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Vintage Customs of the 12 Days of Christmas

 

Christmas Tree, 1910

Library of Congress

The 12 Days of Christmas, celebrated from December 25 (Christmas Day) to January 5 (Twelfth Night), are steeped in vintage customs and traditions that vary across cultures and time periods. Here are some notable customs.  Maybe you can revive one this year!

1. Christmas Day (December 25)

• Families celebrated with a large feast, often including roast meats, puddings, and special desserts.
• Groups of carolers would sing door-to-door, spreading festive cheer.
• Acts of giving to the poor were common, reflecting the spirit of goodwill.

2. St. Stephen's Day (Boxing Day, December 26)

• People would give boxes of money or goods to servants, tradespeople, and the less fortunate.
• Groups in Ireland would parade through the streets carrying a wren, a symbol of martyrdom, as part of a ritual.

3. Day of the Holy Family

• This day focused on spending time with family, reflecting on the bonds and shared blessings.

4. Feast of the Holy Innocents (December 28)

• Traditions often involved blessing children or giving them small gifts in memory of the biblical massacre of the innocents by King Herod.

5. Traditional Games and Wassailing

• Singing and toasting with a spiced cider or ale to ensure a good harvest and well-being, called “wassailing”. This might involve blessing apple trees.

6. Gift Giving Over the 12 Days

• In some cultures, instead of giving all gifts on Christmas Day, they were spread out over the 12 days, reflecting the song "The 12 Days of Christmas."

7. Twelfth Night Revelry (January 5)

• A special cake was baked with a hidden bean or coin inside. The person who found it would be crowned the "King" or "Queen" of the feast.
• Twelfth Night parties often featured revelers in costumes or masks.
• Performers or "mummers" would enact traditional plays, often centered around themes of renewal and good versus evil.

8. Epiphany (January 6)

• Families would mark their doorways with chalk to bless their homes for the year ahead.
• Sacred water might be blessed and sprinkled around the home.

9. Burning of the Yule Log

• Traditionally, a Yule log would be burned in the fireplace throughout the 12 days as a symbol of warmth and light. Ashes were often kept as charms for good luck.

10. Decorations Left Up

• Christmas decorations were traditionally kept up until the end of the 12 days. Removing them before Twelfth Night was considered bad luck.

11. Feasting and Merriment

• Each day was an opportunity for communal meals, storytelling, and singing. Wealthier households hosted lavish parties.

12. Focus on Spiritual Reflection

• Many customs involved attending church services or reflecting on the meaning of the Nativity and Christ’s life.

 

#1 Amos J. Dye (1847-1905) - Judge and Ohio State Legislator

 

PCA Archives

Amos J. Dye was born April 2, 1847, in Marietta, Ohio.  He was the son of Amos J. Dye, Sr., and Maria Taylor.  In 1860, the Dyes owned a large and valuable tobacco farm.

On 18 January 1864, at the age of eighteen, Amos enlisted in the Union army and was assigned to Company H, 77th Ohio Volunteer Infantry.  Just a few weeks thereafter, he married Marinda Jane McCowan on February 11, 1864. 

On January 1, 1865, he transferred to Company D, 77th Ohio Volunteer Infantry.  He was discharged March 8, 1866 in Brownsville, Texas, with the rank of private.  Possibly his unit went there after the Civil War as part of the Reconstruction effort.

Amos Dye and Marinda had a son, Herbert, in 1867, and a daughter, Ida, in 1868.   He was admitted to the Ohio bar as a lawyer in 1877.  By 1880, the Dyes were living in Huntington, West Virginia, where Amos was practicing law.

Marinda died of stomach cancer in May, 1894, in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she had been active in a fraternal society called the Knights and Ladies of Honor.  Amos Dye himself was by then a Mason, and a Republican state legislator.  Soon, he became an attorney for the Ohio State Dairy and Food Department.

Dye married Ida Selma Schaetzle, a divorcee, on December 12, 1895.  A son named Amos was born in 1897 and a daughter, Selma, in 1901.   Another son, Stelman, seems to have died in infancy.

In 1896, Amos Dye was accused of accepting a $5000 bribe from a representative of the Paskola Company on condition that the state would not prosecute a case against the company.  Dye vigorously denied taking a bribe and countersued.  Apparently he did not lose his state position since he continued to handle cases.

Tiring of Ohio winters, Dye purchased the Rumney house on Grand Avenue in 1902 and thereafter, the Dyes spent their winters in Phoenix.  The Dye family was living a mile and a half north of Grand Avenue when Amos died on December 30, 1905, of cardiac insufficiency.  He was buried in the Masons Cemetery, Block 17, Lot 3, Grave 3.

Dye’s widow Ida was left to raise their two surviving children alone.  She filed for a widow’s pension on February 17, 1906, but her application was rejected on the grounds that Dye’s cause of death was not the result of his military service.  She did not remain alone for long, though.  Sometime in 1908, she married Peter William De Jong.  Ida lived until 1954.

-by Donna Carr

 

#2 Baldomedo Peralta (abt 1852-1903) - A Christmas Eve Tragedy

 

Generic AI Image

Descendants of Baldomedo Peralta believe that he was born in Rio De San Pedro, Cuevas de Batuco, Sonora, Mexico.  He may have been the son of a Pedro Peralta.  His birth year seems to have been somewhere between 1849 and 1854, but verifiable records do not begin until he arrived in Phoenix in 1880.

Apparently, Peralta and Guadalupe Baldenegro had been keeping company since at least 1879.  They were on their way by wagon train from Superior to Phoenix in August, 1880, when their first child, Rosario, was born at a wagon stop called La Poste (now Apache Junction).

Upon reaching Phoenix, the couple was married on September 19, 1880, in a civil ceremony—possibly because there was no Catholic priest available. 

Thereafter, the Peraltas had children at regular intervals.  Descendants think there were twelve, although only six lived to adulthood.   It is not known for sure where they were all born, although the Peraltas seem to have resided in Phoenix continuously and not migrated back and forth between Mexico and Arizona.  A two-year-old daughter, Louisa, died in 1900 and was buried in Rosedale Cemetery.  Her older sister Guadalupe, aged 9, died in 1902 and was also buried in Rosedale.

Despite the vagueness of his origins, Baldomedo Peralta seems to have had some education.   Apparently regarded as ‘white’, he registered to vote in 1884, 1890, 1892, 1894 and 1900.  He was active in a Latino mutual-aid society and was also a member of Phoenix’s volunteer fire brigade.

On Christmas Eve, 1903, the Peralta family was enjoying a festive meal at their home when a kerosene lamp exploded, setting fire to the room.  Although the family ran outside into the yard, Baldomedo and Guadalupe quickly realized that one of the children was missing.  Peralta reentered the burning house, located the child and passed him through an open window to the family outside.  He then attempted to save some of the family’s belongings.  When he emerged from the house, his hair and clothing were on fire.  Although he stanched the blood flowing from a vein in his neck and walked to a doctor to be bandaged, his burns turned out to be more severe than was first thought.  He was admitted to Sisters’ Hospital, where he died on December 27th.  He was buried in the Catholic section of Loosley Cemetery.

After Baldomedo’s death, the oldest Peralta son, Porfirio, became the head of the family.  He too would eventually join the fire brigade.  Porfirio and his family remained in Phoenix until 1921, when they followed some of the other Peralta siblings to California.

- by Donna Carr

 

 

#3 Angeline “Angie” Piper (1876-1899) - Schoolteacher

 

Stock Photo

Angeline Piper was born 1876 in Kansas to Ray Piper and Sarah née Fortney.  Angie’s parents had been married in Bourbon, Kansas, on October 22, 1874.  Angie had a younger brother John, who was born in 1878, but he died in 1881.  Nearly two years later, Angie’s father also died, leaving her mother to raise Angie and her sister Raye, born after Mr. Piper’s death.  Since Angie’s mother did not remarry, perhaps she had sufficient means to raise two children on her own.

In 1887, a rabid dog bit Angie, her mother and sister.  According to one news report, only a “mad stone” (a bezoar stone found in the digestive tract of some animals) would save them from contracting rabies.  One was found in Chetopa, Kansas, and all must have gone well, as they all survived.

 Angie began attending Oswego College for Young Ladies in 1893 and obtained a teaching certificate.  At some point, she joined the Royal Neighbors Society.  The Society, established in 1895, was a progressive women’s fraternal benefit association and an auxiliary to Modern Woodmen of America.  It focused on assisting women and children in need and offering life insurance for women--an option never before available to women.  Today, Royal Neighbor is the largest women-led life insurer in the country.

In April 1898, Angie became quite sick while teaching in Fort Scott, Kansas, and her mother was sent for.  Under her mother’s care, Angie recovered and, in November, her mother left for Arizona to visit relatives.  Angie remained in Fort Scott at the home of an uncle, but later joined her mother in Arizona.

Angie went to Arizona primarily to recuperate.  Unfortunately, she developed typhoid fever and died December 30, 1899.  Although she was initially buried in Rosedale Cemetery, her mother later had her remains moved to the IOOF Cemetery when Angie’s Royal Neighbors Society insurance policy paid out.

by Patricia G.

 

#4 John “Sailor Jack” Twentyman, 1824-1901 An English Seaman in Arizona

 

Microsoft Stock Image

John Twentyman was born England in September, 1823.  In his youth, he had been a sailor, landing in California just as the Gold Rush was beginning.  Thereafter, he engaged in mining, ranching and driving a stagecoach.  He was said to have discovered the Sailor Jack mine in Oregon.

Around 1876 he came to Phoenix, where he was employed by ranchers such as W. W. Cook, the Alkire brothers and Jack Miller.  During the 1890s, he appears to have moved to Prescott for a couple of years, for he registered to vote there.

In early November, 1900, Sailor Jack, then aged 76, was assaulted and robbed by two gunmen who held up Goddard’s Station on the Black Canyon road.  This incident seems to have weighed upon his mind and he decided to move into a room in Phoenix.  Jack was said to have been a kind-hearted soul; although he had no known relatives, he had many friends and acquaintances with whom to pass the time of day.

With advancing age came ill health.  Despondent, Sailor Jack committed suicide on December 27, 1901.  While at the Anheuser Saloon in Phoenix, he slipped out back for a moment to ingest a lethal dose of strychnine.  He then reentered the saloon and sat calmly until a single convulsion signaled his demise.  According to the coroner, a bottle of strychnine was found in his pocket but no money, although he was known to have had some the day before.  Possibly he had given it away.

Mr. Twentyman was buried in Rosedale Cemetery, Block 12, Grave 6.

-by Donna Carr

#5 Alexander D. Cole (1839-1907) - Union Veteran

 

PCA Archives

Alexander D. Cole was born May 17, 1839, in Moosup, Connecticut, to Caleb Cole and Hannah Crandall.  The Coles were fairly prosperous farmers.

In October 1862, Cole enlisted in Company A, 12th Rhode Island Infantry, for a period of nine months.  His regiment took part in the Battle of Fredericksburg that December.  After that, it was on guard duty in Kentucky and Ohio.  Cole reenlisted at the end of his initial hitch and served until July 29, 1865.

On January 16, 1868, Alexander Cole wed Ella Augusta Lord in Boston, Massachusetts.  The young couple was living in Southbridge, Massachusetts, when their first child, Fannie, was born on November 20, 1869.   Alexander was employed in a woolen mill.

Although little Fannie thrived, the Coles’ next three children—Charles, Henry and Gertrude—did not live long enough to see their first birthdays.  It wasn’t until October 28, 1876, that Ella gave birth to a son, George Elbert, who would grow to adulthood.  One more child, Nellie, was born May 26, 1882.

Over the years, Alexander and Ella seem to have parted ways, as he is listed as divorced on the federal census of 1900; he gave his occupation as ‘landlord’.  He and his two daughters had moved to Phoenix around 1895, possibly because Fannie was suffering from a malady which caused her joints to ossify, limiting her mobility (may have been something like rheumatoid or osteoarthritis). 

At first, Fannie was active in the local Presbyterian church and the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (W.T.C.U.).  In time, however, she was confined to bed, unable to bend her arms and legs.  On September 17, 1901, her doctor tried a surgical intervention to ‘break’ her joints, but Fannie died of shock following the operation.   After a funeral conducted by Rev. McAfee of the Presbyterian Church, she was buried in Rosedale Cemetery.

While living in Phoenix, Alexander Cole joined the John Wren Owen G.A.R. post.  In March, 1907, he applied for an invalid pension and received Certificate #969811.  He passed away on October 5, 1907, of cardiac dilation, and was buried next to his daughter Fannie in Rosedale.

Nothing further is known of Cole’s younger daughter, Nellie; likely she married.  Cole’s son George Elbert lived in Phoenix for a brief time, at least.  In 1910, his nine-year-old daughter Ella died of tuberculosis while residing at 716 West Madison.  She too was buried in Rosedale, probably in the Cole family plot.

by Donna Carr

 

 

 

Happy Holidays 2024!

Hi everyone! Just a quick reminder that we will not be open Thursday, December 26, but we WILL be open:

Saturday, December 28th for Open House from 10 - 1:30

1317 W. Jefferson

Hope we see you all!

And Happy Holidays from us to you, our wonderful friends!!

 

#6 Sgt. John Fraser Cameron (1878-1905) - Veteran of the Spanish American War

 

PCA Archives

John Fraser Cameron, born January 1878 in Memphis, Tennessee, is believed to have been the son of Col. John Fraser Cameron, Sr. and his wife Mary A. Myers.  Since John Sr. and his wife died in 1882 and 1883 respectively, it is likely that their six orphaned children were raised by relatives.  Three of the Cameron daughters—Mary Belle, Chloe Ann, and Nancy Louise--made advantageous marriages.

John F. Cameron was working as a telephone lineman when he enlisted in the U. S. Army at Galveston on April 28, 1898.  It was just a few days after President McKinley had declared war on Spain. 

Cameron was regarded as a very good soldier.  He rose to the rank of sergeant in Company C, 30th U. S. Infantry and might have made a career in the military, had it not been for his contracting tuberculosis.

He was at Fort Bayard, New Mexico, when he was discharged on May 16, 1905, as unfit for duty.  Fort Bayard was a decommissioned frontier fort which was being used as a tuberculosis sanitarium for Army personnel.  A week later, Cameron was awarded a disability pension.

 Cameron then traveled to Arizona to join his older brother Allen, who was living in Sayer.  However, he died in Wickenburg, Arizona, on December 26, 1905, and was buried in Porter Cemetery. 

 -by Donna Carr

#7 Elizabeth “Libbie” H. Taylor (abt 1850-1897) - Immigrant from Canada

 

PCA Archives

Libbie (maiden name unknown) was born in Canada about 1850.   At some point, she came to the United States and married Arthur W. Taylor, born around 1845 in New York state.  There is no evidence that the two ever had any children.

In 1880, Libbie and her husband were living in Denver, Arapaho County, Colorado, where Arthur was a molder at the  Colorado Iron Works. 

The Taylors were in Phoenix by 1894, but thereafter it appears that Libbie and her husband separated, with Arthur moving to Los Angeles.  Though estranged, they nevertheless did not divorce.  Apparently Libbie had enough money to be self-sufficient, as she bought several lots in the Churchill addition for $3000, intending to use them as rental properties.

Libbie developed a case of pneumonia and died December 22, 1897, at her home at 27 South Fourth Avenue in Phoenix.  Her funeral was postponed until after Christmas as friends sought to reach her husband in California by telegraph.  She was buried in Loosley Cemetery, Block 5, Lot 11.  One obituary gave her full name as Libbie H. Y. Taylor, possibly indicating she had been previously married. 

Shortly after Libbie’s funeral, her husband returned to Phoenix to take over her affairs.  Mr. Taylor had his late wife’s remains moved to Porter Cemetery and a large marble monument erected.  The plot Libbie is buried in has plenty of room for other burials, so perhaps he was planning to be buried next to her. 

Since Libbie had died intestate, a special administrator was appointed to handle her estate.  Notice was given and several creditors came forward:  James M. Creighton was one of them.  Keystone Pharmacy submitted an unpaid bill for quinine tablets and laudanum, and there were also bills for nursing and final expenses.  After all of Libbie’s debts had been settled, her husband A. W. Taylor inherited $4666 in cash and real estate.

Arthur was last known to be residing in Los Angeles, California, with a family named Riley and working as a teamster in 1900.

-by Patricia G.

 

#8 Margarita Wall Chretin (1882-1904) - A Life Cut Short

PCA Archives

Margarita Wall was born February 14, 1882, most likely in Arizona.  She was the first-born daughter of Fred Wall and Refugio Rebecca Ramirez.  Fred Wall is thought to have been an immigrant from Ireland and sometime miner.  A sister, Matilda, was born about four years later, after which her parents parted.  Their mother remarried several times thereafter.

On February 15, 1904, Margarita (or Maggie, as she was known), wed Carlos Robledo Chretin in Phoenix, Arizona.  Chretin’s unusual surname was due to the fact that his father, Jean-Marie Chretin, was a Frenchman who had married a Mexican woman.

Maggie was probably suffering from tuberculosis already at the time of her marriage.  She gave birth to a male infant on December 2, 1904, and died only six days later, on December 8.  She was buried in Rosedale Cemetery, with a three-piece marble monument marking her grave.

Maggie’s newborn son was originally named Fred John Chretin.  Upon his mother’s death, he was given to his maternal grandmother, Refugio Rebecca Ramirez, who was already nursing an eight-month-old daughter named Ruby O’Leary.   Baby Fred’s life was most likely saved because of this steady supply of breastmilk, which also imparted some degree of immunity to childhood illnesses.  Fred and Ruby grew up together, and Fred always regarded her as his sister, even though she was actually his half-aunt.  Being raised in his grandmother’s household, Fred adopted the surname of her then husband, Daniel O’Leary.

Margaret Chretin’s widower, Carlos Chretin, eventually remarried and had several more children with his second wife, Marta Hernandez.   Both the Chretins and the O’Learys moved to Los Angeles around 1918.

- by Donna Carr

 

#9 Mary A. List Mosier (1843-1897) - Farmer’s Wife

 

PCA Archives

Mary Ann List was born August 15, 1843, in Pennsylvania.  She was the oldest of seven children belonging to David J. List and Ursula Newell.

The Lists had moved to Lee County, Iowa, by 1858, when Mary Ann married Benedict Mosier at the tender age of fifteen.  Soon thereafter, the young couple moved to Tyler Township, Hickory County, Missouri, where Mary Ann bore eleven children between 1860 and 1875.  Six survived to adulthood.  The Mosiers were farmers and, apparently, quite successful ones.  Mary Ann’s parents moved to Missouri at about the same time.

In the summer of 1861, Benedict Mosier enlisted in Company C, 8th Missouri State Militia Cavalry, serving in Captain William C. Human’s company.  The mission of the regiment was to prevent Confederate forces from establishing a foothold in southwestern Missouri.  The soldiers went on numerous scouting patrols and engaged in a few skirmishes.  Since Mosier’s duties kept him fairly close to home, he was able to make periodic visits to his family. 

Mary Ann’s father, David List, served in the same regiment although he was more than forty years old at the time.  He died in Missouri in 1868, leaving his wife and five children.

Although the Mosiers had a productive farm in Missouri, they moved to Arizona around 1884, as did Mary Ann’s widowed mother and several of her siblings.  Possibly the Mosiers’ son Sydney was ill and required a warm, dry climate.  He died on 30 May 1886 and was buried in City Loosley Cemetery.

Mary Ann undoubtedly lived the life of a farmer’s wife.  In addition to the usual household chores, she occasionally worked in the fields and forked hay for the cattle.

Late in life, Mary Ann developed heart problems.  In April 1897, she resigned her position as a Sunday School teacher because of ill health.  While driving home on 14 December 1897, she apparently suffered a stroke.  A neighbor moving cattle noticed that the horse and buggy had stopped in the road and came to her aid, but attempts to revive Mary Ann failed.  She too was buried in City Loosley Cemetery.

Following Mary’s death, Benedict Mosier was much chagrined to learn that Arizona was a community property state and that Mary’s property would be split between him and their children.  It had never occurred to him that his late wife owned anything, much less half of the marital assets.

Mary Ann’s mother, Ursula Newell List, outlived her, dying in Glendale, Arizona, in 1906.

Benedict died on 4 October 1908 and was buried in the family plot in City Loosley.

-by Donna Carr

 

 

Jacob Waltz Gravesite Dedication! - January 11, 2025

 

Save the Date! You are invited to the dedication ceremony for the Jacob Waltz Gravesite! Lots of time and talents were put into its beautification for all generations to enjoy. Please RSVP to our email: pioneercem@yahoo.com. Hope to see you there!