Catharine Sedgwick drew upon her memories of New Year’s celebrations in Stockbridge to draw merry portraits of Christmas. The New Year celebration far outstripped the celebration of Christmas in New England. Christmas rituals were suspect because they were a blend of pagan rituals. New Year’s was a happy, uncomplicated celebration.
New Year’s Eve featured a meal with friends and family. There was also a focus on predicting the future. Young ladies engaged in many games designed to divulge whom they would marry.
In one game, a pile of corn was placed in front of each single lady present. A rooster was let loose. The first pile of corn from which the rooster ate was in front of the first girl who would be married in the new year. Another game involved spinsters looking in a mirror and seeing the man they would marry standing behind them. It always seemed less magical than an opportunity for an alert fellow to plight his troth without a word.
There were many predictive games not associated with marriage. One involved broken dishes left at the front door — nice to know what to do with the broken crockery over the course of the year. Eighteenth-century folk collected it and dumped it at their neighbor’s door on New Year’s Eve. The size of the pile foretold what the householder’s popularity would be in the coming year. Another tradition was opening the front door at midnight. The act had many meanings depending upon the homeowner’s country of origin.
For the English it was simply a way to let out the old year and welcome in the new. To others, it was opening the door to possibilities. The door was opened, and the household searched for a dark-haired man. Depending upon what he was carrying, it predicted if you would have enough food and warmth in the new year. Wealthier residents paid a man with dark hair to approach the house at the proper hour carrying the proper items: coal, bread and salt.
Farmers “howled,” that is, armed with sticks and other weapons, marched to an ancient apple tree, pounded the trunk and chanted, “Here’s to thee, old apple tree, whence you mayst bud and whence you mayst blow and whence you mayst bear — bushels and bushels and sacks and sacks.” Having done their duty to usher in a good growing season, they passed the jug.
Ladies were busy with more than predicting their own future marital bliss. They, too, passed the jug, so to speak. They prepared a bowl of warm wassail and carried it from house to house, sharing the heat and spicy flavor with neighbors.
The ladies were very friendly, but beware male “wassailers” who came to the door demanding a drink and may be displeased if it was not offered.
In “Table Talk” 1689, John Seldon wrote about wassailing on New Year’s Eve. “I see a custom in some parts among us … the yearly wassailing … a usual ceremony among the Saxons of health-wishing.”
Seldon went on to explain that the wassailers could be warm and charming in the early evening, but as the evening wore on, they became obnoxious drunks. The irony was that the more they drank their health, the less healthy they became.
The New Year’s Eve meal was lush — a groaning table. By tradition, it always featured sauerkraut with pork sausage and chocolate — not the candy, the hot drink. The evening ended with kisses, warm wishes and standing in a circle singing “Auld Lang Syne.”
New Year’s Day food was simpler — just punch and cakes. The day began with opening the Bible at random and reading the passage. It was predictive of the year to come. Festivities might include a turkey shoot and definitely included visiting.
Neighbors went from door to door, visiting as many neighbors as possible, wishing…
A happy and healthy new year to you all!
