I am reading a book called “It happened in New Brunswick” by David Goss and I would like to share a story in it that I am sure will bring back memories to many of you. You don’t have to be English or French, I am sure some of these things will be things you and your family once did. Mister Goss was interviewing a lady from Moncton named Lorraine Leger who grew up in Saint Paul New Brunswick. Here is her story:
The main thing for Acadians at Christmas she said was the midnight mass. It was the only time they would go out by horse and buggy at night. It was a few miles for most of the people. When they were arriving at the church it was really special. It was lit up and it was the only time of the year that they could enjoy an evening ceremony. Besides the lightings there were decorations the Creche (manger), with trees and more. They didn’t have any at home at the beginning of the 20th century. Everybody would go see the Manger before leaving the church. The music and the singing also, they had been practicing for a long time. After the mass there were greetings in front of the church not like today when people run to their cars. They were talking and laughing and wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. They sang hymns ,some songs came from France. They had two masses a high mass where they did part of it in Latin and the low mass. Among her fondest memories were the special bells on the sleighs on these occasions. They would even decorate the horses she said. They had special bells that they never used other times because it reminded them of Christmas. Some had red ribbons and the horses were part of Christmastime then. She continued to say that after the mass a Reveillon was not always done everywhere because many folks were tired and just went home to bed. Sometimes they only got home around three in the morning after the mass was over. Today they hold their masses at nine am or seven pm. Mister Goss asked Lorraine about Santa and Christmas trees. Not before the thirties said Lorraine these were coming in from outside, sometimes young girls went to work in the city or in the USA and they would come home and tell their parents about it ,and it started like that, very simple homemade decorations made from the foil of a pound of tea. They used it to make garland and they decorated with popcorn. If they received cards they put those in the tree. As for the gifts under the tree, first it was the Christmas stocking for the children it was hung behind the stove. In the morning there was a rush to see what was inside the stocking. It was always the same thing; an orange, an apple, a few nuts ,some candies and if they were rich enough a barley toy and ribbon candy. At that time there were no other gifts. Later on in the thirties maybe there were simple gifts, a school box, a whistle, maybe a pair of mittens that the grandmother had knitted. I remember my first gift said Lorraine, we had no tree back then and my brother was working in Moncton and he brought us each a gift, it was the first gifts to enter the house. My gift was a brush and a comb for my doll. A few years later we started talking about Santa Claus, they told us you could write a letter to Santa and maybe he would bring you something. The first thing I asked for was a Teddy Bear and I got one, the following year I was a bit older and I asked for a sled and I got one. It was under the tree. Lorraine said: My father was a bus driver it was a passenger bus and we gave him our letter to Santa. He probably threw them away but the gifts came. He must have read the letters we thought he would be bringing them to Moncton. For us Santa Claus wasn`t in Saint Paul but in Moncton which to us was a big city. Some places called him Santa, some called him Pere Noel and some were told that it was baby Jesus bringing the gifts. Lorraine contined to say that when she was little skating was very rare and the sleds were handmade. Lorraine said the kitchen was the place for story telling, any night ,any time and sometimes it was an uncle telling stories ,sometimes people passing through like peddlars or shoemakers and all the children listened. Some were very good story tellers Lorraine said. When they heard certain ones were coming they would all make it a point to be there to listen. There were stories about fairies, princes,giants, some good some bad,then there were legends usually about things that happened and they could not figure out why. Some stories had the devil in them and the Acadians were terrified of the devil. She told this story about a sorcerer named Old Dollar who had come from elsewhere probably France, he was so bad the legend said they he had signed the souls of nine of his children to the devil, that was how he got all his powers . He could do anything even put a spell on a person who didn`t believe in his powers. His daughter was even a victim ,she told everyone a secret about him ``that he was carrying a frog in his cap. He could change into any animal and when the team would go by he would trip them and everyone would fall off the sled. The teams crossed the ice in the winter and in the spring they crossed the bridge which was longer and Old Dollar kept passing on the ice which was melting and they say as soon as he arrived by horse and buggy the ice would be turned to water. He was the only one that would risk that. He could also become a ball of fire or a will o the wisp. He was running around scaring people right on their doorstep. The priest tried to convert him but it was no use. The saying was that he was poisoned with a poutine rappee. It is said that he was not buried in sacred grounds but buried in a field instead. I hope you have enjoyed this blog . I liked reading the story and sharing it with you.
Now changing the subject, soon school will be starting and Halloween will be close behind if you are looking for school clothing or shoes and Halloween things please visit my store at http://www.zazzle.com/allicor* I am adding a few products I made lately .
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