Spirit of generosity shines during season

The first observance of the Christmas holiday north of Virginia is believed to have been held on St. Croix Island when a French Catholic priest and a Huguenot Protestant minister oversaw their respective proceedings in 1604. While the island's settlement failed as a result of a winter that was abnormally harsh -- even for the area -- the occasion stands as significant for its commemoration of the now widely celebrated holiday.
Prior to the arrival of the French party in 1604, St. Croix Island was a frequently utilized gathering site by the Passamaquoddy people. The island was ideal for storing food over the winter because it was safe from land scavengers and predators. In warmer months, it was well-suited for fishing and harvesting clams, as well as serving as a resting spot for those traveling along the river.
When the French came in early summer, they found what they thought was the perfect place to found New France. Expedition leader Dugua de DeMonts had been given a charter for virtually all the land between what would become Virginia and Manitoba, Canada, by King Henry IV, and the small island was to be the foundation of that expansion.
The primary record of DeMonts' party comes from Samuel de Champlain, a former commoner who had gained experience as a navigator in the West Indies and Central America. Champlain kept a journal of the trip and also created cartographic maps and drawings of flora and fauna.
Religious tensions in France at the time were fierce as the French Wars of Religion between Catholics and Protestants had just concluded in 1598. The St. Croix party was itself divided between the two groups, with DeMonts being a Huguenot Protestant and Champlain adhering to Catholicism. Appropriately, both Father Aubry, the priest, and an unnamed minister were sent on the voyage to accompany the 79 men tasked with beginning New France.
Relations between Father Aubry and his Protestant counterpart were not the best. On at least one occasion, Champlain records the pair "fell to with their fists on questions of faith. ... I leave you to judge if it was a pleasant thing to see... a fine spectacle they made aiming and dodging blows while the sailors gathered and backed them according to their sectarian prejudices."
Regardless of their contested differences, the clergymen would have certainly performed the rites of their faith for the men in their charge on Christmas Day. By that time, winter had settled in on the island with the first snows having fallen long prior. Foodstuffs, consisting of the remaining harvest from the fall, salted meats and strong fermented cider, were in abundance and shared freely for the occasion, Champlain records. As part of the festivities, a special Christmas edition of Master William -- a sheet of paper with an unusual distinction -- was read.

The first newspaper in North America
While inhabiting St. Croix Island and laboring to turn it into a functional settlement as quickly as they could before winter's arrival, some of the French settlers turned to a new enterprise. The "bright spirits of the party," as Champlain writes, put together what they called Master William, a one-sheet, handwritten periodical that captured the gossip and news of the island. Every few weeks, a new issue was passed around.
On Christmas Day, the editors of Master William read the issue aloud to the assembled men in the great hall, eliciting ample laughter and merriment, according to Champlain. Though lacking in a sizable subscriber base, Master William is regarded by some historians as the first newspaper of North America.

The great equalizer
Not long after Christmas, the reality of the settlement's situation had sunk in: The harsh winter had rendered the river impassable, and there was no access to fresh game or fresh water. Reduced to boiling snow to drink -- a task made difficult by the effort required to maintain the fire -- and chopping off blocks of their frozen cider, the men gradually fell ill with scurvy.
Of the 79 men, 35 died over the winter. Twenty more were on the brink of death by the time the Passamaquoddy were able to send fresh venison to the settlement in March.
Among those who died were Father Aubry and the Protestant minister. Chronicler Gabriel Sagard records that the men died at about the same time. The crew was prompted to bury them together in the same grave, hoping that in doing so their division could be further mended.