Passport to Texas

Saurer Beckmann Farm

How Early Texans Used Their Holiday Time Off Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

We have something in common with early Texans.

Christmas and the month of December—in large part—was the time when Texans gathered.

Cynthia Brandimarte is program director for Texas historic sites. Unlike today when a short trip by car or plane will get us to our holiday destination, travel was difficult for early Texans.

And so when you traveled, you tended to stay. People had time at Christmas to do that—to travel and spend weeks.

Which makes the few days that most of us get off at Christmas seem like a rip off. And early Texans made good use of this block of time.

It was then that they celebrated not only Christmas, but other special events, and planned weddings for the month of December.

Since Texas was mostly rural in the 19th and early 20th Centuries, and there wasn’t a lot of farming that could happen in December…

It almost gave 19th Century and early 20th Century rural Texans an excuse not to work. And thus to play a bit more, and socialize a bit more, than they had time to do many other months of the year.

How will you spend your time off this holiday season? How about making time to enjoy the great outdoors?

We at Passport to Texas wish you a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year…

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Family enjoying holiday cheer at LBJ State park and Historic Site. Photo: Bryan Frazier.

History of the Christmas Tree in Texas Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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The custom of decorating trees for Christmas took root in German villages during the sixteenth century.

A lot of Germans, as you know, settled Texas. And they brought a tradition with them of the tabletop Christmas tree.

Cynthia Brandimarte is program director for Texas historic sites.

When you look at interior photographs of Texas houses, you see many tabletop Christmas trees ornamented for the season, particularly in German households in the late nineteenth century Texas.

Ornaments were handmade then, and small gifts often dangled from branches. Eventually, the tabletop conifer gave way to larger trees that became “floor models,” and the decorations sometimes mirrored the day’s events.

You saw more and more seven or eight feet trees that were placed on the floor. And because we had just ended the Spanish American war in victory, there was a fashion in the early part of the twentieth century to decorate trees with a few American flags here and there. We have photographic evidence for that.

If you celebrate Christmas, we wish you a joyous holiday. And if you do not, then it’s the perfect opportunity to spend time in nature, because Life’s Better Outside.

That’s our show for today… Funding provided in part by Ram Trucks. Guts. Glory. Ram.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Anderson Ranch in the Texas Panhandle

Holiday Gifts for the Nature Lovers on Your List Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Holiday gift giving season is upon us, and if you have nature lovers on your list—the giving is easy—and twice as nice.

A seventy-dollar Texas State Parks Pass is a thoughtful gift for your outdoor enthusiast. Pass holders enjoy twelve months of unlimited visits to more than ninety state parks and historic sites. They also get discounts on camping and recreational equipment rentals. Money spent on the pass supports your Texas state parks.

For thirty dollars each, you can give the drivers on your list a conservation license plate. Twenty-two dollars from every sale goes directly to help fund conservation efforts in Texas.

Give every outdoor lover on your list access to more than a million acres of public land—with the Limited Use Permit—for the ridiculously reasonable price of twelve dollars.

Permit holders receive twelve months of access to Texas’ wildlife management areas, where they can fish, hike, bird watch, cycle, and camp.

When you give one of these gifts, you delight the receiver, and help support state parks and conservation in Texas.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation supports our series and helps keep Texas wild with support of proud members across the state.

Find out more at tpwf.org

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

New State Park Holiday Ornaments

New State Park Ornaments Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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For those who celebrate the Christmas holiday—or who simply treasure State Parks—a new trio of Texas State Park ornaments is available.

It’s our fifteenth year doing the ornament, actually. We’re really excited about it this year.

Aaron Friar promotes Texas State Parks. When the tradition began, parks rolled out a single limited edition ornament annually that was made from gold flashed brass, and featured three parks. Now it releases three limited edition ornaments annually made from laser cut wood, and each features a single park.

So, this is our fifth year doing that. And we’ve selected three parks. We’re doing Dinosaur Valley, Balmorhea, and then we’re doing Tyler State Park.

Find details about the annual Texas State park ornaments at texasstateparks.org/holidays.

If you go to texasstateparks.org/holidays, you can find out all the information about the new ornaments. An individual ornament is going to be $8.95, but you can get all three for $19.95 as a package. And then, if you want to start adding to your collection of ornaments, there are ways to purchase past ornaments.

Find details and see what’s available at texasstateparks.org/holidays.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

2016 Holiday Events in Texas State Parks Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Texas state parks pull out all the stops during the holidays.

All of our parks are doing some kind of event, or having some kind of special event for the holidays.

Aaron Friar promotes parks for Texas Parks and Wildlife. During this season, overnight campers are encouraged to decorate their camp sites.

Which is a lot of fun. A lot of them [State parks] are waiving campsite fees for the folks that will decorate their campsites. It’s just a lot of fun, because everybody can get involved. It’s like a trail of lights.

Nearby communities visit parks during December to enjoy the “light-hearted” creativity of overnight campers.

They’ll do hayrides [at some parks] and all sorts of special things with that—so it’s fun.

Imagine a hayride through your favorite park on a chilly winter evening while enjoying a festive light display along the way…and then ending the evening’s enjoyment with a craft activity or sweet treat.

We have a lot of cool arts and crafts activities that parks are putting on. And cookies and hot chocolate and wassail… I think we’re going to keep Santa pretty busy this year. He’s going to be making a lot of visits to a lot of our parks.

Find a list of events at texasstateparks.org/holidays; you may just discover a new family tradition for the holidays.

That’s our show… Funding provided in part by Ram Trucks. Guts. Glory. Ram

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.