by Jill Foran. Copyright 2004.
Ontario’s First Christmas Carol
On Christmas Eve 1668, a 14 year old girl lay fighting for her life at La Jeune Lorette, near Quebec City. Therese was a member of the Huron, a nation that was pushed out of their traditional homelands near eastern Georgian Bay by the Iroquois.
To mark the approaching holiday she sang Jesous Ahatonhia, a carol which described the birth of Christ in a setting which closely resembled Ontario.
Father Pierre-Joseph Chaumonot who administered the last rites, heard the song in passing. When Therese died on Christmas day, he mentioned it. This was the first written reference to the “Huron Carol”. Later transcribed and preserved for posterity, young Therese’s favourite song was the first Canadian Christmas Carol and probably the first carol written in North America.
The Huron Carol, or ‘Twas in the moon of Wintertime’ was probably written in 1642 by Jean de Brebeuf, a Jesuit Missionary. Somehow the song survived in the Huron language until it was written down by Father Etienne de Villeneuve. A Huron lawyer named Paul Picard later translated it into French. In 1926, poet Jesse Edgar Middleton translated it from French into English.
The song was released on Burl Ives 1952 album: ‘Christmas in the Morning’, then once again released as a Burl Ives single under the title ‘Indian Christmas Carol’.
It was also recorded by both Bruce Cockburn and then in 2009 by the Tenors.
