A "Pollyanna" Christmas
Eleanor Porter wrote about the holiday in books and short stories.
Nowhere in the book Pollyanna can be found the word “Christmas.”
But Eleanor Porter described the holiday’s celebrations in other books and in many short stories. The excerpts below are accompanied by stereographs made in Littleton by the Kilburn brothers circa 1900-1909. (corrected1). Local children were the models.
THE TURN OF THE TIDE
Christmas was a wonderful day at Five Oaks, certainly to Margaret. First there was the joy of skipping, bare-toed, across the room to where the long black stockings hung from the mantel. In the gray dawn of the early morning its bulging knobbiness looked delightfully mysterious; and never were presents half so entrancing as those drawn from its black depths by Margaret’s small eager fingers.
Later in the morning came the sleigh-ride behind the doctor’s span of bays, and then there was the delicious dinner followed by the games and the frolics and the quiet hour with mother. Still later the house began to fill with guests and then came the wedding, with Mrs. Kendall all in soft gray and looking radiantly happy on the doctor’s arm.
MISS BILLY’S DECISION
Aside from Bertram, Christmas filled all of Billy's thoughts these days. There were such a lot of things she wished to do.”But, after all, they're only sugarplums, you know, that I'm giving, dear," she declared to Bertram one day, when he had remonstrated with her for so taxing her time and strength.
"I can't really do much."
"Much!" scoffed Bertram.
"But it isn't much, honestly--compared to what there is to do," argued Billy. "You see, dear, it's just this," she went on, her bright face sobering a little. "There are such a lot of people in the world who aren't really poor. That is, they have bread, and probably meat, to eat, and enough clothes to keep them warm. But when you've said that, you’ve said it all. Books, music, fun, and frosting on their cake they know nothing about--except to long for them."
"But there are the churches and the charities, and all those long-named Societies--I thought that was what they were for," declared Bertram, still a little aggrievedly, his worried eyes on Billy's tired face.
"Oh, but the churches and charities don't frost cakes nor give sugarplums," smiled Billy. "And it's right that they shouldn't, too,” she added quickly. "They have more than they can do now with the roast beef and coal and flannel petticoats that are really necessary."
MISS BILLY MARRIED
Never had the Strata known such a Christmas as this was planned to be. Cyril, Marie, and the twins were to be there, also Kate, her husband and three children, Paul, Egbert, and little Kate, from the West. On Christmas Day there was to be a big family dinner, with Aunt Hannah down from the Annex. Then, in concession to the extreme youth of the young host and his twin cousins, there was to be an afternoon tree. The shades were to be drawn and the candles lighted, however, so that there might be no loss of effect. In the evening the tree was to be once more loaded with fascinating packages and candy-bags, and this time the Greggorys, Tommy Dunn, and all the rest from the Annex were to have the fun all over again.
POLLYANNA GROWS UP
Mrs. Carew, spurred by a feeling that she herself only dimly understood, and recklessly determined to bring about some change in Pollyanna at all costs, ordered a huge tree, two dozen wreaths, and quantities of holly and Christmas baubles. For the first time in many years the house was aflame and aglitter with scarlet and tinsel. There was even to be a Christmas party, for Mrs. Carew had told Pollyanna to invite half a dozen of her schoolgirl friends for the tree on Christmas Eve.
Eleanor’s hometown of Littleton, NH was a center of photographic activity with several companies producing stereographs. The most famous was the Kilburn Brothers which operated from 1865 to 1909. View them at this link:
Kilburn stereographs - Library of Congress
Merry Christmas from The Beldingsville Beacon!
Copyright © Jim McIntosh 2023
The style of the wall telephone dates to circa 1900. The copyright date (1897) is the year the US Copyright department was established and publishers used that date to protect works published in other years. Previously publishers handled their own copyrights.