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)
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