War of 1812 Discovery Series (#7 - Continued)

by Judi McWilliams

Over the past few years the Festival Nomad and I have had wonderful experiences visiting War of 1812 Re-enactments around Ontario. We find these re-enactments amazing and extremely interesting! In this NEW War of 1812 Discovery Series, I want to share with you some of our experiences, while attempting to shed some light into the actual historic.

Christmas 1812 Style... (Part Three)
In Upper Canada, the 104th Regiment in Kingston had much more comfortable quarters and therefore enjoyed Christmas better than that of others. Some Officers were invited into the homes of local folks. An old tradition started at this time called “First Footing”. This tradition determined the fortunes of the families for the coming year by the first visitor on Christmas day. If a poor woman arrived at your door first it was considered a bad omen, while if a handsome man visited bringing salt or coal a good year was expected. Today, I believe we all enjoy our visitors no matter their arrival order, but as we go to elaborate efforts for our celebrations, I believe we are always relieved to see the last visitor “leave” so we can get some much needed rest! In 1814, they say that the most significant Christmas parties occurred in Ghent, Belgium, after the signing of the peace treaty ending the War of 1812. Apparently an American and British representative sat down to enjoy a beef dinner with plum pudding brought over especially from England. We are told the orchestra played “God Save the King” and “Yankee Doodle” while they made toasts and drank to the health of King George and President Madison. It seems difficult to obtain many recollections of the Christmas celebrations during the War. Christmas for some was recognized as an important religious event, where the Germans and English held a special church service, followed by a simple fine dinner with minimal decorations.
(To be continued)

War of 1812 Discovery Series (#7 - Continued)

by Judi McWilliams

Over the past few years the Festival Nomad and I have had wonderful experiences visiting War of 1812 Re-enactments around Ontario. We find these re-enactments amazing and extremely interesting! In this NEW War of 1812 Discovery Series, I want to share with you some of our experiences, while attempting to shed some light into the actual historic.

Christmas 1812 Style... (Part Two)
There are some recordings of Christmas celebrations in the army during the War of 1812, but the festivities and decorations that we expect to see during our Christmas season did not take place during that time. For today’s Historic Sites and current re-enactment purposes (to avoid misrepresentation and the authenticity of the time) these sights might be decorated as a wintertime ball, representing the festive spirit and ways during the Christmas season and winter months. There are a few accounts of Christmas celebrations during the War of 1812. In the 1800’s soldiers were fortunate to be allowed “time off”, mid afternoon, to enjoy just a traditional Sunday, but in turn, had to forgo their time for dinner. 1806 brought better fortune to the soldiers, who received advanced pay, so that they could purchase three good meals for the different messes on Christmas day. They enjoyed religious tunes during Church, where the psalm singers and a drummer performed. With the abundance of food available to us today we seem to get “frazzled” with having to make choices, such as fresh turkey or pre-basted, home-make treats or store purchased boxes, wine or beer, canned cranberries whole or jellied, etc. etc. The food choices during the War of 1812 period were not very diverse. In 1807, the 40th Regiment chose to go to shore to purchase flour, raisins, fat and beer to enjoy their hearty feast. If the soldiers were in the field serving, their efforts were just that more challenging. In 1813, the 7th Royal Fusiliers recounted Christmas being successful by the contributions of every man. They contributed meat, wine and some money to purchase a couple of sheep for a meal, pies, puddings. this was all finished with a treat of fresh apples! They also enjoyed music provided by bandsmen playing tunes. They all danced to reels and jigs! In 1813, the 43rd Light Infantry recalled seeing a simple celebration at a corporal’s quarters with a poor woman and her child enjoying a small pudding by the warmth of a fire beside a tree.
(To be continued)

War of 1812 Discovery Series (#7)

by Judi McWilliams

Over the past few years the Festival Nomad and I have had wonderful experiences visiting War of 1812 Re-enactments around Ontario. We find these re-enactments amazing and extremely interesting! In this NEW War of 1812 Discovery Series, I want to share with you some of our experiences, while attempting to shed some light into the actual historic.

Christmas 1812 Style... (Part One)
As the snow falls in Ontario one week before Christmas, I am well aware how fortunate our community is to be miraculously by-passed by the over 100 cm of snow that literally caused a “State of Emergency” in many parts of Ontario! We have no accumulation of snow in Cobourg, even though the temperatures are averaging minus 10 degrees even before the chilly gusty winds are taken into consideration! I feel extremely fortunate to have a goose-down filled jacket and warm attire. Recently I volunteered at Lang Pioneer Village during their “Christmas by Candlelight”. This is a re-enactment of early 19th century Christmas in rural Ontario. From my research, it appeared to be difficult to function during the cold winter months and at Christmas, during this period of time, especially compared with the modern day conveniences we enjoy today! If we forget to gather a gift for our friends and family, we can just go “on-line” and purchase a “gift card”! A lot of us feel so stressed and rushed in today’s society, that I believe we forget to recognize the simple pleasures in life and perhaps the true meaning of Christmas. As I have been writing about the War of 1812 and the re-enactments of that period of time, I wondered what Christmas, during the period would be like. The hardships that we “think” we experience today, like crowded parking lots, long line-ups at convenient stores, options and choices galore, seem minimal compared to the hardships during the War! Did they even celebrate Christmas?

(To be continued)

War of 1812 Discovery Series (#6 - Continued)

by Judi McWilliams

Over the past few years the Festival Nomad and I have had wonderful experiences visiting War of 1812 Re-enactments around Ontario. We find these re-enactments amazing and extremely interesting! In this NEW War of 1812 Discovery Series, I want to share with you some of our experiences, while attempting to shed some light into the actual historic.

Beating of the War (Part Three)...
The terminology used in Drumming is complex. There are many stages in just preparing for drumming, each time you venture out. You need to “strap up your drum”. That is place the rim around your hip almost on your left side. You need to build up your muscles in your shoulders and back to be able to survive the day at a re-enactment (not to mention your sore feet)! You will need to learn how to hold the sticks correctly, learn how to let the sticks naturally rebound without being so stiff yourself. There are many terms used for drumming the sticks (as my sister said), such as double stroke roll, ruffs, flams, sextuplets, paradiddles. My sister, Carol, tells me that there is always the danger of your drum strap breaking and to quote her … “you end up hop, fling, drumming along. Loose a stick and get blisters double beating (hopefully you don’t get court marshalled when the flying stick hits the officer)”. There are specific names for the drills of sets of drumming such as Breakfast call, Reveille, Assembly, Drummer’s Call, Retreat and so many more. And don’t forget your “good posture”, a must for proper Military Etiquette. On a windy day, your posture might go right out to pasture! As my sister says … “just be sure you don't slip on the cow patty or horse poop”!