The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 44, July 1940 - April, 1941 Page: 374
546 p. : ill., maps ; 24 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
The Abb6 Domenech, a French visitor to Texas, in his Mis-
sionary Adventures in Texas and Mexico, pages 350-351, reports
from the religious and ceremonial angle his Christmas experi-
ences of 1852, while he was in Brownsville.
Christmas-day arrived, with its rejoicings for the
people... During the midnight mass, I had a moment's
happiness in seeing a crowd of every age, sex, and
creed, take possession of the house of God, which was
at this moment in all its splendour. The draperies, the
flowers, the lights, supplied in profusion, were in sweet
harmony with French taste, become proverbial with
strangers. The mass was sung by fourteen of my
countrymen, who had very sweet voices. The chasuble
which I wore, was the gift of a Mexican. It was gold
brocade embroidered with gold and silk; and though
more than a hundred years old, it reflected rays of light
in all directions. Upwards of 300 who could find no room
in the church had to hear mass in the open air. Fire-
works, sent off by the officers of the garrison, terminated
this feast, which had never before been celebrated with
so much solemnity on the frontiers of Texas.
In 1856 at San Augustine, F. L. Olmstead witnessed the fol-
lowing form of Christmas celebration and recorded it in his
Journey Through Texas, pages 68-69:
Late on Christmas eve, we were invited to the window
by our landlady, to see the pleasant local custom of The
Christmas Serenade. A band of pleasant spirits started
from the square, blowing tin horns, and beating tin
pans, and visited in succession every house in the vil-
lage, kicking in doors, and pulling down fences, until
every male member of the family had appeared, with
appropriate instruments, and joined the merry party.
They then marched to the square, and ended the cere-
mony with a centupled tin row. In this touching com-
memoration, as strangers, we were not urged to par-
ticipate.
In ante-bellum days it was customary for many masters to
grant slaves "free" time over the holidays-an economic dif-
ficulty of about 1856 arising from the practice is related in
F. L. Olmsted, Journey Through Texas, page 257.
"The judge gave him a week at Christmas, and he
made a good deal of money, and when the week was up,374
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 44, July 1940 - April, 1941, periodical, 1941; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth146052/m1/413/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.