Classic Christmas Stories (25 page)

by Paul Herridge

E
VER HAVE A FEW alcoholic beverages to celebrate Tibb's
Eve? Many people along the province's south coast may have, but
you might not know how it originated.

Although the term itself is quite old, according to Dr. Phil Hiscock
of Memorial University's Folklore Department, the idea of Tibb's Eve
as a particular day on the calendar—the day before Christmas Eve—is
specific to Newfoundland and Labrador.

As he explained it, sometime around World War Two, people along
the south coast began to associate Dec. 23 with the phrase “Tibb's Eve”
and deemed it the first occasion it was acceptable to have a few Christmas
tipples.

In many of the outport communities, it became a day where the men
would visit each other's homes for a taste.

Because Christmas Eve was still a part of Advent, and that observance
was almost as sober as Lent, Dr. Hiscock indicated most traditional
Christians would never consider taking a nip before Christmas Day prior
to World War Two, which was even then a little early.

Tibb's Eve became a light-hearted means to extend the season—an
idea Dr. Hiscock recognized is not unlike when workers in the 19th
century would lengthen their weekends by taking “St. Monday” off from
work.

“So, it's very much a modernist thing, but just when that modernist
thing kicked in we don't know.”

Tibb's Eve is sometimes known by several different names depending
on the community. In some places, it's called “Tipp's Eve” or “Tipsy's
Eve”—an evolution of the name in characteristic folkloric fashion.

He laughed “For someone who thinks of it as a day to get tipsy, then
Tipsy Eve is perfect. There's nothing wrong with that. That's a good way
of calling it.

“And, of course, it's all based in the kind of humour that people have
had for hundred of years. So, there's no reason why people should not
make humorous adjustments to it in the present.”

That explains how Tibb's Eve became associated with Dec. 23 along
the south coast, but the phrase itself holds the key to its Christmastime
connection.

Dr. Hiscock hinted Tibb's Eve became sort of an old-fashioned way to
say “never” as in “a day that doesn't exist.”

He noted there's an interview in the Folklore archives at Memorial
with a man from a community in Placentia Bay, born probably in the
early 1900s, who asks the student who's interviewing him when she plans
to get married.

She says, “Oh, probably never” and so he kind of winks his eye and
says, “Oh, on Tibb's Eve, hey!” And on the tape she has no idea what he's
talking about. For him, that's a normal way, a joking way, but a normal
way of something “that's not going to happen.”

Dr. Hiscock noted several hundred years ago in England, “‘tibb” was
slang for a woman who was sexually promiscuous—a direct reference to
a female cat. He said many English plays throughout the 1600s would
feature roles with the name.

When a character named Tibb would walk onstage, people would
laugh because they knew what was about to happen.

“Tibb was a kind of loose-moraled girl, and to say there was a Saint
Tibb was clearly a joke for those who were in the know, but for the
children it wasn't a joke at all. They just treated Saint Tibb as they would
Saint Mary or Saint Catherine or whoever else, but adults would always
know there was no Saint Tibb.”

Because it didn't exist, Tibb's Eve was a non-time. Dr. Hiscock
suggested there are several similar silly phrases in the English language,
the “twelfth of never” and “when two Sundays fall together” being others.

And thus, the Christmas tie-in.

“One of the traditional ways of reputing what Tibb's Eve was when a
kid would ask ‘Whens Tibb's Eve?' was to say, ‘Oh, it's neither before nor
after Christmas' or ‘It's neither before nor after New Year's.'”

by Gary Manning

E
ARLIER THIS YEAR, THE
WesternStar
presentedaseries
of articles in connection with the city’s observation of the 50th
anniversary of the start of modern day Corner Brook. The material for that series was based on the files of this newspaper. The following
article is a description of that 1923 Yuletide season as recorded in the
pages of the
Western Star
.

As Christmas time 1923 approached, residents of the Bay of Islands
must have known that their part of Newfoundland would never again be
a collection of sleepy fishing villages. The previous spring had started the
work of constructing a giant newsprint mill that would transform the Bay
of Islands into a buzzing industrial centre.

With the start of construction had come hundreds of men. Many
of these people would be going home to other parts of the island for
Christmas but others, who had come here intent on making Corner
Brook their home, would be staying to spend their first Christmas in a
new community.

Winter was late in arriving in the Bay of Islands in December, 1923.
Consequently, it was a busy month for the coming and going of various
vessels. The SS
Sagona
arrived in port at Curling Dec. 2 from the northwest
coast. There had been fog and gales to plague the boat during its trip and
the
Western Star
reported that the
Sagona
had handled “large quantities
of freight” throughout the trip, “the ship being practically loaded all the
time.”

The
Sagona
was to have left almost immediately but did not leave
until Dec. 8 when it sailed north full of freight and “unable to take all that
was offering.”

Also in port at Curling at that time were the schooners
William C.
Smith
and the SS
Sable Island
waiting to take on loads of herring from
the fish plants there. The
Sable Island
had come down to Curling from
Humbermouth where it had left material for the companies working
on the mill project. Also in the Bay of Islands at the time were the SS
Amphitrite
which had discharged materials for the mill at Corner Brook
and the schooner
Mackenzie King
which had delivered oil to the Corner
Brook operations.

The
Amphitrite
also went to Curling for a load of herring to take to
Halifax. It and the
Sable
left Curling with their loads on Saturday, Dec. 15.

When the
Amphitrite
left Corner Brook, the
Western Star
writer for
that area reported that it was “likely the last steamer for the season” even
though the Humber Arm and the Bay of Islands “is as free of ice as in
midsummer.”

The
Sable Island
, however was expected to make at least one more trip
that season for more herring. The herring fishery was not going so well.
“Only small catches are taken daily, ” the paper reported. The codfishery
was better and there was a ready market for fresh catches, according to
one report.

In Corner Brook, work was going well at the site of the mill and the
adjoining townsite. “Over 300 are employed at the townsite and several
buildings are in the course of erection, ” the
Western Star
reported.

Work on the large warehouse was “being pushed rapidly ahead, and
the weather has been favourable for the work.” The warehouse was to
have a capacity of 40,000 tons of paper and was steel framed and had
walls of corrugated iron. It was “near completion, ” according to the paper.

The foundation for the general office was completed and forms were
being erected for the reinforced concrete walls, it reported.

Meanwhile at Deer Lake there was a lot of work going on building the
power plant that was going to supply the hydroelectric power for the mill
at Corner Brook.

The Brief and Newsy column of the Dec. 12 edition of the
Western
Star
reported that “at Junction Brook there has been a curtailment of
concrete work for the winter months. This work will be resumed at full
blast as soon as conditions will permit in the spring.

“At Deer Lake a large number of men are at work and will continue all
winter. Besides those working all excavation work there are between five
and six hundred in the woods.”

The personal column of the paper reported that Mr. Alexander,
general manager of Armstrong, Whitworth and Co., builders of the
Corner Brook mill, and his wife were passengers on the Wednesday, Dec.
5 No.1 express enroute to England “where there will spend three or four
months, returning here again in April or May.”

As mentioned earlier, December, 1923, had been rather temperate
and the paper reported that there had been a “little frost” on Sunday
(Dec. 9) night, that “dried up the mud a little and slightly improved the
conditions of the roads.”

Then on Monday night (Dec. 17) two or three inches of snow fell.
According to the paper’s report it was “the first of any account for the
season and gave the surroundings somewhat of a Christmas season
appearance . . .”

Earlier that day, hunters from Lark Harbour had arrived by that day’s
express from “up country” where they reported the caribou to be “scarce.”

The Dec. 19 edition of the
Western Star
noted that many stores were
decorated for the coming holiday.

“Many of our shops have their windows very nicely and appropriately
dressed for the approaching festive season.”

The merchants were advertising their Christmas wares in the local
newspaper. One such ad by Jas. Pennell of Curling noted that the store
had “For Trade” and “All from Xmas Trade” and “All from Fresh Stock”
such items as “Fresh Beef, Mutton, Fresh Pork, Geese, Turkeys, Sausages,
Oranges, Apples, Grapes, Cakes and Biscuits” and a “Full line Great
Assortment of Confectionery.”

The Humber Valley Stores in Corner Brook was advertising its
“Annual Xmas Sale Now On.” Ladies coats regular $25 were on sale for
$11.98. “Everything must go regardless of cost, ” the ad read. “Buy today,
$1 as good as $2 at the Humber Valley Stores.”

The Armada Tea Company was sponsoring a Christmas Contest
offering a $10 first prize, $5 second prize, $2 third prize and 10 tins
of Armada Tea. The contest required those entering to supply two
missing lines from a jingle each line starting with a letter from the name
“ARMADA.” Entries had to be mailed to Harvey and Co. Ltd., St. John’s
by Dec. 15. As it turned out there were 5,000 entries but no one from
western Newfoundland was among the winners.

C. & W. Bartlett of Petries probably placed the most elaborate
advertisement that Christmas. “Oh! Say, its Xmas at Bartletts. I’ll tell the
World, ” the ad read.

“If you are forlorn and adrift come to us. Come where Dolls and Toys
and the blended radiance of gilt and tinsel and (Crystal) and color glisten
prodigally and magically in myriad forms. Plunge into the thick of the
throngs and you can’t escape the contagion—the contagion of happiness.
The Carnival spell is intense. The gay, strange things born of man’s brains
to en-trance the errant fancy of children will entangle your twisted
thoughts, and the old cold spark—the human spark—will burn again.”

All that prefaced a long list of the available goods at Bartletts. Baggs
& Co. Ltd., Curling, offered “a splendid assortment of Christmas goods.”

According to the reports in the
Western Star
, a radio had been
installed at Humbermouth that Christmas season and an item in the
Humbermouth notes mentions that “it is no trouble to get a bit of news
from Paris or New York.”

Closer to home there was a bit of news that was probably more talked
about by the local citizenry than anything they might hear from the
capitals of the world. A report in the Dec. 19 edition of the paper said
that “a man doing business at Corner Brook was held up by a foreign
gunman between Curling and Corner Brook some nights ago and was
relieved of fifty dollars.”

As Christmas neared more and more people’s minds turned to
getting home for the holiday. A special train passed through the area on
Wednesday, Dec. 19 with Premier Warren and wife returning to St. John’s
from an imperial Conference in England. The following day, a special
passenger train left Port aux Basques for St. John’s “to accommodate
the large number of people who will likely be wanting to go home for
Christmas.”

The
Western Star
reported in its personal columns some of the
people who were going elsewhere for Christmas. J. C. FitzGerald of the
Newfoundland Power and Paper Co., Corner Brook, left Dec. 19 for
Christmas with his parents in Grand Falls.

Mrs. M. A. Johns went to Grand Falls to spend Christmas with her
parents in Grand Falls and “Miss Bethune, who is teaching at Corner
Brook, went to St. George’s on Monday (Dec. 24) to spend Christmas
with her mother.”

In addition, some like John McEvoy “arrived home from St. John’s to
spend Christmas with his parents.”

The churches were prepared for the coming feast. The paper reported
that “the officers of the Salvation Army accompanied by a number of its
members went to Corner Brook by horse teams on Sunday (Dec. 16) and
held services.”

The paper noted that “special services” were planned for the Methodist
church on Christmas Day. The “usual Christmas Midnight Mass” was
slated to be held at the Church of the Sacred Heart and “usual Christmas
celebrations” at St. Mary’s church were to start at 8 a.m.

In its Dec. 19 editorial, the
Western Star
noted its regret that it was
unable to present its usual illustrated Christmas edition since it had not
received the illustrations it ordered for the paper.

In the editorial, entitled “God Bless Us Every One, ” the paper stated:

“The Christmas season with its feasting and merriment is with us
once again. We see its influence reflected from the many happy faces
as they pass us by. There seems to be a subtle magic in the air that is
expressed by the heartier handclap and a warmer welcome.

“What joyous gladsome ring there is to that good old-fashioned wish
of ‘Merry Christmas, ’ that we get from our friends. ‘The same to you and
many of them, ’ we cheerfully answer back, with a sparkle in the eye.

“Christmas is the one season that takes us away from the bickering and
cares of business and fills our hearts with human love and understanding
and sympathy; and poor indeed is the heart that does not respond to
its magic call. Truly, at this season ‘The Bethlehem Message’ is a living
inspiration.

“. . . We feel we cannot better express our feelings and wishes to our
numerous readers and patrons in more fitting words than those of poor
Tiny Tim in Dickens’ delightful fantasy,
A Christmas Carol
, God Bless Us
Every One.”

The Dec. 26 edition appeared the day after Christmas and its editorial
read as follows:

“Christmas day passed off very pleasantly. The weather and
surrounding appearances were quite a contrast to that of the past two
years. Two years ago a bridge of ice spanned the Humber while last year
the Humber was frozen the first week of December. Christmas Day this
year, however, not only finds the Humber open, but to date there has not
been a particle of slob. The sprinkling of snow which fell on Christmas
Eve just saved us from having a green Christmas. Special services were
held in the different churches, and last night (Dec. 25) there was a social
in the Salvation Army Hall.”

The Dec. 26 edition carried season’s greetings from Magistrate W. J.
Scott who mentioned that “a year ago (how short it seems) we ventured
to suggest ‘more light, ’ and looking back and viewing the dazzle of
electricity at Corner Brook and beyond we all are simply delighted and
happy looking forward.”

Christmas had been a day off for the men of the railway who lived
at Humbermouth. A notice carried in the Jan. 2 edition of the
Western
Star
expressed the thanks of about 10 engine crews to “Mr. Cobb,
Superintendent, and Mr. Chafe, Chief Dispatcher, for allowing so many
of them to stay at their homes.”

New Year’s Day 1924 was ushered in with the blowing of steam
whistles, the chiming of bells and fireworks, the paper reported. There
was a special midnight service at the Methodist Church and on New Year’s
Day between one and two o’clock in the afternoon there was a lightning
and thunder storm. From New Year’s Day came a change in weather with
daily snowstorms for the week following. By Jan. 5 there was a coating of
ice formed on Humber Arm “but it is not fit for anyone to cross over.” The
storms had thrown the train schedules off.

Christmas and New Year’s 1923-24 had come and gone in a pleasant
fashion and now the residents of the new community were faced with the
rigors of a typical western Newfoundland winter.