An artist rendering of the first Christmas Day feast on little St. Croix Island in 1604. Courtesy image

In June 1604, 16 years before the arrival of the pilgrims at Plymouth, a band of 130 European explorers landed on Holy Cross Island, also known as Little Saint Croix Island, “in the wilderness of Acadia,” at the mouth of the Saint Croix River, between present day New Brunswick Canada and Calais.

On this little island, in what is now Washington County, the first Christmas celebration in New England history took place.

These French-Christian settlers were authorized under King Henry IV of France to build the first settlement on the Maine coast. Famed explorer Samuel De Champlain took part in this settlement and wrote of the events and people on Little Saint Croix Island.

This hodgepodge of “assorted company” comprised of “Catholic priests and Huguenot ministers, ruffians and thieves, nobles,” sailors, men of education and means, and men without either.

An aerial photo of Little St. Croix Island. Courtesy of National Parks Service

These settlers spread Catholicism and Protestantism and mapped the areas and navigated the waterways. They cut wood, beat back brush and carved out a small settlement where they would harvest their needs from the wilderness lands.

They “fished the sea and harbors,” hunted the land, trapped the rivers, and stored their bounty in the food storage shelters they erected. And while these settlers feasted on the “beasts, birds, and fish,” the island’s primary inhabitants feasted upon the settlers.

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Mosquito and black flies “annoyed excessively” Champlain wrote, “several of our men, whose faces were so swollen by bites, could scarcely see.”

Though a successful settlement, in comparison to that of the many English settlers who would follow in the later years, many also fell to illness and disease. “Scurvy,” a severe deficiency of vitamin C, is believed to have killed two-score of these colonists.

Before winter had arrived, more than 40 of these men had already sailed back to France, uninterested in braving the coming winter. Yet, nearly 80 of these adventurous explorers, content to remain on Little Saint Croix Island, settled in for a difficult winter.

When the bitter cold and heavy snows arrived in late December 1604, these colonists turned to their Christian faith and traditions, which was a part of their daily lives. These settlers had built a chapel and had decorated this house of worship with boughs of spruce and berries, and wreaths of fir and dried flowers.

It was the practice of these Catholic and Protestant men to observe the birth of Jesus Christ, and the accompanying clergy who lived on the island directed the men in prayer and reverent thought leading up to the Christmas Day festivities. Although no women or children were present, these settlers celebrated a happy holiday together.

When Christmas Day arrived, they likely began their day with a dawn service of prayers and homilies and gave thanks for their health and well-being. There was food stored in abundance, very little sickness remained, and they all had adequate housing and fuel for warmth.

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Later in the day, a merry and festive celebration was prepared with a grand feast laid out before these men. Although the youngest of the group enjoyed sports or other physical recreation, the elder of these men remained indoors, seated around a warming fire, talking of France, their king and all manner of future plans.

By January 1605, as a harsher portion of winter covered Little Saint Croix Island, with deep snows and rivers sealed under thick ice, sickness began to once again hit the colony. Pneumonia was no doubt present and the dreaded scurvy had returned. Stores of dried firewood had been depleted and their once ample food larder was now a bare cupboard of crumbs.

By March, new settlers arrived from France to redouble the colony’s numbers. But this new band of explorers had discovered that only a small settlement of men remained. Thirty-five of the original settlers had died during the winter, including both the Catholic priest and the Protestant minister.

These men had a great deal of work to do to help spread the empire of King Henry IV of France. While snow and ice melted away, and the green of spring arose from the thawing ground, exploration of the rivers, streams and shorelines continued while mapping of these areas began again.

Before the next winter had arrived, the colony on Little Saint Croix Island was abandoned and these settlers moved to Port Royal in Nova Scotia where they settled once again.

And with the true story of the First Christmas in New England, we may observe our own Christmas celebrations and remember these early French colonists who have left to us one of the more original of our Stories from Maine.

Lori-Suzanne Dell is a Brunswick author and historian. She has published four books and runs the “Stories from Maine” Facebook page.

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