Christmas Traditions in Virginia
Englishman Adam Hodgson (1788–1862) grew up in the home of a slave trading Father in Liverpool, England. Nonetheless as an adult he championed the antislavery movement. In addition he made his living as a writer drawing on his observations as he traveled the world. In the mid- nineteenth century he passed through Alexandria, Petersburg, and Norfolk, Virginia during the Christmas holiday season. For lodging he did what most folks did before the advent of hotels, he stayed at inns, taverns, or rented a room at a private home. Hodgson’s notes the centrality of the Turkey on the Christmas holiday table in circa 1820 Virginia. “At dinner, there are frequently four or five turkeys on the table,” meat, pastry, and tea. “While on the subject of eating . . . I will mention, that I do not recollect to have dined a single day, from my arrival in America till I left Virginia, without a turkey on the table; often two, in gentlemen’s houses. On Christmas-Eve, in the little town of Norfolk, Virginia, it was said that “6000 turkeys were [sold] in the market,” in preparation for the Christmas day meal.