Historic Holidays

A PIECE OF Utah Ch ristmas H i story

By Kris Blankman

The Browning Family

Have you ever wondered why you do what you do to celebrate Christmas?

Religious beliefs, family traditions, and cultural influences are all part of who we are in Utah today. Perhaps by looking at our past, we can see where it all began. On the Weber River, Osborne Russell, a Utah trapper, recorded the first known Utah Christmas in 1840, with the Shoshone, Cree, Flathead, Nez Perce tribe, and French mountain men. After sharing a meal of venison, fish, stewed elk, strong coffee, and fruit pudding around a fire in the center of a tipi, he recorded that following their meal, they smoked pipes and held target practice.

A few years later, a poor and impoverished group of pioneers entered the Valley in July of 1847. Six months later, living together in a fort, they celebrated their first Utah Christmas. It mainly consisted of boiled rabbit and some bread. A young pioneer girl, Elizabeth Huffaker, left us with the following account of that first celebration: “I remember our first Christmas in the valley. We all worked as usual. The men gathered sagebrush, and some even plowed, for though it had snowed, the ground was still soft, and the plows were used nearly the entire day on Christmas. We celebrated the day on the Sabbath when we all gathered around the flagpole in the center of the fort, and there we held meeting. And it was a great meeting. We sang praise to God. We all joined in the opening prayer, and the speaking that day has always been remembered. There were words of

thanksgiving and cheer. Not an unkind word was uttered. The people were hopeful and buoyant because of their faith in the great work that they were undertaking. After the meeting, we all shook hands with each other. Some wept with joy, the children played in the enclosure, and around the sagebrush fire that night, we gathered and sang: ‘Come, come ye Saints, no toil nor labor fear, but with joy, wend your way.’ In the sense of perfect peace and good will, I never had a happier Christmas in all my life.”

As time went on, the pioneers and settlers to Utah began to prosper, and Christmas festivities began to improve. Traditions and cultural customs from all over the world were shared by the immigrant pioneers. The Christmas tree, a German tradition, became wildly popular. It is believed that nuts, dried fruits, and cookies baked into shapes were used as some of the first ornaments. Music and dance were an integral part of the early Utah Christmas celebrations: songs such as “Come Come Ye Saints” and, later, “Silent Night,” which had been translated to English by 1858 by Episcopal priest John Freeman Young. The pioneers were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and celebrated Christmas much like any other Christian faith. Reading from Luke, the story of the nativity was shared. Other literature was quite possibly a part of the season, as A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens was written in 1843.

Until the railroad came, gifts were mostly all homemade and few and far between. Often, an orange or an apple was left in a stocking and was the sweetest gift of all. After enjoying the sweet fruit, many pioneers saved the peels and put them in drawers and trunks to keep their clothes smelling nice. Children were just as excited on Christmas Eve in the 1800s as they are now; however, toys looked much different. There were handmade dolls hand sewn from scraps of material. Small homemade wagons were made for little boys or doll-sized highchairs were made for little girls. Knitted hats and socks or a set of scrap lumber blocks were welcomed. Since toys were cherished, many have been kept and passed down in families. A collection of pioneer toys can be found at the International Daughters of the Utah Pioneers Museum in Salt Lake City and in smaller DUP museums throughout the state. Sweets were a luxury in pioneer times, but molasses would be saved throughout the year so that, on Christmas, there were treats like honey taffy, cookies, and candy canes for the children.

Many pioneers brought their culinary traditions with them. Scottish saints enjoyed shortcake, while the Danish sipped sweet soup made of rice and fruit juice. Scandinavians made rice cooked with cinnamon, sugar, and milk. And the British enjoyed plum pudding to celebrate the holiday.

By the 1870s, Christmas looked much different. There were buildings and homes in which to share the holiday with family and friends. Santa Claus had become part of the celebration. Goose and venison were shared at the Christmas table. The celebrations lasted for hours and sometimes days.

Now, here we are in 2022. Utah has grown and evolved. A myriad of cultural influences can be seen wherever you look. New traditions are present, but old traditions can be seen every holiday. Caroling is still a favorite Christmas activity in small towns across our state. Sledding, ice skating, and looking at the lights are all traditions that live on. Perhaps, as we rush into the holiday season, we should pause for a moment. Think about the first Christmases in Utah. It is quite possible that if we reflect on the words of Elizabeth Huffaker, “…There were words of Thanksgiving and cheer. Not an unkind word was uttered,” we can have an experience like she did, where we can all say, “In the sense of perfect peace and good will, I never had a happier Christmas in all my life.”

Merry Christmas Utah!

Oakley MacCarthy

Santa at the Dee Hospital All Photos courtesy of Weber State University Archives

PROTECT YOURSELF

Holiday Shopping Precautions

By: Cincinnati Insurance

INSURANCE CARRIERS

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WCF Insurance With the holiday season fast approaching, many of us will be out shopping and enjoying the festivities. In this joyous atmosphere, we also need to be aware of our surroundings and develop a safe routine because unscrupulous individuals may be out to take advantage of our festive mood. Here are things to keep in mind when you are out. YOUR CAR • Never leave valuable items in clear view in your vehicle. Thieves target your car for items they see; put your valuables in the trunk • Always lock your vehicle when you park • Park in well-lit areas • Park in an area with heavy foot traffic, not in an isolated spot • When stopping for fuel, always lock your vehicle if you leave it • When pumping gas, lock the doors on the other side of the car to prevent thieves from grabbing your purse or other valuables while your attention is diverted • Never leave your keys in your car or the ignition. Your car key ring usually has your house keys on it, and this could prove dangerous and costly

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Enjoy the holiday season, protect your family, and fun by taking good precautions.

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AT THE STORE • Be aware of your surroundings • Always make sure your valuables are secured • If you carry a purse or satchel, don’t leave your purse in the seat of a shopping cart IF YOU DO BECOME A VICTIM • Immediately notify the police and provide them with as much information as you can concerning the property taken • Immediately, while the information is fresh in your mind, note a description of the responsible individual and his or her vehicle, license plate number, or other identifying information • Make note of the direction the thief fled, and pass that information to the authorities

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North Ogden’s Famous Civic League Plum Pudding

BY CINDY A. JONES

In April 1957, a volunteer group of ambitious North Ogden women decided they wanted to improve public places, like parks and cemeteries, in North Ogden, and the North Ogden Civic League was born.

That November, just in time for the holidays, the women decided to make traditional Holiday Plum Pudding to sell as a fundraiser. The pudding, a dish dating back to the Victorian era, was moist and cake-like, accented with fruit, nuts, and spices. That season, the women made and canned 50 cans of pudding in President Peg Fjeldstead’s garage. Each of the group’s members sold them to family, friends, and neighbors, and the fundraiser was deemed a success.

What none of the members realized was that, in the next two years, the demand for North Ogden Civic League’s popular Plum Pudding would grow exponentially. LaVern Cottrell, who was in her 20s when her mother was part of the Civic League, says that the group began to have pre-orders for the pudding months in advance. By 1959, just two years after the group came together, the women were producing around 500 cans each holiday season. They made the pudding in Peg Fjelstead’s husband’s work room, with baking ovens all over her house.

In the next decade, pudding orders would grow into the thousands. Having started out under $1.00 a can, the pudding was now going for a whopping $2.75 a can. The group was producing about 1500 cans every season, and by the mid 1960s, the pudding project was the group’s main fundraiser. By 1973, the pudding production was such a booming success that the group moved its cooking and canning operations to the LDS Bishop’s Storehouse on 17th Street in Ogden.

The group was producing about 1500 cans every season.

Civic League member Evelyn Taylor designed the first label for the pudding cans, and Holly Fuller, who was just a little girl during the early pudding years, remembers when the children at North Ogden Elementary were asked to color the labels before they were affixed to the cans. Later on, a new design was created and printed in color. Holly also remembers the recipe for butterscotch sauce on the back of the labels that her mother made every year.

The pudding operations went on well into the 1990s, and even after the group was forced to move their yearly operations to Franklin, Idaho, due to changing Utah food-handling laws, North Ogden’s Civic League Plum Pudding continued to be a wildly popular treat and a fundraising boon. Among other improvements to the city, the pudding fundraiser helped to build the city’s first swimming pool.

Sadly, the North Ogden Civic League disbanded in May of 2021, but their efforts have left a trail of improvements throughout North Ogden in its 64 years. The Civic League Plum Pudding is a memory still savored by the community.

Looking back, holiday history stories are fun to read. If you have an idea for a great article, please contact cindy@connectionpub.com

SENTINEL LAW GROUP, P.C. Family Law

As a family law attorney, each day holds new and unique situations as clients bring their life circumstances to me. Over the next several articles, I will be featuring some common questions that I have answered throughout the years of my career.This is the second one.

Q:I want to be able to take my children on a trip out of state, but my ex says no.

Does my ex have the ability to control my vacation? Do I have any rights?

A: This can be a trickier question to answer because you have to refer to your decree most of the time to get a

clear answer. You probably want to ask an attorney your specific question with a copy of your decree in hand. However, let me give you some more general suggestions and guidance for this situation.

Utah Code Annotated § 30-3-36(2) stipulates that you are to provide certain information when your children are traveling with you. This is done primarily so the other parent knows how to reach you and/or the children in the event of an emergency. It is also courteous to share this information, regardless of the statute. The law requires you to provide (1) an itinerary of your travel (when you are going, where you are going to be, and when you will be returning); (2) your destination(s); (3) places where the children or the traveling parent can be contacted (i.e., hotels, family members, cellphone, etc.); and (4) an available third person who would know the children’s location (like a close adult friend or family member). As long as you are providing that information, there is little that the ex can do to legally stop the trip. However, I have seen it happen where the non-traveling parent will get the children for parent time and then not cooperate with the exchange, which then causes problems because of departure times and other logistical issues. My advice is to plan any trip with a buffer, especially if the possibility of friction is present. By making the exchange a few days before you are scheduled to leave, you can ensure that the ex cannot cause any problems that create extra trouble because of timing. So, if you are flying out on a Saturday, arrange for the pickup to be on Thursday evening. That allows you time to get everything packed and ready and gives you a day to talk with a judge if any interference comes up. Normally, this isn’t a problem, but if you feel like the ex might be jealous because of your planned activities, or might not like where you are going, or feels insecure in their own relationship with the children, it is a good idea to allow this buffer before going. It all goes back to the principle of controlling what you can; we cannot control ex-spouses. But we certainly can be careful and plan around any possible things that could go wrong.

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Charles Ahlstrom, Esq. Sentinel Law Group