Tea at Trianon: A Creole Christmas in the Nineteenth Century

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Friday, January 1, 2021

A Creole Christmas in the Nineteenth Century

From HGG Historic Houses:

For the French, tradition was to give gifts on New Year’s Day, called lesétrennes,and there was little focus on gift-giving for Christmas. The Catholic Church did observe Christmas, however, and the French developed a tradition called le Réveillon, or “Awakening.” This is an extravagant family meal following midnight mass, after having fasted all day on Christmas Eve. Les étrennes and le Reveillon would carry over into Creole customs. In the dining room and parlor of the Hermann-Grima house you will see gifts, fruits and candies, and cards that read Bonne Année. The Hermanns, Grimas, and Galliers all likely had a Réveillon feast that would last into the wee hours of the morning on Christmas. It would have included rich foods such as oyster gumbo, roasted goose, daube glacé, soufflés, plum pudding, and coconut cake.

For centuries, Germans had practiced the tradition of erecting a small fir tree in the house adorned with candles, fruits and little gifts. German-born Prince Albert, husband to Queen Victoria, installed a decorated tree at Windsor Castle in 1841, and that set the standard for Christmas in upper-class homes. After the Civil War, Christmas trees were marketed to the masses as a way to celebrate the holiday season, and by the end of the 19th century, the average American household would have a tree. It was such the norm that many Jewish Americans also put up and decorated trees. A New Orleans Christmas tree, however, would look slightly different than your classic fir. The Galliers and the Grimas likely would have had a wax myrtle, because they were more readily available in the South. At the Gallier House, you can see how we have decorated our wax myrtle! You will also see other types of greenery bedecking the mantles and stairs including garlands of magnolia, holly, and pine with pine cones. Lemons and oranges grow in New Orleans and would have been popular for decoration throughout the winter season. Pomanders (from the French pomme d’ambre) of orange and clove would be throughout the house as well, to bring a fresh and spicy scent to the home at Christmastime.
In the Gallier House parlor, notice a copy of the 1849 edition of “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” now better known as “The Night Before Christmas.” Upon reading this classic poem, you may think that it described well-known Christmas iconography and customs of the time, but this is not the case. Prior to the popularity of this poem, it was not at all universal that St. Nick would deliver gifts on Christmas Eve. Early Dutch settlers of New York esteemed St. Nicholas as their patron saint and hung stockings to be filled with gifts on December 5th, the eve of St. Nicholas Day.
The poem also popularized the idea that “chubby and plump” St. Nick was pulled by a team of eight reindeer, each with individual names! It is unlikely that New Orleanians in the 1830s would have called him Santa Claus, but Santa would be a household name by the 1860s. That is mostly thanks to cartoonist Thomas Nast, who drew for Harper’s Weekly and is credited with the image of the Santa we know him today — the North Pole, Mrs. Claus, and a staff of elves included. Nast had previously illustrated campaign posters for President Lincoln, and legend has it that Lincoln himself requested that Nast draw an image of Santa Claus visiting the Union troops for the December cover of Harper’s Weekly in 1863. (Read more.)