The Sampler Sleuth: Christmas in Stitches Through the Centuries
Christmas—perhaps one of today’s most popular holiday stitching themes, closely followed by Halloween and patriotic celebrations—wasn’t always a common needlework subject. The celebration of Christmas itself has been through many alterations throughout the years, so much so “that it’s safe to say someone alive in 1800 would not even recognize the Christmas celebrations held in 1900.” Much folklore and regional practices are wrapped up in fetes, which have origins that may be traced to the birth of a babe in a manger.
Although the Nativity and other biblical events are lavishly documented in ecclesiastical or church embroidery, which reached its height in the 13th and 14th centuries, these magnificent works documenting Christ’s birth were not “Christmas decor,” but rather vestments, tapestries, altar cloths and related items. Fast-forward to the 19th century when church embroidery experienced a revival and again the Nativity appeared in many extravagant embroideries.
Over the years, the sacred and secular have blended in Christmas celebrations that cross cultures and national boundaries. Back in 1841, Phillis Edmonds was only 13 years old when she stitched the words to On Christmas Day, a hymn commemorating the religious significance of Christmas:
What words what voices can we bring, Which way our Accents raise, To welcome the mysterious King, And sing a Saviour’s Praise. O ’tis too little All we Can, For this unbounded Love, All that was ever wrote by Man, Or sung in Hymns above.
Linda Danielson of Samplers Remembered charted and stitched the vibrant Christmas-themed antique from her collection, re-creating its large birds, small deer and dogs, and myriad flowers, so that needleworkers could enjoy it today. Of all the documented early sampler verses, those specifically mentioning Christmas are quite rare.
Linda also reproduced a post-Nativity sampler depicting Joseph, Mary and Jesus’s “Flight Into Egypt,” a scene stitched in 1858 by a stitcher known only by her initials: A.L.W. Marsha Parker, of The Scarlet Letter, who also reproduced a sampler with similar motifs, notes that “iconic representations” of this biblical scene began to appear after the 14th century.
A popular Victorian hobby in the mid- to late-1800s was
needlework executed on perforated paper. When this trend was in vogue, a variety of mottoes from “Home Sweet Home” to “Merry Christmas” were stitched on perforated paper. Cross stitch, long stitch, and an assortment of fibers—including chenille and metallic threads—were used to create the motto sampler. Small ornaments and boxes also carried Christmas, birthday and other greetings.
Designer Claudia Dutcher Kistler’s motto collection includes a circa 1878 patent drawing for a “Merry Christmas” motto sampler. The image was printed on the paper; then stitchers applied the fibers of their choice. Many were kitted with all the necessary supplies, including foil paper backing.
Manufacturing advances in the late 19th and early 20th centuries led to a variety of needlework items emblazoned with Christmas motifs including holly, wreaths and candy canes. A favorite advertising medium, the needlebook, was a common Christmas gift from merchants through the mid1900s. Scissors, bodkins, pin keeps and thimbles were among stitching tools that included holiday motifs.
Reference 1 “The History of Christmas Celebrations,” www.thoughtco.com.