Christmas in Territorial Tucson
By Kate Avalos
As we prepare for the upcoming holiday season, it might surprise people to discover that many of the Christmas traditions we celebrate today were also celebrated in 19th-century Tucson. Traditions such as Santa Claus and decorating the Christmas tree were popular. As early as 1876, the Arizona Citizen reported on a Christmas tree at the courthouse and Santa Claus passing out gifts to children.
In 1877, Tucson’s Christmas tree in the courthouse was illuminated with candles. Santa Claus gave out candy and gifts to children. Each child received a bag of candy and nuts, along with a paper bag that contained an orange, cake, and more nuts. The tradition of Christmas trees dates back to medieval Germany, but they became popular in 1848 when the London Illustrated News published an engraving of Queen Victoria’s family with a tree. Ornaments were made from materials people could find around the home, such as ribbons, dried fruit, berry garlands, pinecones, and paper. People would light their trees with candles clipped to the branches.
By the late 1800s, Tucsonans were enjoying eggnog. In 1876, the Arizona Citizen reported a Christmas Eve sermon served eggnog, hot scotch, gin, brandy, rum punch, and a turkey dinner. Although the eggnog they were drinking in 1876 was probably not the original version, but the more modern one. Eggnog originated from a medieval English drink, posset, which was made from hot curdled milk and ale or wine. The modern drink emerged when Jamestown colonists made a drink that was a mixture of egg and grog (a term for any drink made with rum). The name was shortened to eggnog, and milk, sugar, and spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg were added.
While Santa Claus, or St. Nicholas, had already been around for hundreds of years, it was the 19th century that popularized him. A poem published by an anonymous American author, “A Visit by Saint Nicholas,” also known by the first line, “Twas the Night Before Christmas,” appeared in the Troy Sentinel on Dec. 23, 1823. The poem is credited with giving Santa Claus many of the attributes he is still associated with today, such as having eight reindeer and being able to magically enter and exit homes through the chimney. There is now a debate as to who wrote the poem, Clement Moore or Henry Livingston.
In December of 1888, the Arizona Weekly Citizen reported several different events going on around Tucson. They included a grand turkey shoot, a Christmas sermon with morning music and a Sunday School Concert in the evening, a Masonic Ball featuring a Christmas tree with presents for the children hung on it, and a Christmas dinner at the Cosmopolitan Hotel (this downtown hotel was built in 1869 and was located on the corner of Main and Pennington. It was later renamed the Ornsdorff Hotel).
In the army, it was often the wives who would bring the Christmas spirit to the forts. In 1874, at Fort Whipple (Prescott), it was the ladies who decorated the Christmas tree and planned the entertainment for the children. The soldiers handled the celebration for the adults by organizing a ball and dinner that included a minstrel performance.
While there isn’t much information on Fort Lowell and Christmas, on December 27, 1890, the 2nd Cavalry Band of Fort Lowell played at the Congregational Sunday School’s annual public Christmas Festival. The festival included storytelling, candy, fruit, and cake. The night also included parlor games and a dance.
The Tucson Presidio Trust would like to wish you and yours a Happy Holidays!