CUSTOMS OF THE YEAR
Folklorists delight in studying what they call "customs of the year." Our ancestors, farmers and townsmen alike, usually had a hard grind making a living, so they rejoiced when festive holidays made a break in the routine of constant daily hard work. From New Year's Eve, when the Dutch "shot in" the year and wished age-old blessings on household and community, and New Year's Day, when every Dutchman celebrated by sitting down to a ritual feast of sauerkraut and pork, all the way to Christmas at the end of the year, there were many festivities to celebrate. To the agricultural and ecclesiastical calendar, the events of the American political year were added – Decoration Day, the Fourth of July, and Thanksgiving. All of these were enthusiastically celebrated by the Pennsylvania Dutch.
AMERICA'S FIRST CHRISTMAS CARD? Printed at the Ephrata Cloister press in 1769, this Christmas greeting begins with the Scripture verse: “And she shall bear a son, whose name shall be Jesus because He shall save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). (Facsimile of the original, Ephrata Cloister, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.)
WATCHMAN'S ADDRESS. After the Civil War, Lancaster still had roving watchmen to guard the city. They offered this Christmas Greeting in 1877 in expectation of a tip.
DECORATION DAY AT VALLEY VIEW. The 1885 celebration in this little Schuylkill County town included patriotic speeches, parades, band music, and the decoration of veterans' graves.
FOURTH OF JULY CELEBRATION AT PARADISE, LANCASTER COUNTY. Held just a few miles east of Lancaster, the celebration (occurring sometime during the 1830s or 1840s) "cordially offered. . . rational amusements," including speeches and a choral concert, for the patriotic attendees.
TRADITIONAL NEW YEAR'S WISH. This solemn High German blessing, published in the 1830s, was chanted on New Year's Eve during a deeply religious ritual in which skilled performers visited the house of every neighboring farmer to deliver the wish. The performance was accompanied by shooting the New Year in, which dispelled the solemnity and at times initiated revelry.
CARRIER'S ADDRESS FOR THE READING ADLER. Carriers' addresses, circulated in America since the 18th century, were used by newsboys to solicit tips from their patrons during the holiday season. Often ornately printed, they incorporated colorful verse that commented on everything from local to international affairs. This example, printed for 1873 and headed with a handsome cut of the colonial courthouse that stood in Penn Square in Reading, begins by asking for a New Year's gift to compensate the carrier "for his many pains and effort / Caused by him in the burden of delivering papers / In cold and heat, in snow and rain." It ends with a wish for a Democratic presidential victory in the upcoming election.
