Amish Christmas all about faith and family
by Laurel Campbell
Dec 19, 2007
CHISHOLM – Like something from a Currier and Ives painting, a parade of horse drawn buggies head off on Sunday morning to a rural farm house where the township’s 15
Amish families will hold their bi-weekly worship service. In the frosty air, the horses expel puffs of winter mist from their nostrils while they patiently wait in the snow-blanketed yard, to take their families back home, the black buggies stark on the white winter landscape
During the Christmas season, Powassan’s main street takes on a turn of the century atmosphere as women in intricately hand-stitched black bonnets and long dresses, and men with their traditional hats and distinctively homemade denim pants, join with other parents in search of the perfect Christmas gift for their children.
“Despite what people may think, we do not always give handmade gifts to our children at Christmas,” said Yost Yoder who moved his family to Chisholm from St. Mary’s five years ago. “We buy many of our Christmas gifts, just like everyone else. But perhaps not the same type of gifts.”
Books, tea sets for the girls and train sets for boys, are high on the gift-giving list, said Yost’s wife Katie, “and when our girls were young they got homemade dolls with Amish clothing.”
Last year the Yoder girls, Rosanna, 19, and Ella Mae, 16, were given a new bookcase for their bedroom, musical alarm clocks, little holders decorated with flowers, and books. “I’m not going to tell you what they’re getting this year,” said Yost, “because the girls do read the newspaper.”
Unlike most young people, the Yoder girls have no Christmas lists, and even when younger it was never an issue with the Yoder’s five children, Nathan, Alvin, Ephraim, Rosanna and Ella Mae.
“We’re always happy with anything our parents want to give us for Christmas,” said Ella Mae, the more outspoken of the two girls still living at home, along with brother Ephraim who looks after the family’s diary farm. When asked, neither of the girls could think of anything specific they wanted to find Christmas morning, other than perhaps books, as both are avid readers.
Even as little girls, both sisters say they never longed for any certain presents, and never held any secret desire for the media-hyped toys like Barbie dolls, that would not be acceptable in an Amish home.
“I know what Barbie is,” said Ella Mae, having seen them in stores all of her life. “But I don’t know why I would want one. None of my friends ever had one.” As they have grown up, there has been a similar attitude to makeup, with both girls admitting the thought “has never entered our minds,” while dad is quick to point out “why would they need makeup, they’re pretty enough without it.”
Never having been exposed to television and mass media advertising in their home, Yost asks if it really is true that such marketing campaigns influence the desires of children. A successful businessman, who with his brother Enos, owns Yoder Brothers Construction where they build homes, barns and outbuildings throughout the non-Amish community, it seems hard to believe he has remained so unscathed by modern marketing hype. It’s a testimony to his firmly-rooted beliefs in a simpler lifestyle, one devoid of the trappings and dependency of today’s society in general.
“I was the second youngest of 15 children,” he said, “and I know that when we were growing up times were tough for our parents. But there was always a gift for us on Christmas morning. We got toys, like trains, and quite often useful things like watches and pocket knives and homemade clothing made by our older sisters.”
Sometimes the Yoder children would get together “and give our parents a gift, but we never had spending money, and mostly it’s just the children that receive Christmas presents,” he said, “parents wouldn’t expect it.”
While other teenage girls are filling their Christmas list with fashion items, Yost says “we try not to give clothing as Christmas gifts. We believe, as parents, there are certain things we should be responsible for supplying our children with year-round, like clothes, food, a good home. For Christmas, they should get a special gift, something they ordinarily wouldn’t get.”
Christmas trees are not part of the Amish celebrations, and when asked why, Yost had no answer other than to ask why others put them up. Outside the Amish community Christmas trees are traditions, not a good enough reason for Yost, who points out that “the Amish really have no Christmas traditions. What we do in our family, might not be done in another,” he said. “In fact there are Amish communities that don’t believe in giving Christmas presents at all because they feel it takes away from the true meaning of Christmas, which is the birth of Christ. That’s not to say they don’t give their children gifts at other times of the year though.”
Katie adds that a tree, like so many other traditions in non-Amish households, was never an issue for her children.
“If you’ve never had it, you don’t miss it,” she said.
When Yost was young, presents were not wrapped.
“There was so little money, and wrapping paper costs money, so why not save that and spend it on the children,” he said.
Katie adds that the family now wraps presents on occasion, with all of the gifts being piled on the family table on Christmas Eve and often covered with a sheet or blanket.
“I remember when all of our children were at home, one year Yost decided to let them get up whenever they wanted and go downstairs for their presents. Two of the boys stayed in bed till seven, but the others were down early and the squeals and laughter that came up the stairs was really quite funny.”
Some Christmases gifts are wrapped and on display before the big day.
“I used to like to do that when the children were smaller,” said Katie, with Ella Mae remembering the year, “we kept rattling them, and guessing what might be in them until mom said we weren’t allowed to touch them anymore.”
Often depicted in movies and novels as being aloof, humour, sharing and love are all part of being raised in an Amish home. While the Yoders have never seen depictions of their community in movies, they are aware of such films as The Witness, but Ella Mae is quick to point out that “you read a lot of things in books that isn’t true.”
Yost admits that with both of the girls avid readers, “I would like to set limitations and would rather they read a wholesome family book, but they both have memberships at the library and are capable now of making up their own minds.”
While the Amish do not celebrate with special Christmas church services, unless Christmas Day falls on a regular worship Sunday, the Chisholm Amish School will ring with laughter and carols, presents will be passed out, and there will be tables of home-baked goodies when the local Amish community celebrates its annual school Christmas.
“We have about 12 students in our school, but everyone is invited to the Christmas party,” said Yost. “That’s when the community celebrates together. Weeks before the children draw names for a gift exchange and decorate the school with paper chains and artwork. There will be readings and some small plays, the children will recite poems, some of them very humorous. Each of the children makes a gift for their parents, and sometimes the parents go together to buy a special gift for the teacher. Then there will be a time of visitation when there will be homemade candy, popcorn, cookies, fruit and nuts. For our community, that’s really the big day, but it is all done in celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, the true meaning of Christmas.”
Unlike the community’s church services, this event will be conducted entirely in English. “All of our church services are in German,” said Yost, “but all of our schooling and school events are in English.”
German is the first language of all Amish children, “and often when they start school they are not at all fluent in English,” said Yost. “German is spoken in all of our homes and has been ever since the Anabaptists came to North America in the 1700s. I suppose that’s one area where the Amish as a whole have a tradition, but we want our children to have a good command of English as well.”
While Yost and Katie’s daughters speak perfect English with no apparent accent, Ella Mae admits “we think in German, even when we speak in English.”
As a result there is no sharing of church hymns between the Amish and English communities, with Amish hymns coming directly from words compiled in great part by Anabaptist’s persecuted in European prisons centuries ago and put to the music of secular songs of the day.
“But we sing the same Christmas carols,” said Yost, “and Silent Night is always a favourite.”
While the local Amish school house will resound with singing during the Christmas celebrations, there will be no instrumental accompaniment.
“The Amish don’t have musical instruments,” said Yost, “although both Rosanna and Ella Mae play the harmonica. I know in some Amish homes that wouldn’t be allowed either.”
Katie says the community “relies on someone to lead the singing and we all just help out.”
In talking about the Amish school, Yost surprised his daughters by admitting he himself went to a regular public school until Grade 8, and their eyes widen when he mentioned fashion fads of his school days including mini-skirts and go-go boots. Even Katie was intrigued, requiring an explanation of the 1960s white boot fashion accessories.
“We lived in a small community in St. Mary’s and at that time the Amish parents didn’t see a reason to keep their children from going to the small one-room school house,” Yost said. “As I remember, there were Amish children going to about four different one-room schools at the time and because the number of students was so small, and the community rural, there really wasn’t much difference between the Amish children and the others. Back then, our families came to the school Christmas concerts just like all everyone else’s did.”
Life wasn’t so easy for the Amish students in the mid 1960s when the Ministry of Education decided to abandon the province’s small rural schools in favour of larger, amalgamated district schools built under the assumption of providing a better and more equitable education for Ontario children.
“I was bussed to school from Grade 4 to Grade 7,” said Yost. “In the one room school, all of the children played together, but when we went to the larger school, the Amish stood out. Our clothes were different, we weren’t accepted as well, we stayed apart from the others, and there’s no doubt there were a lot more outside influences for us,” he said. Though the Yost of today has a twinkle in his eye, likes a little verbal banter, and enjoys conversations with his English neighbours and business associates, “I became very quiet and shy once I went to the larger school, and pretty much kept to myself.” he said. “After four years being bussed, the Amish community decided it was time to start their own school and that’s where I finished my education in Grade 8.”
While Yost said the Amish want to see their children receive a good educational grounding, Grade 8 is as far as their education system goes. When asked, neither Rosanna nor Ella Mae expressed any desire to attend more classes, even as their father encouraged them to speak openly about any career interests they may be harbouring.
“Our children are not forced to stay in the Amish community,” Yost said, “but we would like to provide them with a place and a way of life that they want to embrace.”
And while the option might be open for Amish young people to pursue trade or career training, and bring their skills back to the community as adults, “it just doesn’t happen,” Yost said.
With Chisholm’s Amish community now numbering 80 and another family expected in the spring of 2008, “we have a strong community base,” said Yost. “We’ve been very happy with our move to Chisholm and our young people keep active with youth group activities, skating parties and sleigh rides in the winter, picnics and volleyball in the summer, and with the chores they do in their homes. They also help other families in the community, both Amish and non-Amish, when someone is sick or has an accident and can’t do work around the farm or home. They’re all getting together next week to go carolling on a horse-drawn sleigh, and they are going to visit shut-ins and the elderly in the township. They do a lot of socializing, and often invite members from other Amish communities to come for the weekend and then our young people will go and spend a weekend with them. They keep very, very active.”
While it is rare, outsiders have been known to come in and embrace the Amish way of life.
“I personally know of two men who came into the community in St. Mary’s and became active members, but it doesn't happen often,” said Yost.
When asked how he would feel if someone from outside the Amish community fell in love with his daughter and wanted to become part of the family’s way of life, he fell silent before saying, “I would prefer they wanted to embrace the community first, and having done that, fell in love with my daughter.”
Yost says people on occasion cast an eye at the Amish community “when they are dissatisfied with life and I never hesitate to talk to anyone about our Christian faith, but joining the Amish is not like joining a church denomination, it’s about a whole way of life, and few are ready to accept that reality. Most who talk to me about coming into Christianity I encourage to find a local church that meets their faith needs,” he said.
Christmas Day will see the Yost Yoder family gathered with the families of his brothers Alvin and Enos, also living in Chisholm.
“That’s what we really look forward to,” said Ella Mae. “We have a big family dinner, with everyone there, and that’s the best part of Christmas.”
Like couples everywhere, there was one moment of disagreement when the conversation turned to the Christmas dinner menu.
“We usually have a big turkey with all the trimmings,” said Katie.
But Yost wanted it known “I prefer goose,” he said. Katie just smiled and one assumes that turkey will grace this year’s festive table.
Like children everywhere, Rosanna and Ella Mae admit they will be excited on Christmas Eve, perhaps more so than other young people because with no expectations, every single gift will be a surprise.
“Christmas is a very special family time for the Amish,” said Yost. “It’s all about the birth of Jesus and about families being together. My wish is that everyone have a happy and peaceful Christmas and the best for all families through the New Year.”
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