"A Civil War Christmas" is fun for young and old, schools, clubs, and churches.  Some groups even enjoy celebrating "Christmas in July" with this program!

North & South

During the years of the American Civil War, artist Thomas Nast was drawing Santa Claus wearing a blue coat with white stars over red & white striped britches.  The war made an impact on the nation, both North & South, in the ways that Christmas was kept.

Santa Claus was expected to visit Anoka, Minnesota, in 1865. J.M. Randolph had laid in a large stock of toys in anticipation of the holiday wish lists.  Randolph was a storekeeper in Anoka.

An Anoka County man, Andrew Wickstrom, was with Sherman on his famous "March to the Sea" during December of 1864.  The Christmas party in Anoka's Methodist Hall was interrupted to read a dispatch from General Sherman announcing his victory over the city of Savannah, Georgia.

A little more sobering thought came with the announcement of a supper to be held on the Friday before Christmas, the proceeds of which would be used to purchase comforts for sick Minnesota soldiers in the hospital at Prairie due Chien, Wisconsin.

"A Civil War Christmas" is a Living History program that celebrates the season with your group.  You are invited to join in the fun of decorating a war time Christmas tree, sampling a holiday treat, enjoying the music our ancestors sang, & learning about the Christmas traditions of the 1860's.  This program is a warm look at Christmas in the cold shadows of the American Civil War - a war that touched every home in the nation.

Arrangements for bringing any of these programs to your group may be made by contacting the Anoka County Historical Society at 763-421-0600 or email to: vickie@ac-hs.org. We ask that there be no taping of these programs.  These programs are the exclusive property of the Anoka County Historical Society.