Why do we celebrate Pioneer Day?

Pioneer Day commemorates the arrival of the first group of Mormon pioneers to the Salt Lake Valley, on July 24, 1847. In Utah it is an official state holiday, and the associated celebration, including a parade, is referred to as Days of ’47.

What happens on Pioneer Day?

What Do People Do? Pioneer Day activities include fireworks, parades, picnics, rodeos and other festivities throughout the state. Some people say that this day is celebrated in Utah with more zeal and pride than major holidays such as Christmas.

What is the meaning of Pioneer Day?

1 : July 24 observed as a legal holiday in Utah in commemoration of the arrival of Brigham Young on the present site of Salt Lake City in 1847. 2 : June 15 formerly observed as a legal holiday in Idaho as the anniversary of the acceptance of the Oregon treaty by the president and the senate in 1846.

What religion is Pioneer Day?

Mormon
Pioneer Day is celebrated as an official religious holiday in the Mormon community. To honor the day, people take the day off to watch firework displays and rodeos or even take a walk on the Mormon Trail.

Do Mormons celebrate the Fourth of July?

In Utah it is both a state and church holiday. As it has come to represent the concepts of birthday, independence and thanksgiving it is an even bigger occasion than the 4th July USA Independence Day festivities. … It is also widely celebrated in parts of the neighbouring states to Utah where Mormons originally settled.

What time period did the pioneers live in?

Pioneer life developed in two great migrations between 1760 and 1850. The first extended American settlement to the Mississippi Valley. It lasted from the late 1700s to the early 1800s and took in areas of what are now the states of Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, and Illinois.

Why is it called Days of 47?

Shelley Osterloh ReportingThis is the 159th anniversary of the arrival of the Pioneers in the Salt Lake Valley. The parade has been called the “Days of 47” only since 1947. … It was the first parade marking the arrival of the pioneers in the Salt Lake Valley.

What are Mormon beliefs?

These key elements of the faith include belief in God the Father, his Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit; belief in modern prophets and continuing revelation; belief that through Christ’s atonement all mankind may be saved by obedience to the laws and ordinances of Christ’s Gospel; belief in the importance of …

What do pioneers eat?

The mainstays of a pioneer diet were simple fare like potatoes, beans and rice, hardtack (which is simply flour, water, 1 teaspoon each of salt and sugar, then baked), soda biscuits (flour, milk, one t. each of carbonate of soda and salt), Johnny cakes, cornbread, cornmeal mush, and bread.

How did pioneers get land?

Most pioneers traveled in wagon trains, groups of wagons containing settlers and their families. … Pioneers in the East often had to clear the land, owing to lush forests there.

How did pioneers survive winter?

Pioneers worked to build up an ample supply of wood for the winter, for the flames of the fireplace were vital to survival during winter. … The warm pajamas and insulated coats that exist today did not exist then, and the pioneers relied on layers of clothing and blankets to keep warm.

Where did pioneers sleep?

Some pioneers did sleep in their wagons. Some did camp on the ground—either in the open or sheltered under the wagon. But many used canvas tents. Despite the romantic depictions of the covered wagon in movies and on television, it would not have been very comfortable to travel in or sleep in the wagon.

How did pioneers get clean water?

Many families had to boil their well water to eliminate off contaminants. When well-digging failed to reach water, families were forced to collect rainwater in barrels, cisterns, and pans.

What did pioneers eat in winter?

Winter Food for the Pioneers
  • Root cellar: A root cellar is like a man made cave. Pioneers would dig into the side of a hill, and place some foods like root vegetables, underground.
  • Root vegetables are foods where people eat the part that grows under the ground such as potatoes, carrots, beets, and onions.

What did the pioneers eat for breakfast?

Beans, cornmeal mush, Johnnycakes or pancakes, and coffee were the usual breakfast. Fresh milk was available from the dairy cows that some families brought along, and pioneers took advantage go the rough rides of the wagon to churn their butter. “Nooning” at midday meant stopping for rest and a meal.

What did the pioneers drink?

The Founders, like most colonists, were fans of adult beverages. Colonial Americans drank roughly three times as much as modern Americans, primarily in the form of beer, cider, and whiskey.

What time did pioneers go to bed?

It was not until 1952 that the first water treatment plant was constructed. Pioneers typically went to sleep at dusk since, without light, not much could be accomplished.