Shackleton’s Early Christmas
You may be surprised with how quickly Christmas seems to come round again every year. But115 years ago while attempting the Trans-Antarctic expedition, Sir Earnest Shackleton and his crew choose to celebrate Christmas three days early on 22 December 2015.
Choose might not be quite the right word.
The Situation was that in late 1915, Shackleton’s ship, the Endurance, was crushed by sea ice in the Weddell Sea, forcing the crew onto the ice floes.
With no hope of reaching land, they celebrated Christmas on December 22nd, treating themselves to precious remaining luxuries like anchovies, baked beans, and jugged hare, as they prepared for a march for survival.
The Situation was that in late 1915, Shackleton’s ship, the Endurance, was crushed by sea ice in the Weddell Sea, forcing the crew onto the ice floes.
With no hope of reaching land, they celebrated Christmas on December 22nd, treating themselves to precious remaining luxuries like anchovies, baked beans, and jugged hare, as they prepared for a march for survival.
It was a poignant moment, the last good meal they’d have for months, highlighting their desperate situation as they transitioned from ship life to life on the ice, hoping to survive the ordeal.
In his book South [1] Shackleton recalls:
“December 22 was therefore kept as Christmas Day, and most of our small remaining stock of luxuries was consumed at the Christmas feast. We could not carry it all with us, so for the last time for eight months we had a really good meal – as much as we could eat. Anchovies in oil, baked beans, and jugged hare made a glorious mixture”.
Henry McNeish and the second surgeon Alexander Macklin, also kept diaries that corroborate this event. He noted that it was a day of feasting on remaining luxuries because they were about to begin an arduous march across the ice and could not carry the extra weight.
It was a poignant moment, the last good meal they’d have for months, highlighting their desperate situation as they transitioned from ship life to life on the ice, hoping to survive the ordeal.
In his book South [1] Shackleton recalls:
“December 22 was therefore kept as Christmas Day, and most of our small remaining stock of luxuries was consumed at the Christmas feast. We could not carry it all with us, so for the last time for eight months we had a really good meal – as much as we could eat. Anchovies in oil, baked beans, and jugged hare made a glorious mixture”.
Henry McNeish and the second surgeon Alexander Macklin, also kept diaries that corroborate this event. He noted that it was a day of feasting on remaining luxuries because they were about to begin an arduous march across the ice and could not carry the extra weight.
This was in stark contrast to previous the celebrations on the Endurance such as the midwinter meal only 6 months earlier on 22 June 2015.
Shackleton’s leadership strategy to maintain cheerfulness and morale amidst desperate circumstances after their ship became trapped and was crushed by the ice is a reminder of the power that togetherness brings to us, even in the bleakest circumstances. The crew of the Endurance were famously all eventually rescued after many more close calls and hardships.
South by Sir Earnest Shackleton [1]:
