The frontier holiday

This collection of brief first-person descriptions and anecdotes chronicles how Christmas, New Year's, and Thanksgiving were celebrated in nineteenth-century Minnesota. The materials are drawn from documents at the Minnesota Historical Society, and many have appeared before in print. They range from Zebulon Pike's journal entries for December 25, 1805 and January 1, 1806 (which mention extra rations and presents for members of his expedition) to translated excerpts from the Swedish writer's Hugo Nisbeth's travel narrative, Two Years in America (1872-1874). Most of these accounts date from the middle of the century. Topics include a community Christmas celebrated in the schoolhouse; New Year's open houses; Christmas in early Minneapolis, Winona, and Fort Snelling; Christmas customs adapted by Native Americans; and a Thanksgiving feast.