While it is only halfway through November we are starting to get things ready here on the farm for our last big event of the year-Old Time Christmas. This candlelit lantern tour explores the historic celebrations of Christmas during the 1800s, a live nativity, visits from the Belsnickel, and more. To help get ready for this event, I’ve been reading Christmas in Pennsylvania by Alfred L. Shoemaker. While a little heavy on primary sources for casual reading, it is a great source of information exploring early celebrations in Pennsylvania by those who did not observe Christmas such as the Puritans and Quakers, to those who certainly did such as the Lutherans and the Moravians. Working my way through one of the early chapters, I was struck by how much folklore and superstition revolved around Christmas time and I thought I would share some of my findings with you.
Many of the people who settled in this part of Pennsylvania came from the Palatinate region of Germany and believed very strongly in the supernatural power of the surrounding environment. They also believed they could influence it as well. In due time, this belief made its roots into America. Growing up in Chester County, Pennsylvania I remember hearing that animals could speak on Christmas night.
The idea of animals speaking is a common folk belief and most of these Pennsylvania Dutch supernatural occurrences are said to take place between 11pm and midnight. During this time not only do the animals talk, you can also see your future husband or wife, cut dowsing rods for water or iron, or cast silver bullets to kill your enemy. Make sure to mark your calendar and be awake at that time.
Some of my favorite Christmas superstitions involved predicting what the next year will bring. For example: many people believed that if the ground was white at Christmas it would be green at Easter. Or if the geese waddled in mud between Christmas and New Year they will do so every single month of the following year, (i.e. it will be a wet and rainy year). Perhaps the best superstition of all was that if you changed your underwear between Christmas and New Year’s you would get boils.
Quiet Valley Blog is written by Kat Muller as she explores her first year on the farm.