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The Magic of Christmas in Pioneer Seattle

A glimpse into 1876 holiday traditions, from elaborate 'Fairy Land' church displays to the grab-box giveaways that defined the season for the city's children.

The story, cleaned up

A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.

Christmas was celebrated generally and at the churches on Saturday evening. During the day, the streets presented a lively and appearance. The city, especially, appeared to be turned out in numbers, centering around the various depots of holiday goods, and driving quite a lively trade. At the Congregational Church, the platform was cleared of its usual appliances, and in the center a unique and pretty miniature was constructed, consisting of a tree covered with toys and strings of popcorn. This portion of the church was denominated 'Fairy Land,' where children were all assembled, and the grab-bag proved most useful. At the Methodist Church, the church was very tastefully and handsomely decorated with evergreens. There were two trees hung full of presents of every variety, directly over the altar was an inscription in large letters which read, 'Merry Christmas to All.' At the Trinity Church, the pews in the center of the building were cleared away for the occasion. By request, a solo was given by Mrs. Baldwin, of Olympia. Finally, a bountiful collation was served consisting of rich cakes, fruits and candies. At the Episcopal Church, the church was tastefully and beautifully decorated with evergreens, woven into wreaths and garlands. All things considered, Christmas Eve was a very pleasant season in Seattle and generally enjoyed by all.

“A multitude of bright faces and sparkling eyes were fixed with restless expectation upon the collection of gifts, and one little one after another was made the happy recipient of a Christmas present.”

— Printed in The Daily Intelligencer (Seattle, Wash. Territory [i.e. Wash.]) 1876-1881, 1876
Then · 1876150 years apartNow · 2026

While modern Seattleites might navigate the holiday season through online shopping and light displays at Westlake, the 1876 celebration highlights how central the physical church and local shop-owners were to community cohesion in a developing town. The 'grab-bag' giveaways and community collations remain early iterations of the public-facing holiday spirit that still defines the city's downtown commercial identity.

The original page

The Daily Intelligencer (Seattle, Wash. Territory [i.e. Wash.]) 1876-1881, 1876-12-25. Library of Congress, Chronicling America.

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About this story

From
The Daily Intelligencer (Seattle, Wash. Territory [i.e. Wash.]) 1876-1881, DEC 25, 1876, Page 3
Rights
Public domain
Place
47.66559, -122.33137 · placed automatically
The paper in the Library of Congress catalog ↗