Susan's Christmas Shop Newsletter
Peppermint Pigs- 2024
December 29th, 2024
Dear Customers and Friends of Susan's Christmas Shop,
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Fresh evergreen garland is always wrapped around the portal posts close to the plaza in Santa Fe. It has a lovely fresh pine fragrance all season long, when you walk down the portal the first day it appears.
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In Saratoga Springs, New York, in the 1880's, a German candy maker was looking for a new shape to mold his peppermint. He chose the shape of a pig because pigs are a symbol of good luck in Germany. His solid Peppermint Pigs were white, and he hired schoolgirls to paint red stripes onto the pigs. The pigs became very popular, an essential part of Christmas in that community. At the end of Christmas dinner, the head of the household would place the Peppermint Pig in a small red pouch and smash it with a hammer. Everyone around the table would share a piece of the sweet, old-fashioned candy for good health, happiness, and prosperity in the coming New Year. Eventually, the candy maker retired, and the Peppermint Pigs were no longer made, but they lived on in the memories of the oldest residents of the town.
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In the 1990's, a hundred years later, the local historical society asked Mike Fitzgerald, a modern candymaker, to revive the peppermint pig tradition. His most enthusiastic customers were elderly residents who remembered Peppermint Pigs from their childhood. On the first day Mike offered the new Peppermint Pigs to the public, they waited under umbrellas in the rain for his candy store to open and wrote letters of thanks to Mike for making the Peppermint Pigs again.
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All the current peppermint pigs are bubble gum pink, but they taste just as sweet as ever. Good health, happiness, and prosperity are always welcome. The Peppermint Pigs come with a pouch and hammer and serve sixteen. Peppermint Pigs are unknown in Germany, but they owe their origin to the German symbol of good luck. To this day, they are made only in New York. Peppermint Pigs could become a favorite annual Christmas tradition for your family. The price is $24.
Special Nativities Year Round
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Wreath Nativity $250.00
Navajo Nativity $180.00
The Navajo Nativity Wreath is twenty-two inches in diameter. Mary and Joseph are dressed in Navajo style. Baby Jesus is on a cradleboard. Two Navajo lambs are on each side and small ears of dried Indian corn are at the top. Pinecones are added here and there.
The Sylvia Begaye nativity is smaller than the one on the wreath, but it has all the Navajo features of clothing, hairstyles, and jewelry. The scene is set on a slice of wood with the bark still on it. The base is thirteen inches wide. A small flock of sheep and a grey donkey keep warm by the campfire in front of Mary, Joseph, and Baby on a cradleboard.
Sylvia also made a few ornaments that look like southwest stockings full of gifts and a Navajo caroler.
Please call the store to enquire about availability and shipping costs.
The Caroler $46.00
Navajo Stocking $24.00
Pueblo Artist are Coming Too...
Linda Lucero Fragua, of Jemez Pueblo, brought us a pottery nativity. She typically sets the figures in front of a pueblo fireplace. This fireplace has a pueblo drum, and an embroidered kilt hanging from the vigas. The paints she uses are made from earth pigments she finds. They will never fade.
Jemez Nativity $700.00
In a collector's estate, recently, we discovered a Santa Clara Pueblo pottery nativity by Dorothy and Paul Gutierrez. It was made around 1970. To achieve the shine, the pottery was polished with a smooth stone before it was fired. Dorothy was Navajo and married into Santa Clara Pueblo. Neither Dorothy nor Paul are alive today, but their work was featured in the book, Nacimientos by Guy and Doris Monthan.
Santa Clara Fine Nativity $750.00
Collectable International Nativity
Right now I have a large-scale Russian nativity scene of majolica from the estate of a nativity collector. The figures are tall, eleven and a half inches. They may have been purchased Russia many years ago. In addition to the Holy Family and the Wise Men, there is a shepherd playing music and his lamb. A bird and a dog complete the scene. There is a small chip at the base of one figure.
Russian Nativity $750.00
New Mexico Tin Work
At last, we have tin nativities by Nicolas Madrid again. His mother's art is printed on paper that is glued to the tin. There is a blue version and a green version. We just received a small supply of these, and we are happy Nicolas is making them again. The price is $45. Call if you want one. They are not yet on our website, and they are selling fast. They are not fragile, and they are easy to ship.
Nativities on Display
My own nativities are now on display in my house, and they give me much pleasure. A few are kept out all year, and others join them once a year, like old friends. Each one brings a memory of when and where I first saw it. Here is a solid wax Baby Jesus my mother bought when we lived in Germany around 1960. A year ago, to my surprise and delight, it became mine.
Still one of the favorites of my collection is the Jemez Pueblo pottery "Bethlehem" by Robert Toledo in 1998. It appears in my book, Nativities of the Southwest. Mary and Joseph sit on each side of the altar, tending the wooden Baby Jesus from the church. A drummer beats his drum and sings songs composed for the occasion. The dancers dance in honor of the Baby Jesus. Spectators watch inside the room and others look through the window.
Robert made two new "Bethlehem" nativities this year this year, and one has already sold. Here is the one that is still available. The price is $1600. They are tricky to ship, so it would be best to drive to Santa Fe if you want this special nativity.
I hope to visit the real Jemez "Bethlehem" this year, either Christmas Day or the day after. Due to the changing times and the expense of a Bethlehem that lasts for two weeks, it may have a shorter run than it did for many years. I am grateful I have seen so many Bethlehems over the years. It happens only at Jemez Pueblo.
The adobe fireplace in The Shed's waiting room is now lit with pinon wood fires. It is a welcome sight to see, although the temperatures have been mild this winter and a white Christmas seems unlikely. If you can come to Santa Fe this Christmas season, please stop by my shop to see the latest arrivals. If you live too far away to do this, I send my sincere wishes for Merry Christmas and Good Health, Happiness, and Prosperity in 2025.
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Your friend in Santa Fe,
Susan Topp Weber
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