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 Fort
Jesup State Historic Site regularly presents programs of living history.
The Holiday Season will be no exception. Join Fort Jesup's employees,
dressed in period costumes for these programs:
Through the month of December the museum and original
soldiers' kitchen will be decorated 1840s style with displays on Christmas
traditions from this period.
December 18, 2004 - 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM: "Christmas
Music on the Frontier" The staff and volunteers will be demonstrating
period musical instruments and playing Christmas carols on them. Visitors
are encouraged to bring their own instruments and join in - or just come
to sing along.
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Christmas on the Frontier
In 1831, Louisiana became one of two states to decree
Christmas a legal holiday; the other was Arkansas. The soldiers at Ft.
Jesup, of many different ethnic origins, likely combined their own distinct
cultural traditions in celebration of this important religious and secular
holiday. The Germans quietly introduced the Christmas tree, decorations
and the advent wreath to America. The Irish welcomed family, friends and
strangers with a lighted candle in the window. The English contributed
the tradition of fruitcake and wassail; the Old English term for "your
health." Europeans shared the custom of burning the Yule Log, sometimes
as long as twelve days, warming not only the house but those who resided
within. The poem Silent Night or "Stille Nacht! Heilige Nacht"
was written in 1816 in Austria and the melody composed for guitar accompaniment
in 1818. The carol was performed for the first time in America in 1839.
Adeste Fideles was translated into the English O Come All Ye Faithful
in 1841.
For the soldiers at Ft. Jesup work ceased on this day
and was celebrated with a special evening meal, and perhaps songs, wassail,
and games. In the 1840's, most American families did not have a Christmas
tree but a tree was decorated by and for the community. Stringing popcorn
is a distinctly American tradition. We will have a period Christmas tree
adorned with strings of popcorn, apples, gilded and natural nuts and fruit,
and homemade paper decorations.
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