It’s that Time of Year

Christmas is here! I love it! I’m not a singer by any stretch of the imagination, but I belt out the Christmas songs in spite of my lack of talent(Yes, the family is very patient). I love the smells, the lights, the excitement of little children, and the memories. With this being said, it’s time to share pioneer Christmas stories!!! During the year I collected 11 such stories that I will share for the next 11 days (not quite the 12 Days of Christmas, but close enough). I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

At the time of Joseph Smith, what was the most asked question during the Christmas season?

a.      Are we going to celebrate Christmas?

b.      What are we going to give the children this year?

c.       Who is this guy they call Santa Claus?

d.      Do we put candles on the Christmas tree this year?

Yesterday’s answer:

a.      Sold ashes to Johnston’s army

Mary and David Savage moved to Holden, Utah, where their first daughter, Isabella Savage, was born in 1859. They had some good property and a good garden, with a nice spring for water, but David soon traded that off for a cow. They then moved to Cedar Fort. Here David Edward was born in 1862. Times were hard. The children earned their own money to buy the first shoes they remember having by gathering sunflowers, drying them, and then burning them for the ashes which they sold to Johnston’s Army at Camp Floyd. The ashes were used to wash their clothes.

Chronicles of Courage, Daughters of Utah Pioneers (Salt Lake City: Lesson Committee, 1993), V4:54.