Have Yourself a Merry Little Appalachian Christmas
Southern Appalachia is rich with traditions and rituals year-round, but none are more memorable than those honored and kept at Christmas. Locals love it so much their ancestors have been celebrating it twice for centuries! There’s “New Christmas”, celebrated on December 25th, and “Old Christmas,” celebrated throughout the 12 days after New Christmas Day and ending on January 6th.
Depending on who you ask in mountain country, each holiday has its unique reasons for celebration and timeless traditions, but at the heart of both lie a deep collective love and respect for family, food, and the beauty of the forest. Whether you’re here in the holler this holiday season or far from home, here are some tried and true ways you can weave this traditional warmth and love into your home.
Place a Candle in The Window at Night
Like many holiday traditions, this one got its roots in practicality: the woods are dark at night, and families needed a way to see and find their way home. However, as more and more people began to populate the countryside, a candle lit in the window at night was an unspoken signal that a home’s residents were still awake and willing and ready to welcome guests or weary travelers needing assistance.
Today, some families may not leave a candle on the window sill but instead opt for an electric version or simply leave the porch light on to remember and honor the values of community and charity this holiday season holds. For those wanting to use real candles as part of their traditions this year, look for local candle makers or consider purchasing one from Appalachian Candle Company, a family-owned business born and raised here in Appalachia.
Make Handmade Decorations
Resourcefulness and creativity are cornerstones of Appalachian heritage that can be honored by making homemade ornaments this holiday season. For centuries, the rich bounty of the forest has made its way into residents’ homes, not merely as a source of food but also as decoration. Items such as pine cones, cornhusks, twigs, berries, and evergreen clippings may blend into the background for the rest of the year, but when brought inside, they take on a whole new beauty and life. Using these items to form wreaths and garlands, simply filling a favorite bowl or basket, or fashioning ornaments from dried fruits are easy ways to honor the holiday of the past in the present.
For more directions and ideas on incorporating natural materials into your home decor this winter season, look for another article from Highroads Living titled “Decorating for Winter: Bringing the Outdoors In.”
Bake An Apple Stack Cake
You can’t celebrate the bounty of Appalachia this holiday season without an Apple Stack Cake, a five (or sometimes seven) layer cake soaked in delicious apple butter. The dessert has arguably been a cornerstone of the holidays since the 1860s when apples began to be grown and harvested across the region. With so many layers of fresh apple butter and the crispness of raw apples used throughout, this dessert promises to be the season’s most moist and sweet cake. Most locals know someone with a recipe for Apple Stack Cake, but if you find yourself coming up short, learn how to make this holiday delight and download our recipe card by reading our article, “The Best Recipe For Appalachian Apple Stack Cake.”
Chimney Letters to Santa
While kitchen stoves and ovens have replaced the open fires of the past, there is still nothing quite like the magic of nestling around the fireplace with the ones you hold dear. Instead of walking your little one to the mailbox or driving to the post office to send off their letters to Santa this year, try the nostalgia and magic of sending up Chimney Letters to Santa instead.
Well before the U.S. Postal Service began operating in the region, and for years after, when post offices weren’t easily reached by rural inhabitants, children would have adults help them send their letters to Santa by gently placing them into the fires of their fireplaces. Together, families would watch as their children’s wishes dissolved into the ash and smoke of the chimney, and it was said that the fairies would guide the children’s wishes on the night winds to ensure they made it to Santa Claus just in time.
