Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, December 11, 1994 TAG: 9412140042
SECTION: TRAVEL PAGE: G-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KATHERINE CALOS RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH
DATELINE: WILLIAMSBURG LENGTH: Long
So why has Christmas become the most popular time other than summer to visit Colonial Williamsburg?
We like it, that's why.
We like the Colonial-inspired decorations that embellish doorways along Duke of Gloucester Street. We like the Groaning Board inspired by elaborate Colonial feasting. We like the single candle in every window of every house, the jingle-bell harnesses used on carriage rides, the Christmas carols sung by the light of bonfires. We especially like the fireworks that begin the season at the Grand Illumination.
And if the combination isn't a totally authentic expression of Colonial life, it can be forgiven. After all, it's Christmas.
``I like to call it an adaptation in the Colonial spirit,'' said Williamsburg historian Emma L. Powers. ``It's a beautiful, wonderful time of year. My theory on that is, if people go over the river and through the woods to grandmother's house for Thanksgiving, they want to return to something simple, natural and heartfelt at Christmas, and Williamsburg fills that bill.''
That said, let's be clear about one thing - everything that Williamsburg does at Christmas is rooted in Colonial times. Take decorations, for instance.
English prints of 18th-century Christmases show simple decorations, and there's no reason to think it was different in Virginia.
``There was almost always a huge cluster of mistletoe hanging from the middle rafter,'' Powers said, ``and a few pieces of unadorned holly or bay or evergreens on the mantelpiece and window pane. ... Period. ... Full stop. ... End of decorations.
``In the 19th century you have the elaboration of Christmas, and by the time there was a Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, people were in the swing of decorating. There were many residents in the historic area, employees living in privately owned houses. They wanted to decorate for Christmas. So we said natural materials. No tinsel. No electric lights. Do it with materials that were available here in the 18th century.'' It was so successful that the decorations are the focus of daily Christmas season walking tours, not to mention books and workshops on how to make them.
The holiday season in Williamsburg got off to a festive start with a massive Grand Illumination celebration, Dec. 4.
Every year, as many as 30,000 people crowd into the historic area while Christmas candles are lighted, fireworks go off, bonfires blaze and music plays. It's a great way to get in the spirit, even if it wouldn't have been a yearly occurrence in the 1700s.
``There were illuminations of Williamsburg in the 18th century, but it had nothing to do with Christmas,'' Powers said.
``This was an occasion when there were candles in cupolas of public buildings and in windows of gentlemen's houses, and often a public fireworks display, but in the 18th century illuminations were for celebrating the accession of a monarch, a victory in battle or the arrival of a new governor. It wasn't for Christmas, but we've adapted it to our biggest celebration.''
One part of the Christmas celebration that's an old Virginia tradition is the Christmas gun.
``Either on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning, the men and boys would take their guns, and probably their dogs and a jug, and go away from the house and fire off the guns. Probably it was a way to communicate between distant plantations. We've adapted it to the cannons that we fire in sequence in town on Christmas Eve. It's called `shooting in the Christmas' or the Christmas gun.''
Gifts were sparse in those early Christmases. On Christmas Day, religious aspects of the holiday were emphasized. Children may have received a little book, some gloves or a small toy. Servants and apprentices would have received a coin or tip. Field hands on plantations got two to four days off.
``This is probably the one time of the year when the field hands got a little better deal than the house servants, because if you're expecting guests and preparing those big meals, your house servants are working harder than usual,'' Powers said.
The Christmas season extended from Christmas Day to Jan. 6. ``It was a great time for visiting, for weddings. It worked in with the agricultural schedule. It's a down time for farmers. You don't have to harvest, sow, plow and so on.''
A 1773 diary by Philip Vickers Fithian, a tutor at Nomini Hall in Westmoreland County, gave an idea of the excitement surrounding the holiday:
``Nothing is now to be heard of in conversation, but the Balls, the Fox-hunts, the fine entertainments, and the good fellowship, which are to be exhibited at the approaching Christmas.''
``Other diarists are not as cooperative,'' Powers noted. ``Three years in a row, George Washington writes in his diary on Christmas Day: `Went to Pohick Church and returned to dinner.' No elaboration at all.''
That dinner, however, was an incredible spread.
``Food is a huge thing,'' Powers said. ``People wanted to have the best they could afford. This was a time after harvest and after slaughter, so there were stores available. Without refrigeration and tin cans and freezers, there were preservation problems. People were restricted in fresh vegetables. Things were often in relish or ketchup form - walnut relish, cauliflower pickle. Root vegetables will keep. There was plenty of goose, roast beef, poultry. Seafood of all kinds was available even in late December in this part of the world.
``The very highest level of society, the top 5 to 10 percent, the gentry people had everything that the preservation methods would allow, including imported wines, brandy from France, Madeira from the islands, champagne punch, everything.''
That's the kind of fare that inspired the many feasts on the official Williamsburg Christmas schedule: the Groaning Board, Holiday Plantation Dinner, Baron's Feast, Crown of the Turtle Feast, Virginia Country Christmas Dinner, Yuletide Supper, An Evening of Elegance, Cascades Champagne Hunt Breakfast Buffet and choices of Christmas Breakfast at Christiana Campbell's Tavern, Chowning's Tavern, Kings Arms Tavern or Shields Tavern.
Just as in Colonial times, people eat a lot during the holidays, making ``anything having to do with food and feasts and music'' among the most popular events, said Lorraine C. Brooks, Colonial Williamsburg spokeswoman.
A full list of Christmas programs includes dancing at Raleigh Tavern, music at the Capitol, 18th-century plays, candlelight concerts at the Governor's Palace, lantern tours, visits with 18th century ``families'' at home, and more. Costs range from $4 for some musical programs to $60 for An Evening of Elegance.
For a copy of the schedule or lodging in Colonial Williamsburg properties, call (800) 447-8679. For Christmas program reservations, call (804) 221-8950.
by CNB