At the turn of the century in Greenwood, the mood of the Christmas season was as varied as life itself in the busy mining town. Some years Christmas passed quietly, but other years it was a boisterous event!
A news item from the December 29, 1899 edition of The Greenwood Miner describes one of the quieter years:
"Christmas was spent quietly in Greenwood. In fact an air of quietude has pervaded the district for several weeks. On account of the completion of the railway, a large number of the people took advantage of the improved facilities for travelling and went out to Rossland, Nelson, the Coast, Eastern Canada and elsewhere to spend their holidays; and comparatively few were coming in. Altogether, however, the season was spent very enjoyably. Had there been better sleighing and more cheering war news, the social atmosphere would have been brighter. For the reasons stated the Christmas trade was not, perhaps, as brisk as the dealers anticipated."
"Christmas — Gathering Evergreens" Harpers Weekly, Dec 25, 1858
In the few years prior to 1899, there were many happy Christmas activities going on in Greenwood. The news on December 12, 1896 announced that "Invitations are being issued for the dance at the International hotel on Christmas Eve, the 24th inst. As all are invited, however, no one need wait for a formal request."
The following year, a news item in the Boundary Creek Times on Christmas day invited residents to the ice: "Christmas afternoon and evening there will be excellent skating on the Greenwood rink. The committee in charge will introduce some special features to amuse the spectators who do not desire to skate.
And the next year the Times announced that "Arrangements are being made to hold a public ball on Christmas Eve. A piano left Marcus last Saturday. The dance will be held in the White Star hotel."
Even during the quiet Christmas of 1899, when the railroad took many out of town, there was still a festive evening to be had in Greenwood. From the December 15th Greenwood Miner:
"A Christmas ball masque will be held under the auspices of the Fire Department in Miller's Music Hall on Friday evening, Dec. 22. The department's full brass band and orchestry will be in attendance. The grand march will take place at 9 o'clock. Tickets of admission for gentlemen are $1.50. Ladies are free."
Ball masques, c. 1890
In addition to dance music, there were many other types of Christmas music being enjoyed. By the late 1800s, Greenwood residents were sure to be enjoying a combination of traditional carols from Victorian England, along with homegrown Canadian music. Local churches had active choirs, school children gave singing performances, and carolers made both public and private appearances.
An annotated collection of early Canadian Christmas music, Noël[1] explains that the earliest Christmas music associated with Canada "came from the 17th-century missions in Quebec and Ontario. Jean de Brébeuf was a Jesuit missionary associated with Ste Marie, a Huron (or Wendat) village on the shore of Georgian Bay. It is believed that he wrote the Wendat words to create the first, and one of the most haunting Canadian Christmas carols, Jesous Ahatonhia (1648), also known as The Huron Carol.
After the great upheavals of the French-English wars, and the American War of Independence of 1776, Canada welcomed immigrant composers from Europe. Stephen Humbert (1767-1849), a Loyalist from New England, settled in New Brunswick where he continued the tradition of teaching the "proper" singing of hymn-tunes and anthems and compiled and published a collection, Union Harmony, which includes the Christmas anthem Herald Angels (ca. 1816)."
Further westward, in many Protestant churches "the hymn tune was the conveyor of much devotion around Christmas. George W. Linton's Joy to the World (ca. 1865), Rev. John Black's Lo! He comes in clouds descending (1874), evangelist John M. Whyte's Ring on sweet bells! (1885), and Thomas Charles Jeffers' Calm on the listening ear (1907) represent the diversity of the hymn in expressing Canadians' devotion in the Victorian era."
Along with spiritual sentiments of the season, Christmastime also meant a break for the miners living in rough camps scattered around Greenwood. A very entertaining report was published in the December 29, 1900 edition of the Greenwood Miner, about the men rolling into town in search of Christmas cheer:
"Christmas holiday brought a large number of miners from Deadwood, Summit, Phoenix, Central and other camps. On Monday's train 130 men came in from the B.C. in Summit camp, and the same day about 200 came in from Deadwood camp. Tuesday morning a number came down from Phoenix and Central camps. For a couple of days there was a crowded town filled with men who came to enjoy themselves, and they did.
Monday evening the London Comedy company played to a crowded house in the Auditorium. The Miner is not in a position to give any particulars in reference to the performance of this company, many of whom took part in the church entertainment a few weeks ago. The same evening both the National and Ladysmith varieties played to large audiences.
On Christmas day a large number of the people attended church in the forenoon. The ladies of the Methodist church served dinner to the hungry from 12:30 to 7:30 in the Larkins building, and were well patronized. During the afternoon a number of vocal selections were rendered. The W.C.T.U. also held a reception in the same building. At 1 o'clock H.B. Monroe served dinner to the natives of Pembrooke and vicinity who are residents of Greenwood.
In the evening bachelors of the city were to be found in almost every private house doing justice to the hospitality of lady friends. About 6 o'clock a well known young man was seen hurrying along Copper street towards the north end of town, looking as if he wanted a meal and was bound to get it. Like most of the bachelors of the mining camps he is in the habit of buying clothing when needed, and on the coat worn by this young man was the placard, $15.00—reduced to $8.50. It is to be hoped he had finished his dinner before the label was shown to him.
Both varieties were running full blast Christmas night. In the National there was a boxing contest. One of the contestants was declared better than the other, and it don't matter much as to the name of either."
REFERENCES:
The Greenwood Miner: December 15, 1899; December 29, 1899; December 29, 1900
The Boundary Creek Times: December 12, 1896; December 25, 1897; December 17, 1898
