Regardless how short the money was or how tough things were for the pioneers they always managed to find something to make the Christmas celebration a very special occasion. Christmas was a day of prayer and feasting in Dakota's Territorial days even as it is at the present time.
The earliest settlers had little with which to celebrate but made the most of what they did have. Older people with families who had come to Dakota to make a permanent home, were as a whole in better financial circumstances than the single man or newly married couples who came almost penniless, believing they would soon make a fortune in the new land. However, there were few who were really wealthy enough to have money to squander.
Mrs. Anna Wiseman, who lived in Melville tells this story:
"Christmas was a great day to her when she was a child. There were few things to be secured and little money with which to buy them but they planned and worked for the day for weeks ahead of time. The children would hang up their stockings, often a week ahead of time, and would find them filled with candy, nuts and small presents on Christmas morning.
When the Farquers first arrive in Foster County there were no trees for miles around their home and so they had no tree on Christmas. Later on they would go some distance from home in order to get a branch of a cottonwood tree to decorate. Throughout the year they would save bits of colored paper, ribbon and other materials, also the tinsel from tobacco and the cars which came in packages of coffee. These things would then be fashioned into tree ornaments, the tinsel working up particularly well. Popcorn and cranberries were strung and hung on the tree also. The cranberries had to be handled carefully so that they could be cooked later on; nothing could be wasted. Candles were used to light the tree and when it was completed to their entire satisfaction it was a joy to the eyes."
Although they would have a small supply of candy and nuts, fruit was difficult to secure and very high in price and was not included for many years. A dinner later than the usual ones would be served and Mrs. Wiseman remembers that neighbors would often be invited for the feast. Once it was a blizzardy day and the neighbors arrived in a bobsled with umbrellas to protect them from the icy blast. Those Christmas's are happy memories as they are undoubtedly the greatest day of a child's life.
In Norway Christmas is a time of feasting and religious services. E.T. Halaas states that there was great celebrating in his native land during that season of the year. All stop their work on Christmas eve and large dinners are served with religious services afterward. Many guests would be invited for the meal, the menu containing fried mutton ribs and Norwegian pastries. The children would have new suits which they would be allowed to wear for two weeks or more; all work was suspended for that time and the vacation spent in enjoying themselves and worshipping God. Christmas Day itself was spent quietly.
After coming to Dakota territory in 1883 these Norwegian settlers who made their home in Nordmore and Estabrook townships, carried on their Christmas festivities as near like those of their native land as possible. However, their dinner would be only the daily fare with the addition of lefse and lutefisk. Several families would join to celebrate and thoughts of their birthplace would be in the midst of all. In the later 80s and 90s these settlers were more prosperous and then trees were decorated, stockings hung and gifts exchanged and the old days of their youth were renewed for their children.
In the northern part of Pleasant Valley township or Longview Township Christmas was a time for all to gather at the home of Mr. and Mrs. P.J. Kallberg. A big dinner was served. Sometimes a large rooster would be saved for the occasion; rice was a dish for all special occasions, being a dish dear to the Swedish people, and cranberries would also be on the bill-of-fare.
In the winter of 1886-87 the Will Kallbergs had their first Christmas celebration. The first day of the Christmas festivities had been spent at the home of Will's father and the next day all of the family and neighbors came to the Will Kallberg home for a big dinner. There one room only held six at a time for dinner and the dishes and silver would serve only that many. Therefore they ate in relays; those who were not eating would stay outside and luckily it was a beautiful day. Between relays the dishes would have to be washed and the table made ready for the next six.
Throughout the land Christmas has always been a day on which to be happy and as the years went by all of our Dakota settlers prospered and conditions improved. However, no one gave more thought or preparation to the day or season than in those earliest days of little money and isolation from other people.
Although the Christmas festivities in town centered about the church and school those in the country were entirely dependent on the settlers themselves and they were not at a loss as to how they would have a Merry Christmas.
The Christmas season also brought back memories of other days of celebration in their home countries at another time. Here are some of these stories as reported in the Independent in 1928:
Company F of the National Guard contained many men from Foster County. They spent an uneasy Christmas in 1917. They were two days out from port on the transport liner, plowing through the submarine zone. A chicken dinner was served by the army cooks and the men spent the day lounging around in their life belts according to Hugh Putnam.
"Early Christmas morning an officer stuck his head down the hatch and yelled, "Well we've got a bunch of sub-chasers for a Christmas present boys.' That cheered everybody up but it was a pretty quiet day."
The Christmas of 1918 we spent in Germany, in the army barracks. This was the first Christmas after the Armistice. The Red Cross cheered everybody up with presents of cigarettes, socks or pipes, and some of the boys tried to stage an entertainment, but they couldn't seem to find anybody that could do anything on the stage. So we had to let that go, but we had a Christmas tree and a holiday dinner."
Source: A History of Foster County 1983 Page 433