December 22, 2005

OUT of the PAST

A very merry mining Christmas

Quicksilver miners worked hard but joyfully celebrated Christmas

By Jeanne Carbone Lewis
Staff Writer

Life at the New Almaden Quicksilver Mine from 1847 to 1912 was laborious work. Men toiled long hours underneath the earth chipping away to find the cinnabar that would turn their labor into cash. Women nurtured their children and cared for their homes. Cooking and cleaning took all day without modern conveniences. But the families who lived their lives at the mine always made time for Christmas.

Carolers would go house to house during the Christmas season singing Christmas carols.

“Probably the first signs of the Christmas season would be the miners singing as they worked,” said Quicksilver park interpreter John Slenter. “They would sing to pass the time away. The Christmas carols were associated with the Cornwell miners. They would sing carols like “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.”

But the women were just as busy. Besides their normal household chores, handmade mittens and scarves were being knitted and fruitcakes baked to age. The Englishtown cottages on the hill and Spanishtown at the Hacienda were cleaned and gaily decorated. The mistletoe that grew abundantly on the nearby trees was hung in strategic places in the home. Nuts, candies and dried fruits were put in tiny boxes prepared to be placed on the Christmas trees.

The Christmas “cracker” was also made. Besides the bang they made when opened, children delighted with the candy and small toys contained inside. Sometimes a paper hat or a carefully handwritten note or motto was added to the surprise package, which dangled on the tree as an ornament.

A Christmas postcard sent to New Almaden resident John Drew during the Victorian era. A descendent also by the name of John Drew is now a docent at the New Almaden Quicksilver Mining Museum. Photos courtesy of New Almaden Quicksilver Museum

The Christmas pudding was prepared by many of the Cornish inhabitants. The traditional steamed cake contained 13 ingredients said to represent Christ and His disciples. When the brandy is lighted on the cake, the flame represents Christ’s passion and the garnish of holly is a reminder of the crown of thorns.

“One dollar was taken out of the miner’s pay for a Christmas tree and a gift for a child,” wrote Mrs. Emma Cougle who lived in New Almaden from 1878 to 1888 in a letter to the California Pioneers dated 1952. “There was a party held at the Helping Hand Hall. The company took credit but it was really the men who paid for it. The children would receive a bag of candy and nuts, a red apple and an orange. Once I received a book of poems.”

Besides singing in the mines, the Cornish miners would sing door to door beginning a week before Christmas. They sang songs popular in Cornwall, England, where they immigrated from, such as “Lo the Eastern Sages Rise,” “Hark What Music Fills Creation,” as well as the better known “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.” Afterwards, they would visit with the residents and share saffron cake and tea.

As Christmas was a religious holiday, the Methodist Church on the hill was filled with miners and their families sang Christmas carols and St. Anthony’s Catholic Church held services at midnight called “Campo del Mexicana.”

And there was always an immense fir tree lighted with real burning candles.

Spanish town would celebrate with their “Las Posadas” ritual. The entire village gathered on Christmas Eve to dramatize the search for shelter by Joseph and Mary. The highlight would end with the children breaking the traditional piñata.

The Helping Hand Hall would be decorated with a large Christmas tree trimmed with strung popcorn, paper chains and lighted candles. Families brought gifts that were placed under the tree. One of the men would dress up as Santa Claus and distribute the gifts to the excited children. Then the families would sing Christmas carols.

On Christmas day, the residents of Spanishtown and Englishtown would gather at the store where an organized group caroled. Many of the school children participated under the direction of their teacher and the event was enjoyed by their proud parents.

The Helping Hand Hall had a Christmas party for all the families every year.

After leaving the store, the mining families would host parties at their homes. Others would dress in costumes and visit homes singing Christmas carols. The Cornish children would wear masks or blacken their faces and play pranks for gifts or treats, as was the custom.

“The miners and their children would carol from house to house,” said Slenter. “They would be invited in for tea or for something stronger.”

Each home had a table set with a hearty buffet of wild game and pasties [meat turnovers]. Festive desserts of saffron, fruit, seed and raisin and current cakes had been prepared in advance and lined the holly-decorated tables. All would be frosted and covered with tiny, lit candles. And many a toast would be made with an offered libation. After all, today was Christmas but tomorrow it was back to work.

Copyright 2005 Jeanne Carbone Lewis