Holiday on the Frontier
THE MODERN IDEA OF CHRISTMAS HAS roots in the American frontier of the late 19th century. There are the trappings of evergreens, mistletoe (naturally), and wreaths. Table decorations were of white, red, and green. The importance of togetherness and being a good host and the focus on feasting (sometimes overly so) were present. It’s in Idaho, where Avis Ellen Alden, writing in the Idaho Statesman newspaper, recommends readers “buy as big a bunch [of mistletoe] as you can afford.” For wreaths, Alden notes, “Paper roses also are not to be despised,” before detailing how to make them. She told readers not to shy away from using “frost powder” on trees. Artificial holly berries were permissible, but “the best sprig of [real] holly must be saved for the plum pudding before it comes to the table on Christmas Day.”
In 1880, a 10-year-old Nebraska girl wrote to her grandparents
