December 14th Part one

As you can see by the title of this post, I am a little behind schedule!  But December 14th was a big day, and lots of fun.  The morning started at Eat n Park where my daughter Kelly, my sister Kathy and I met up with my friend Diane and her daughter Shannen.  We had a yummy breakfast and spent an hour and a half chatting and catching up – and even spent a few minutes with the food service manager, Sally, who is a long-time friend.  From there we caravaned to Hanna’s Town, where we browsed around in the beautiful new gift shop looking at the books and decorations and snacks while we waited for our program.  Back in September we had signed up for their program, ‘Three Centuries of Christmas’ – and for once I was a attendee rather than a hostess.  The day was rainy and very cool, and even though the programs were inside, walking from building to building was a very chilling experience. But so fun! The first stop was the Tavern, and once we were inside we were warm and toasty, with the fire blazing in the hearth and dozens of candles glowing.  Pam and Joanna welcomed us as guests, and once we were all seated, Pam started with the 1700’s.  She gave a detailed and interesting presentation about how the Christmas holiday was celebrated (and often FORBIDDEN to be celebrated!) in the colonies. The tree was a simple pine branch, hung with common, local fruit.  It was common to go ‘wassailing’ but gifts were not a part of the celebration as such.  We met Belsnickle, who barged in on our presentation, poking people with his stick and asking them if they were good.  His determination produced either a piece of candy or a lump of coal.  He was a colorful gentleman that was full of orneriness and silly stories, and after offering us a cookie, led us to the next stop. 

The Klingensmith house represented the first half of the 1800’s, where the tree was strung with popcorn, candles,  and little handmade ornaments.  We learned about Clement Moore’s ‘The Night Before Christmas, and had a taste of cocoa with our cookies.   

The Steele house gave us a taste of the second half of the 1800’s, where we learned about Christmas celebrations during and immediately after the Civil War.  The years following the war were very prosperous, with the onset of the industrial age, and electric lights and German ornaments were very popular on trees.  Toys were introduced with movable parts, and dolls went from being ‘adult’ dolls to ‘baby’ dolls, which also introduced all and every accessory know to babydom!  Christmas cards came into the picture, which was a boon for the US Post Office as well as a new greeting card industry.   Again we were offered cookies – fruit cake and shortbread – and made our way to the new education center to visit the 1900’s and the beginning of the 2000’s. 

I didn’t even think to take pictures, but of course most of the items were very familiar – Flexible Flyer sleds, Fisher Price toys, the introduction of electronics (boom boxes and cassette tape recorders), Barbie dolls and tiny twinkle lights.  Santa became the image on the Coca Cola cans, and Rudolph and Frosty and most of the classic songs and movies were introduced. 

This was an amazing program, which is offered every year, and I heartily recommend attending.  It was fun and informative and even tasty!  I’d sign up early, like late September or early October, because even though there are several sessions over two weekends, space is limited and it fills up fast.  Set a reminder in your calendar, and join us next year.  You won’t be disappointed!  I guarantee it!

PS:  Photo credits go to Kelly!