Here’s what I know about Christmas in Little Bay, Newfoundland in the 1880s.

Holiday celebrations:

Christmas was a public holiday. I have a passage which highlights the ship Volunteer’s crew having to unload over Christmas giving weight to the notion that work was suspended. I believe students were also given a day off from school referred to as a “treat.”

Religious figures refer to Christmas as Xmas demonstrating a longstanding use of that shorthand and implying it lacked secular connotation.

There were special sermons and services at the churches. Christmas was also celebrated with “the time honoured dinner” and could see visitors hosted. Members of the Masonic Lodge hosted such. They also travelled to nearby towns during the season for dinners and dancing.

Christmas Trees:

There were decorated Christmas Trees referenced in association with churches. In 1889 St. Lukes “had a splendid Christmas tree.” The Methodist children also had a great time that year as their “school house was decorated and every child belonging to the school received a suitable gift.” Children were certainly given gifts but I’ve also noticed increased advertising during the holiday season which suggests that adult gift giving was taking place as well. They had lots of shopping options!

I’ve found reference to Santa Claus in the form of a concert song which implies the presence of that tradition.

Contests:

In 1887 the Evening Telegram published something called The Christmas Number which contained submissions by contestants from various Newfoundland communities of Christmas themed art including music, writings, and illustrations. One of the illustrations was titled Town and Harbour of Little Bay. I wonder if it was similar to the view on the Little Bay Christmas postcard included above.

Concerts:

There were many Christmas concerts. Concerts involved songs and readings performed by individuals or small groups on stage. They were sometimes held in the churches but more often took place at the Public Hall. Such events could draw a sizeable audience and attract media attention.

As an example, a Christmas concert titled “Try Again Company” was hosted by school teacher Miss Beasant in 1889. It began with Rev. Pittman giving the opening remarks and it ended after the closing remarks when everyone sang God Save the Queen. In between those bookended remarks was the rest of the Christmas concert which was composed of the following songs and recitations;

• Try, Try, Try Again
• Fairy Finger Waltz
• The Blue Juniata
• The Kerry Dance
• Little Birdie in the Tree
• Jeannette and Jeannot
• The Bird’s Song
• The Cuckoo
• Swinging ‘neath the Old Apple Tree
• Two Inconsistent Husbands
• Scene in Backwood’s School
• Where Does Santa Claus Live?
• May’s Sick Doll
• Boys will be Boys
• The Dumb Wife
• The Three Little Mushrooms
• Daddy-Long-Legs
• How the Turkeys got Drunk
• The Two Beggar Women

Mummering:

Not all Christmas traditions there appear so wholesome. I have several references to Mummering in Little Bay as on December 31st 1889 when seven men were arrested for being on the streets in disguise. The practice wasn’t supported by the upper class. Paymaster Lind was vehemently against it. He considered it unwholesome debauchery. The town’s Temperance Movement shared his opinion but that didn’t stop people from practicing it.

Alcohol was the big concern here. Newspapers either praised how quiet the season was or complained about the rowdiness. It depended on the amount of public drinking. On Christmas Day in 1885, for example, Sergeant Wells wrote; “There was, during the night, a great deal of drunkenness; and, there being such crowds that I considered it unwise to make an arrest. Instead, we used our time to assist friends in getting the inebriates home.” Christmas 1887 was witness to a rum heist! In contrast the Twillingate Sun reported in 1889 that Little Bay had “been very quiet this Festive season.”

That’s it. That’s what I’ve got for Christmas in the historical town. I tried to limit myself to sources that directly referenced Little Bay at Christmas as I wanted to avoid making any assumptions. What I found was familiar. History shapes tradition. Christmas traditions there turned out to look a lot like ours today. Like us they took some time off work, went to church, decorated trees, gave gifts to loved ones, had public entertainments, hosted friends and family for holiday feasts, and they drank… perhaps a bit too much!

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Have yourself a very Merry Christmas!