State

Volume IV Number 30 THE STATE December 26 A Weekly Survey of North Carolina EnUrrf M accond-clau milter. June I. 1033, it Ihe Toilofflce it Ralfirh, North Cirolini, under the Art o( Uireh 3. 1870 Christmas in the South AN account of some of flic customs observed in Yuletide celebrations throughout the South, together with an explanation rela¬ tive to their origin. By J. It. Н1С К1ЛЛ Traditions and customs of the Old South, half-forgotten in the bustle of building the New South, bob to the surface during the Christ¬ mas season — often to the dismay of newcomers from other sections of the United States. Firecrackers keep up an incessant staccato from dawn until late at night, skyrockets paint fiery arches across the solemn heavens, Yule logs burn and cowpoas and hog jowl become popular dishes. Tn the fishing village of Rodanthe on the North Carolina coast, and in isolated coves of the Great Smoky Mountains, Twelfth Night, a relic of Medieval England, is observed instead of the modern Christmas. While the origin of these customs is often obscure, those versed in Southern traditions and history are satisfied that they may be traced directly to the re¬ stricted life enforced on the early great plantations of the South. Widely sepa¬ rated because of poor communication facilities, they were communities with¬ in themselves. Customs brought by the pioneer settlers from Europe were preserved, and altered to meet condi¬ tions and conventions of plantation life. Fireworks and Pageantry The display of pyrotechnics was as¬ sociated with pageantry in England as early as 1588, and the firecracker had been made in China much earlier. The colonists doubtless brought the inclination for pageantry with them to the New World, and sought ways and means of “making a noise,” according to Haywood Parker, Asheville attorney and student of early traditions and folklore. Noisy celebration of Christ¬ mas was suppressed in colonies founded by the Puritans and other religious sects in the East, he points out, but little or no restraint was exercised by tbe lord proprietors in the South. After gain¬ ing independence, the early American had another holiday, July 4, that could be noisily celebrated, and the rapidly growing cities of the East were quick to grasp the idea. On the great plantations of the South where travel was severely limited, par¬ ticularly during the winter months, Christmas remained the most important anniversary, however, and the celebra¬ tion of Epiphany, or Twelfth Night, was widespread. Thanksgiving in the South featured hunting, sports and feasting. Easter stressed religious wor¬ ship. July 4 oratory; and Christmas, dancing, laughter and noisy celebration. Home-Made Fireworks Since “hog killing" time arrives in the South with the first cold weather in late November, or early December, the slaves of ante helium days humored the white children at “the big house” by inflating the bladders of the unfortu¬ nate porkers and stringing them to the rafters of “the smoko house” to cure. After several weeks of drying, the bladders could be jumped upon with both feet and exploded with an almost deafening roar. “Store-bought” fireworks were almost unknown in the deep South on the great plantations un¬ til a short time before the War Be¬ tween the States, and hence these blad¬ ders were carefully saved to furnish the noise with which to greet Christ¬ mas. They were known as “Christmas guns.” Support for this belief is found in “The Old Plantation” by James Bat¬ tle Avirett (F. Tennyson Neely Co., New York, Chicago and London). In describing an ante helium Christmas in the Old South. Mr. Avirett wrote: “Some 25 or 30 of the young servants came up to give ‘Ole Marster’ and ‘Mis¬ ties’ a Christmas serenade, which they prefaced with those Christmas guns, which startled us a while ago. This loud report is the simultaneous ex- [losion of those hog bladder* that were ung up at the butchering season. The young servants put them down on the hard beaten paths around the great house and jump on them with both feet. This is the secret of those loud reports which broke in on the fun and frolic, and then when quiet i« restored comes the serenade in the form of Christmas carols which have been taught by planters' daughters and ren¬ dered by a quartette of servants ac¬ companied by flute and violin.” Oratory on the Fourth Since “hog bladder” pyrotechnics were not available for July I celebra¬ tions, and purchase of fireworks at distant stores was out of the ques¬ tion, that holiday was largely confined to oratory before the civil strifo. During the war and for 25 years there¬ after, most of the seceding states did not consider themselves a part of the Union ami declined to observe the birth of the nation. Negroes celebrated it spasmodically under the mistaken belief that it commemorated the Emancipa- ( Continued on page twenly-two)