The Colorado Springs community traces its festive roots back to a windswept prairie where the first Christmas was marked by a gathering of determined settlers in 1871. According to the City of Colorado Springs, this celebration occurred in what was then known as the Fountain Colony, founded mere months prior by General William Jackson Palmer. With only basic amenities, the colony featured rough buildings and tents scattered about, home to families betting on Palmer's vision of a planned community at the foot of Pikes Peak.
A key figure in this historical holiday was Mary "Queen" Palmer, General Palmer’s wife, who notably organized the town’s first school and the inaugural Christmas party. Despite the modest setting, she fostered a sense of celebration among a growing community. The first Christmas was also witnessed by an English writer, Rose Georgina Kingsley, who would go on to document those early days. Her recount of a holiday meal combining oyster stew and roasted antelope depicted a union of elegance and self-sufficiency inherent to frontier life. The presence of a decorated Christmas tree, an unusual sight on the Colorado plains, celebrated with handcrafted ornaments and candlelight, added a touch of normalcy to the settler's sparse existence.
Gifted with a pioneer spirit, these early settlers embraced the sentiment of the season amidst challenging circumstances. The first Christmas here was a demonstration of belonging and resilience, a moment of shared faith and courage that sowed the seeds of today's Colorado Springs community. As recalled in the article by the City of Colorado Springs, the modest festivities represented not just a meal or music, but a shared understanding and the beginnings of what would soon become a vibrant city.
