Written by Eileen Stokes, WTHS Member and former Officer & BOT; Former Chairwoman of the Washington Township Preservation Commission; Skilled Historian, Trinity College alumni
Nothing is truly known of the earliest Christmases in Long Valley, back in the 1700’s — when German Valley was still part of Roxbury Township and Morris County was still part of Hunterdon County — except for what we can extrapolate from general customs.
During the Middle Ages and Renaissance, the religious and gift giving aspects of Christmas were separate. Christmas Day was a day kept holy for the Lord. We imagine in the 1700s here in German Valley, where most of the inhabitants were followers of the Lutheran and Dutch Reformed churches, and therefore strict Sabbatarians (no work on Sunday), that Christmas was similarly kept. In the Germanic areas of Europe, small gifts for children were distributed on Dec. 6th by the popular St. Nicholas, a Greek bishop dating to Roman times. Dressed in mitre and carrying a crozier, he was often accompanied by companions such as Krampus or Knecht Ruprecht.
As Protestantism spread so did the desire to separate from Catholic sounding customs — such as “Saints.” Martin Luther suggested “Das Christkindl”— from which Kris Kringle comes—to replace St. Nicholas. In some areas it became Der Weihnachtsman (Father Christmas) and borrowing from the companions of St. Nicholas, used robes and darkish colors, often carrying a sparse tree, sack of apples and nuts as treats.
The early Christmas trees were far different from our current bushy ones — often they were cedar, sparse and rough (but better for candles) — trees were usually only up for a day or two, and toys were Noah’s Arks with animals — again harking back to the Bible and religious roots. As the 1800s progressed and the Victorian version of Christmas took hold — the gifts and religious aspects merged. In Germany the tree was often closed off (while mother dressed it) and opened to display the children’s gifts, not on Christmas, but on Christmas Eve either before or after dinner. One can just imagine the magic and awe of the young children, who with hands held tightly, barely dared to breathe as the candles were lit and the tree began to glow. It was a magic short-lived but worth it, as candles were costly and small ones were specially made for the tree. No wonder so much anticipation went into the holiday.
Some facts we have for sure are that Clement C. Moore, who wrote The Night Before Christmas in 1822, visited Schooley Mountain Springs during the 1845 season, by then having claimed in 1844 authorship of the poem which had been originally published anonymously.
We know from 1889 newspaper clippings that a Christmas Day Shooting match took place in Chester and was well attended by German Valley folks who returned with many prizes.
I expect this was a Turkey Shoot—still popular as a fire department fundraiser in this area until about 1990.
Also, that evening, a surprise party was held for Lyman Kice — owner of the building and store on the corner of East Mill & Schooley’s Mountain Roads — the empty stone one still standing. Perhaps he was a Christmas baby and it was his birthday?
What was described as “An Old Fashioned Exhibition” was advertised for New Years Eve in 1889 — to be held in the public auditorium in Lyman Kice’s building. “The youth of the Lutheran Church promised it would be 1st class entertainment and those planning to attend were warned to ‘supply themselves with [bandages] to protect their sides while laughing.” The proceeds were to be used for a Sunday School Library. In case of stormy weather, the show would be held the next fair evening.”
While I found no more interesting news clips of the time, by the 1890’s I’m sure the new craze of giving Christmas postcards had reached the Valley. Christmas cards first were used in London in 1843 and their use spread quickly among the literary and educated. As the novelty began to wane, commercial businesses picked up on it and top illustrators vied for monetary prizes to design drawings and sayings. This, on top of the interest in Santa aroused by Thomas Nast, the well-known political cartoonist, who by 1871 was living in nearby Morristown, certainly caused a flurry of interest and excitement in the area. (There is a small display of early cards at the museum.)
Nast started drawing his Santas in 1863 during the height of the Civil War and continued through 1886, drawing for Harpers Weekly, Harpers Bazaar and Harpers Young People. Nast was born in 1840 in the Palatinate region of Germany, the same area our own early settlers emigrated from. He arrived in the States with his family in 1846 but surely was influenced by the customs of the area.
Thomas Nast Christmas Illustration - Courtesy of Mccoullogh Hall Historical Museum
Nash not only drew the illustrations that slowly influenced our picture of Santa, he made up facts to accompany them and is credited with establishing the North Pole as home, elves and toy workshops, letters to Santa, gifts for only the good children and Santa using chimneys! His Santas drew on his Palatinate roots of Pelz Nickle (fur Santa)—adding the white trim and boots to the dark robes of the earlier Father Christmases—and using the Dutch title of Sinter Klaus Americanized in to Santa Claus.
One final holiday note in our Kossmann scrapbook at the Historical Society is of an older woman in Naughright who called herself “Mrs. Persnickety” and in the 1920s would arrive at her friends’ homes dressed in a black 1890s dress, black cape, and small black bonnet to wish them a “Happy New Years!” This brings to mind the Scottish custom of First Footing on New Years Day—perhaps Scots had moved into the area, or perhaps the custom was to dress in old fashioned costumes while visiting, something I remember as a popular New Years pastime until football usurped the afternoon.