A KANSAS PRAIRIE CHRISTMAS by Marisa Masterson

A KANSAS PRAIRIE CHRISTMAS by Marisa Masterson


Imagine…You came along the Santa Fe trail to settle in this part of the Missouri territory. Few people have made their homes here, other than the Native Americans who were forced into the area from the Great Lakes region and the East. They live far from you, though, and aren’t a concern.

Image of Kansas in winter by Rob Wishusen

It’s the isolation worrying you this day, the 24^th of December. There is no church service to attend, no close neighbors to gather with for a small Christmas Eve service. Looking around you, the two small faces gazing at you cause you to shake off your gloom. You will make Christmas Eve special with the things you have around you.


This was the case for pioneers who lived a rough, work-centered life to maintain their existence in places like the Kansa prairie of the Missouri Territory. Holidays like Christmas were treasured. They paused in their daily struggle and celebrated with whatever and whoever they had close at hand. It might seem like a humble celebration to us today, but Christmas was not forgotten or ignored by these families.

Typically, the homes were small—dugouts or soddies. Wood was scarce in some areas of Kansas so families there rarely had Christmas trees. Still, they decorated with what was at hand. Gingerbread men and cookie dough ornaments would be made, even if there was no tree. Brown paper that had wrapped purchases made during the year might be brought out so that a paper chain could be made. If any product with foil lining its inside had been purchased during the year, that shiny paper would have been removed and saved for Christmas. Everything was used. Even the wishbones from chickens could be dried and decorated. (I grew up with many of these decorations still being used at Christmas on our farm.)

The land around the homesteaders provided part of the decorations. Dried plants that seemed festive took the place of evergreens and pine cones. Imagine the dried grasses and prickly brown cones of thistles in mason jars or along a small mantle. Perhaps the mother dried flowers in her root cellar, hanging them upside down. Now, she brings them out to add some muted color to the holiday.

Even dried grasses began a part of the Christmas decorations.

Other dried items would also come out at this time of year. Dried apples would be used to make a pie, perhaps, or just to chew on as a special treat. Dried vegetables like green beans would be eaten as well. Green beans were strung during the summer and hung above the cookstove. As they dried, they absorbed the smoke from the stove to give them added flavor. Sometimes called leather britches, these were chewed during the winter, helping to avoid vitamin deficiencies.


Popcorn was another source of fun at Christmas. Using thread and a needle, it was carefully turned into a garland. Dried items like the rose hips gathered from wild roses could also be added to the garland for color. In America, the tradition of a popcorn garland actually dates back to Williamsburg, Virginia. According to author Phillip Snyder, the first Christmas tree in that city appeared in 1842. It was decorated with popcorn and colored paper. (from The Christmas Tree Book by that author) Pioneers would be very familiar with the practice adapted from traditions brought to the United States by German immigrants. These quickly became popular in the East.


In the days leading up to Christmas, one traditional item would be aging to gain flavor—the plum pudding. Mixed together and then placed in some type of linen, this was typically made two to three days before Christmas. It was steamed on Christmas day and served with a lemon sauce or a sweet milky sauce. My grandparents were still including it as a part of our Christmas celebration when I was a child and a teen. I remember well the spicy flavor of the very moist cake.


The homesteaders would gather on Christmas Eve as a family. Though the group might be small and the wind would howl outside as it whipped the snow, they would sing carols and read the Christmas story from the Gospel of Luke. Children would wake up to small homemade gifts left in stockings.


Yes, Christmas was treasured by these hardy homesteaders on the Kansas prairie.

(For further reading, I recommend https://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-christmas/.)

Christmas Pudding 

(My great-great-great grandmother brought this recipe with her to the United States when she immigrated from Northumbria, England. I believe the sorgum was a substitute for another ingredient since it was a common sweetener in Wisconsin.)

3 cups flour
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 cup suet
1 cup soured milk
3 tsp. sorgum
1/2 cup sugar
Raisins

Steam 3 hours in cloth.

https://www.amazon.com/Keeper-Christmas-Spinster-Mail-Order-Brides-ebook/dp/B081BCGP2S

https://www.amazon.com/Snowy-Delivery-Christmas-Ornamental-Match-ebook/dp/B081PBQCFY

Christmas Pudding

When we think of a Victorian Christmas dinner the first image to come to mind is a large platter featuring a perfectly cooked Christmas goose. However, many rural families instead served beef or chicken. The one thing though, that every family did have was the Christmas pudding.

Sometimes known as plum pudding or plum duff, it was not an actual milk-based pudding like we think of today. Pudding was an old word for foods boiled or steamed in a bag. Plum referred to the sweet bits of raisins in the pudding.

The origins of plum pudding date back to Medieval times and was prepared on Stir-up Sunday, the Sunday before Advent. Originally the pudding was prepared with thirteen ingredients for Christ and the twelve Apostles. Primarily made of suet, bread crumbs, raisins, sugar and spices, the making of the Christmas pudding was a family event.

Each person took a turn stirring and made a wish for good luck. Some sources mentioned the pudding was stirred clockwise and another said east to west, in honor of the Magi who traveled in that direction. Either way, after the stirring was done a ring, coin or thimble was tossed into the batter.

Next the pudding was packed into a cloth bag and hung until Christmas day. Then it was boiled in beef broth for four to eight hours. After dinner it was turned onto a platter and sprig of holly was placed on top. It was then coated with brandy, set alight and carried to the table.

The head of the household sliced and served the pudding and gave a blessing for all who prepared it. Biting into the portion, a person found the ring it meant marriage.

A coin promised wealth and the thimble, a happy but single life.

There seem to be as many recipes for Christmas pudding as there are internet sites, but this seemed to be the oldest I found, though if I were going to try making it, I would probably use one of the modern one.

"The American Domestic Cook Book For 1868"

Plum Pudding - Take half a pound of flour, half a pound of raisins, stoned and chopped, and some currants washed picked and dried; use milk enough to stir easily with a spoon; add half a pound of suet chopped fine, a teaspoonful of salt, and four well beaten eggs; tie it in a floured cloth, and boil four hours. The water must boil when you put it in, and continue boiling until it is done.

 

NEW RELEASE! After a magical waltz in a winter wonderland with the only man who has ever made her believe she is beautiful, Madeline Winthrop doesn't think life could be anymore perfect--until the night of the Christmas ball when she learns everything James Sullivan has told her is a lie. Revenge against Madeline's brother forces James to do what ever is necessary to get back what was stolen from him, even if he has to use Madeline to do it. But the one thing he doesn't count on is the way she makes him feel.

Excerpt:
He pulled away, and she blinked up at him in a daze. His chest rose and fell as his breath escaped his parted lips in wispy clouds. He shook his head and smiled. “Ye are not clumsy, Maddy. And when ye are in me arms, ye’ll glide around the room like a swan.”

Her heart leapt. “Oh, James, it sounds so wonderful, but...”

“We’ll dance all night. I’ll not be giving ye up to anyone else.”

“People will talk.”

“Let them talk. I want to marry ye.”

Madeline gaped at him stunned. Surely he was teasing. “But I’ve known you less than two weeks.”

“Marry me, Maddy, and we’ll dance every night for the rest o’ our lives.”

James offered her a lifetime with his smile, and because she ached so desperately to believe he loved her, she said yes.


http://www.kathyottenauthor.com

ANOTHER WALTZ NEW RELEASE (Victorian Holiday Novella)
http://www.thewildrosepress.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=176_135&products_id=4993