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Know then, that on the right hand of the Indies, there is
an island called California, very close to the side of the
Terrestrial Paradise, and it was peopled by black women, without any
man among them for they lived in the fashion of the Amazons. They
were of strong and hardy bodies, of ardent courage and great force.
Their island was the strongest in all the world, with its steep
cliffs and rocky shores. Their arms were all of gold, and so was the
harness of the wild beasts which they tamed and rode. For in the
whole island, there was no metal but gold.
Thus wrote
Garcia Ordonez de Montalvo in The Adventures of Esplandiam, which
was published in
Madrid
,
Spain
in 1510. This
romantic science fiction novel more than likely inspired the Spanish
conquest of the golden state of
California
, although they
were slow about doing so. In
spite of the promise of Amazon women and gold riches, it would be
another 25 years before Hernando Cortez would land in and explore
the area. Yet another seven years would go by before Portuguese born
sailor, Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, would set foot in what we now know
as the
harbor
of
San Diego
, under the flag
of
Spain
.
 |
Corneille
Wytfliet. Granata Nova et California. Lovanii, 1597-Maps of the Pimería Early Cartography of the Southwest |
| Image
courtesy of: parentseyes.arizona.edu |
While the
timeline of our state's history shows other explorations, it took
another 227 years before Europeans actually settled in what was
known as
Alta California
. Therefore, we
find no mention of the
Christmas celebrations of any kind until Governor Gaspar de Portola
sets out for his search for
Monterey
in 1769. We can
thank Franciscan Father Juan Crespi for diaries that he kept while
accompanying the Governor on his explorations.
December
24, 1769
: On this day before
Christmas...we set out in the morning on the same road by which we
came…The march covered three leagues, and we halted on the same
spot as on the 10th of September, which was in the
valley
of
El Osito
de San
Buenaventura
. It was God's
will that we should celebrate the "Nativity" joyfully,
which was done in this way: more than two hundred heathen of both
sexes came to visit us in this place, bringing us Christmas gifts,
for many of them came with good baskets of pinole and some fish,
with which everybody supplied himself, so that we had something with
which to celebrate Christmas Day. Blessed be the providence of God,
who succors us more than we deserve! These gifts were returned with
beads, which pleased them greatly.
December
25,1769
: On this day of the
"Nativity of Our Lord" we could not celebrate in any other
manner than by saying Mass….The cold is so biting that it gives us
good reason to meditate upon what the infant Jesus, who was born
this day in
Bethlehem
, suffered for
us. We made three leagues and a half, and went to stop a little
farther to the south of the estuary of Santa Serafina, close to a
small village of Indian fishermen, from whence a great deal of fish
was obtained in exchange for beads, with which all provided
themselves. So we celebrated Christmas with this dainty, which
tasted better to everyone than capons and chickens had tasted in
other places, because of the good sauce of
San Bernardo
hunger which
all had in abundance.
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| Captain Juan
Bautista de Anza (Courtesy
National Park Service) |
A Christmas Baby in
Coyote
Canyon
It is not until six years later, during the winter
of 1775 that we see mention of the blessed holiday once again in the
annals of
California
history. Journey
with us back in time as we travel with Captain Juan Bautista de Anza
and a party of 240 persons, which included 30 soldiers, 29 of which
had their wives accompanying them, four colonist families, and a
total of 115 children. Our intrepid explorers also took 355 head of
cattle and 450 saddle horses and pack mules. They traveled
from
Sonora
,
Mexico
, to
Monterey
,
California
. As the
Christmas season came to pass, the de Anza party found themselves on
a cold and foggy day in
Coyote
Canyon
which is located
in present day
Riverside
County
. Somewhere
during their travels from the
southern
Arizona
presidio of
Tubac and
Coyote
Canyon
three more
children had been born, and one woman had died. It was Christmas
Eve, and the soldiers enjoyed brandy that was given to them by their
commander.
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