By Gene Morris

Henry County Historian

The Christmas season brings with it a flood of memories for all of us; it’s a time of joy and excitement, a time of love and togetherness, a time of worship and praise. Today I’ll share a few stories which have been passed down through my family about Christmas in Henry County. As you read these lines I would encourage you to remember experiences in your own family which you can share with your younger family members over the holiday season: this is the basis of ‘oral history’ and will add a great deal to your time together.

  The first story has been passed down through the descendants of William H. ‘Billy’ Green (1790-1879) and Mary Ann Elliott Green (1796-1890). The tradition says that Billy Green came to Henry County from Morgan County in 1824 and built a log cabin on his farm, on what is now Airline Road, near Cotton Indian Creek. When the cabin was nearing completion Granddaddy Green brought his family to the cabin. When the family awoke on Christmas morning their blankets were covered with snow, which had fallen during the night. The explanation was that a wood shingle roof would keep out rain because the water swells the shingles; however, snow will fall through a dry shingle roof. If this old tale is  correct this was a rare “White Christmas” in Henry County. The Billy Green cabin remains in the family and has been preserved and protected for many years by Walter Lee Morris.

  My Granny Morris told the second story to me several years ago; it tells of an old Henry County tradition, which has died completely away. Granny vividly recounted the details of a strange custom, which was still practiced by the rural folks of our county into the early years of the twentieth century. The tradition was known as the “Fantastic Riders.” The fantastic riders celebrated their bizarre ritual each year on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The young men of the settlement would wear homemade ‘dough face’ masks and ride from farm to farm, on horseback. When they arrived at the farmhouse they would yell and carry on and shoot off firearms until the farmer came out and invited them in for a snack of punch and teacakes and other goodies. After the snack the riders would serenade the family with Christmas carols and then ride on to the next farm. Granny Morris was born in 1903 and she could recall being terrified of the Fantastic Riders as a young girl. Another relative has told me she recalls the Fantastics coming to their farm, in the Oakland settlement, as late as the early 1930’s. She recalls being scared of the

Fantastics. She said her mother always had a plate of cake sliced and ready for their arrival. This strange ritual has a very long history. After hearing the

story I have from time to time tried to gather additional information on the Fantastic Riders. I have never found a good explanation of the practice. The only thing I have found in reference books is that the tradition was practiced in Scotland and England for many centuries; however, it was believed to have died out over there over 200 years ago. We can only conclude that our people brought the practice with them when they came to North America in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The practice probably survived longer here due to the rural isolation of the farmers. The ultimate death of the Fantastic Riders was likely due largely to the use of the automobile and the rise of other means of celebrating.

  The third story is one I have heard all my life about Uncle Lawrence Morris (1891-1963). Uncle Lawrence and Aunt Marie raised a large family on their Henry County farm. This story tells that Uncle Lawrence was very concerned that Santa’s reindeer would damage his roof on Christmas, consequently he listened very carefully for their landing. When he thought he heard the jolly old man up on the roof, Uncle Lawrence would run outside with his gun and shout, “Get those reindeer off my roof before they punch a hole in the tin.” Then he would discharge a couple of rounds into the air as warning shots. By this time the children were all awake. When Uncle Lawrence came back in the house he was always carrying a cloth sack full of fruits, nuts and small toys which, “The old man dropped out near the smoke house.” He would dump the sack on the floor and the celebration would begin. My Uncle Billy Morris carries on a variation of this tradition by preparing a defined ‘sleigh landing pattern’ on his roof, along with hay for the reindeer. You can see these preparations at his house at 1910 Chambers Road, McDonough.

  The final story was told to my father by his father, G. B. Morris (1903-1970). This story gives a good picture of how tight things were for the cotton farmers of Henry County in the 1920’s and 30’s. Granddaddy Morris recalled one Christmas in the late 30’s when they had six children at home and he had less than $3.00 to spend on gifts for the whole family. During this present age of prosperity and materialism this seems an impossibility; however, Granddaddy recalled he bought oranges and apples and nuts and raisins for the whole family as well as a hat or gloves for each child and a coaster wagon for everyone to share and had twenty five cents left over. Years later when he was telling my father this story Granddaddy recalled that it was a slim Christmas but it was similar to everyone else on the farm in those hard times.

  I would like to take this opportunity to wish you and your family a Merry Christmas greeting from the Morris Family. May the love of Jesus warm your heart at this special time of year.

  Gene Morris is the County Historian and author of True Southerners: A Pictorial History of Henry County.