The observance of Christmas at Winter Quarters in 1846 started out with a bang and ended in quiet reflection and remembrance. At sunrise, John Scott, captain of the artillery, fired the Winter Quarter's cannon three times to recognize this special day in the Camp of Israel.1

The Saints spent their first Christmas in the wilderness, after being driven from Nauvoo, without green and red decorations and festive parties. These faithful Latter-day Saints, numbering nearly 3,500, like thousands of other Saints scattered over Iowa, were struggling to prepare for the cold winter months ahead and the planned expedition over the mountains in the spring. There was important work to attend to on this day. The labor couldn't be stopped. Additional houses needed to be built in this growing city near the Missouri River. More provisions needed to be obtained for the months ahead.Christmas Day at Winter Quarters in 1846 was a working day. It was also a day for joy, a day to count many blessings despite numerous trials. Harriet Young, wife of Lorenzo Dow Young, recorded: "This morning we were saluted from every quarter with `Happy Christmas' or `Christmas Gift.' We staid at home, retired from the busy crowd."2

The weather was beautiful, sunny and relatively warm. Hosea Stout, head of the city police guard, patrolled the streets, looking after the safety of the Saints. He wrote that "a man can be comfortable without his coat while walking the streets."3 The sun's rays thawed the hard ground that had frozen overnight. Smoke puffed out of the sod or brick chimneys of the more than 500 newly constructed homes, situated on orderly city blocks. Many more homes were in various stages of construction. Logs, straw, stone and brick were scattered about showing signs of active labor. The sound of the axe and saw greeted every ear. More than 800 wagons were parked throughout the city, many serving as homes while cabins were being raised.

The frozen Missouri river nearby reflected the bright sunshine as the Saints went to work at their various day's activities. Among the daily tasks were fetching water from wells and streams, chopping wood, building houses, patiently caring for the more than 300 sick in the city, watching the children and feeding the animals. Mary Richards spent her morning gathering together a large load of clothes. She went to her sister-in-law's house "to spend Christmas over the wash tub."

Mary and Jane Richards washed all day, and certainly they spoke longingly of their husbands (Samuel W. Richards and Franklin D. Richards) who were away from home on this Christmas Day, serving the Lord on missions in England.4

The Church leaders, including President Brigham Young, attended to important business in council meetings during the afternoon and into the evening. There was an incredible amount of planning and organization that still needed attention, to prepare for the continued massive exodus of the Church to their future mountain home in the Rocky Mountains.

These faithful Saints also took time this day to stop and reverently reflect on the Savior's birth. They reminisced about their difficult journey during the past year that brought them to settle at this location on the west bank of the Missouri River. They cast their thoughts on loved-ones who were away: in the Mormon Battalion, on missions, on trading expeditions, and dear family and friends who during the year had departed from this life.

There were more than 50 sisters in Winter Quarters who had husbands away in the Mormon Battalion. They longed to be with them, wondered where they were, and prayed that they were safe and well. Their husbands were far away, marching in the desert of Arizona, where they made their camp near present-day Mobile, southwest of Phoenix. These weary men were thinking about their families, on the banks of the Missouri River. Pvt. Guy Keysor sadly wrote: "I wish I could call this a Merry Christmas; I confess it is as melancholy one as I have ever experienced, not a green bush to attract the eye - not a sleigh bell to please the ear - not one to greet us with `I wish you a Merry Christmas.' But all around us is a sandy, thirsty shrubbery. . . ."5

Sgt. William Hyde recorded, "This is a rather strange Christmas to me. My life with my family in days gone by was called to mind and contrasted with my present situation on the sandy deserts through which pass the Gila and Colorado Rivers. Suffering much at times for the want of water, but still pressing forward with parched lips, scalded shoulders, weary limbs, blistered feet, worn out shoes and ragged clothes; but with me the prospect of the result of my present toils, cheers me on."6

Mary Northrop grieved over the death of her husband, Amos, on this Christmas Day in Winter Quarters. How would she care for her infant daughter, Eugenia, without him in this harsh wilderness? There were more than 75 other widows struggling to care for their families. Mary Northrop and these other dear sisters would be looked after by their family, friends, and certainly by their bishops, who had been given a special calling and charge to look after the widows and the fatherless.

After the labors of the day were complete, time was spent in small, quiet gatherings of family and friends. A small party was held at the home of Elder Heber C. Kimball. His daughter, Helen Mar Whitney, wrote that it "was very enjoyable and passed off in fine style." At festivities like this they would preach, sing, dance, recite poetry, and share anecdotes. A gathering was also held at Edwin Wooley's home that was attended by many sisters, including Eliza R. Snow, Patty Session, Phoebe Chase, Hannah Markham and Hannah Gheen.7

Surely they discussed the Christmas days of years gone by, including the previous year in their beloved City of Joseph, Nauvoo the Beautiful. One year earlier, they also did not have time for lengthy celebrations. That day was spent performing urgent and sacred temple work, as more than 100 Saints received their ordinances in the beautiful temple that they had to leave behind.

As the night became late, the Saints quietly returned to their homes, wagons and tents, put their children to bed and retired to rest for the important work of the coming day. They knew that their Savior had been born, lived and died for them. They rejoiced, despite their afflictions, that they were blessed to receive the restored gospel in their lives. They retired with the hope of a better day, when they could celebrate future Christmas days under permanent roofs, in a land far to the west. The faith and sacrifices experienced on that Christmas day long ago, reaped blessing and rewards for generations to come.

NOTES:

1 Manuscript History of Brigham Young, p. 483 and Wilford Woodruff's Journal 3:104.

2 Diary of Lorenzo Dow Young, Utah Historical Quarterly 14:153.

3 Juanita Brooks, ed., On the Mormon Frontier: The Diary of Hosea Stout 1:221.

4 Mary Richards Journal in Maurine Carr Ward, ed., Winter Quarters, The 1846-1848 Life Writings of Mary Haskin Parker Richards, p. 103.

5 Guy Messiah Keysor Journal, Utah State Historical Society.

6 Private Journal of William Hyde, typescript, BYU.

7 Maureen U. Beecher, ed., The Personal Writings of Eliza Roxcy Snow, pp. 151, 284.