Santa Claus and Abraham Lincoln

By Matthew Pizzolato

Just as the modern holiday of Thanksgiving was begun during the Civil War, so too was the tradition of Santa Claus begun during the same time period. Santa made his first public appearance in a Philadelphia department store in 1849.

The Christmas holiday has always generally been celebrated the same way. Caroling was done in public places and trees were cut down and taken into homes.  During the war, soldiers would set up trees in camp and decorate them with hard tack. (Because that's about all that stuff was useful for anyway.)

Harper's Weekly illustrator, Thomas Nast, did not create the idea of Santa Claus, but he popularized the image we have of Santa as a rather rotund man in a red suit with a flowing white beard in a series of drawings for the magazine.

Nast was a staunch Union supporter and allied Santa with the Union army, often depicting him interacting with Union troops. Abraham Lincoln later said that the Santa who appeared in Harper's Weekly was "the best recruiting sergeant the North ever had."

Yet, the war did not stop for Christmas and it greatly affected how the holiday was celebrated. The Christmas of 1861 was described by Sallie Brock Putnam of Richmond, VA.

"Never before had so sad a Christmas dawned upon us. Our religious services were not remitted and the Christmas dinner was plenteous of old; but in nothing did it remind us of days gone by. We had neither the heart nor inclination to make the week merry with joyousness when such a sad calamity hovered over us."

After the War, Thomas Nast popularized the idea of Santa's home being the "North" Pole as a way to further tie the tradition to the Union.  So, in case you didn't know, Santa Claus is a Yankee.

Matthew Pizzolato's short stories have been published online and in print. He is a member of Western Fictioneers and his work can be found in the Wolf Creek series as well as his own publications, THE WANTED MAN, OUTLAW and TWO OF A KIND. 

He is the Editor-in-Chief of The Western Online, a magazine dedicated to everything Western. He can be contacted through Twitter @mattpizzolato or via his website: 

www.matthew-pizzolato.com

Christmas During the Civil War

From our outfit to yours, Merry Christmas to each and every one of you!

Did you know that the modern Christmas we celebrate today began in this country just prior to the Civil War?  Have you ever wondered why Santa Claus is from the North Pole? The answer comes from the division of the North and South during the Late Unpleasantness.

Christmas cards weren't as prevalent then but a few were sent out and caroling was done in public places.  Trees were cut down, taken into homes and decorated. Soldiers even set up trees in their camps, often decorating them with hardtack.  But soldiers couldn't relax around camp celebrating the holiday. They had to hunt for firewood and attend to the other duties of camp life.

Santa Claus appeared publicly for the first time in a department store in Philadelphia in 1849. The modern image of Santa Claus came to life during the War and was popularized by Harper's Weekly illustrator Thomas Nast, a staunch Union supporter, who allied Santa with the Union Army and depicted him in several cartoons interacting with Union troops. Abraham Lincoln later said that the Santa who appeared in Harper's Weekly was "the best recruiting sergeant the North ever had."  And it was Nast, after the War who made Santa's home the 'North' Pole.

Yet the War had a major impact on how the holiday was celebrated. The country was torn apart for four long years, loved ones went off to fight and many were never heard from again.

One soldier wrote, "You have no idea how lonesome I feel this day. It's the first time in my life I'm away from loved ones at home."

The Christmas of 1861 was described by Sallie Brock Putnam of Richmond, VA.

"Never before had so sad a Christmas dawned upon us. Our religious services were not remitted and the Christmas dinner was plenteous of old; but in nothing did it remind us of days gone by. We had neither the heart nor inclination to make the week merry with joyousness when such a sad calamity hovered over us."

The War did not stop for Christmas and many skirmishes were fought on that day. On December 25, 1862, Confederate general John Hunt Morgan launched his Christmas Raid in Kentucky.

The Union blockade in the later years of the War had a dramatic affect on how the holiday was celebrated in the South. Due to the hardships of the war and restrictions caused, many children were told that Santa wouldn't be able to get through the blockade and gifts weren't as prevalent in the South as they were in the North, but children were given anything their parents could spare.

Perhaps the biggest Christmas present of the War was given to Abraham Lincoln when William Tecumseh Sherman pillaged Georgia and presented Lincoln with the city of Savannah via telegram.  "I beg to present you as a Christmas gift, the city of Savannah, with 100 and 50 guns and plenty of ammunition, also about 25,000 bales of cotton."

Thomas Nast illustration of a couple separated by the War

Although the Christmas tradition has stayed pretty much the same, it is hard to imagine how difficult it must have been to celebrate the holiday during such turbulent times.

Matthew Pizzolato's short stories have been published online and in print. He is a member of Western Fictioneers and his work can be found in the Wolf Creek series as well as his own publications, THE WANTED MAN, OUTLAW and TWO OF A KIND. 

He is the Editor-in-Chief of The Western Online, a magazine dedicated to everything Western. He can be contacted through Twitter @mattpizzolato or via his website: 
www.matthew-pizzolato.com.

The Question of Santa

by Phil Truman

Doing a little departure from my usual post for the sake of the season's spirit. Hope you enjoy this small Christmas tarry.

Last month I introduced you to White Oxley, a minor character from two of my novels, and possibly one of my alter egos. He's back here again this month.

White is an old codger who has taken on life as best he can. Sometimes it's joyful, sometimes it's painful, most times it's a puzzle. But, like a lot of American heartlanders, he has the strength of character to get through whatever comes his way. His priorities have always been God, family, country.

Now in his elder years, White considers it his mission to pass on the values he has gained to the generations after him. Here's one such episode:


"Is Santa real, Gramp?"

The boy's gramp, White Oxley, drove on quietly for a few seconds, trying to decide what tack to take with this question. It was one of those a child asks whose answer would become a defining moment in that young life. Most parents preferred to put off answering such questions. White could think of three: Is Santa real? Is the Tooth Fairy real? and What is sex? White had to be careful how he answered.

They were headed over to Tulsa. Jakey had spent the night with them out at the farm, as was his habit on Fridays. The boy's grandmother needed to do some Christmas shopping, so they'd all piled into the pickup to make a day of it.

"Why you asking a question like that?" It was a stall tactic. White looked over at his wife in a silent plea for help. She smiled and winked, but said nothing. She always did this to him, taking delight in letting him dig a big hole before she came to pull him out.

"Sammy Botts told us Santa's all fake," Jakey answered. "That grown-ups made him up. That parents are the ones who put presents under the tree on Christmas Eve."

Jakey was in the first grade, the toughest of all school years: the start of reading and writing, math, homework, and no front teeth. Also, some know-it-all older kid usually came around to break the news about Santa and such to the last of the innocents.

"Edie Jean started crying when Sammy said that," the boy continued. "And started pounding on him, until Miss Birney stopped her."

"Well now, why'd Edie Jean do that?" White asked, still hoping to divert the subject.

"She said she asked Santa to give her daddy a ride home on Christmas Eve. He's in the Army fighting bad guys somewhere far off," Jakey spoke it as a matter-of-fact.

"Well…" White said. He sighed and looked to his wife again, but she'd turned her face toward the

window, studying the passing countryside. White figured she was thinking about her brother Ben and that sad and empty Christmas back in '68.

"Is he, Gramp?" the boy implored again.

"What do you think, son?" White asked.

"I think he's real," Jakey said, nodding.

"Well, there you go," his gramp said. "As long as that's what you believe, then he is. Believin' is a powerful thing."

White glanced over at the boy. Jakey looked thoughtful, so White continued.

"Sammy Botts just ain't got all his facts. Parents do put some of them presents out on Christmas Eve, but that's only because Santa asks folks to help out. You see, there's a whole lot more kids nowadays compared to when I was a kid. It's just more easier for Santa to get it all did that way before Christmas morning.

"So you tell Sammy he's got it wrong. That if he was to believe Santa's out there, like you, then by damn, he'd be out there; if he don't, he won't.

"White!" his wife said with that admonishing tone she used when he swore.

White went on. "Seems to me, though, life'd be a whole lot more fun if you was to believe in Santa Claus."

"Yeah," Jakey said starting to smile.

"One more thing," White said. "Monday morning I want you to go up to Edie Jean, and tell her this. Tell her it come from your gramp who happens to know Santa personally.

"You tell her that Santa will try his da…his goldurned best to pick up her daddy and bring him home, but that it ain't entirely up to Santa. You see, a soldier ain't likely to leave his buddies behind if they need his help. Could be her daddy won't be able to make that rendezvous with Santa. But if he don't, it won't be because he don't love his baby girl. No sir, jist the opposite. He loves her so dang much he's willing to stay over there to take care of those bad guys so's to keep her safe back home; to make sure she has a happy and peaceful Christmas.

"You tell Edie Jean, she needs to believe, too, and that the day is comin' when her daddy will be home."

"Okay," the boy said. 

White wheeled the pickup into the mall parking lot. "You think Santa is still here?" Jakey asked. "'Cause I want to go see him again."

"Why, I believe he is," his gramp answered.

White looked at his wife and winked. She touched a tissue to her eye and blew him a kiss.

You can read more about White Oxley in Phil's novel GAME, an American Novel, an Amazon #1 best-seller in sports fiction. White also plays a part in Phil's other best-selling novel  Legends of Tsalagee, a rollicking tale of mystery and adventure in a small town. Truman's third novel, Red Lands Outlaw, the Ballad of Henry Starr, is an award-winning historical western about the life and times of an Oklahoma outlaw.  His western short story “Last Will for an Outlaw” appears in LaFrontera Publishing’s anthology, Dead or Alive, released June 2013.

Phil's website is http://philtrumanink.com/