Friday, December 2, 2011

Mrs. Jefferson Davis Writes About Christmas

/The following is from a newspaper clipping included among the Jefferson Davis papers at Rice University.It is by Varina Davis and appeared in the New York World on Sunday, December 13, 1896. She writes about Christmas in the South during the War.

She says: "For as Christmas season was ushered in under the darkest clouds, everyone felt the cataclysm which impended but the rosy, expectant faces of our little children were a constant reminder that self-sacrifice must be the personal offering of each member of the family. How to satisfy the children when nothing better could be done than the little makeshift attainable in the Confederacy was the problem of the older members of each household".

She goes on to talk about the missing ingredients for the "mince pie" which was a must for Christmas. In fact,  the children considered that at least a slice of that much-coveted dainty was their right, and the price of indigestion paid for it was a debt of honor!!!

She says that the many excited housekeepers in Richmond had preserved all the fruits attainable, (including apples from the plenteous apple trees, and these were substituted for the time-honored raisins and currants. The brandy and cider were forthcoming. Hooray, Christmas would be a success!!!


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