~I am a traveler of both time and space
To be where I have been...~
A Holiday Nights Christmas at Greenfield Village.
Where Christmas Past comes to life.
Here is a collection of pictures taken on my last two visits to Greenfield Village for 2024 during their Holiday Nights event. Yes, there is historical commentary mixed in, but mostly it is a photographic souvenir album.
I hope you like it.
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~The Shortest Day by Susan Cooper~
And so the Shortest Day came and the year died
And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white world
Came people singing, dancing,
To drive the dark away.
They lighted candles in the winter trees;
They hung their homes with evergreen;
They burned beseeching fires all night long
To keep the year alive.
And when the new year's sunshine blazed awake
They shouted, revelling...
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| Looking to the past...to my favorite house in the Village for the last time until April~~ |
Patty and I have been going to Christmas at Greenfield Village since 1983, when it was just a dinner at the Eagle Tavern and a lantern lit walk back to the front. They had no other nighttime activities - to see historical Christmas decorations in the homes was strictly a daytime event. And the nighttime Eagle Tavern meal was only one night, not multiple nights like it is today, and that meal was outrageously priced at around twenty buck a plate (yes, I am being facetious here).
Well...now-a-days that's almost like a trip to McDonalds, though at the time it was pretty expensive, but my then girlfriend (and now wife) was worth spending all that money on.
It's been since 2011 that we've done the Eagle Tavern Christmas dinner thing - - methinks we should try and do it again one year.
No matter, for this year I was able to go to Holiday Nights twice - once on December 14th with Patty, who has been my wife for going on 40 years, along with another couple. But, I also went back two weeks later, on December 28 - the last date Greenfield Village was open until mid-April 2025: three and a half months from now. And the temperatures felt spring-like - I believe it reached 57 degrees that day!
For the second adventure I was with my friends Jennifer and Amy, and the three of us went while wearing our 1770s clothing. This is something we've been doing for, well, this is the third year for the three of us.
And we have a great time - - - - the following is a combination of those two visits:
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| Standing in the yard of Cotswold, we can see the Daggett House and the Farris Windmill behind me. |
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| Here I am with Bob Jacobs awaiting to enter the hallowed gates of Greenfield Village. I don't know for certain, but I may have had a slight influence on him to dress in period clothing, as we see him in his Victorian finest. A friend called us Milton Bradley and Paul Revere. |
For the most part, this week's post follows a sort of timeline, but the moon was also a focal point for me as well as we toured about Greenfield Village. The moon shots were taken on December 14, and 99% of the moon's nearside was illuminated on that night---the full moon actually began on the following night - December 15 - and that full moon was called "the cold moon."
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| As we moved, we came upon the Village Green and the beautifully lit Martha-Mary Chapel. And, of course, the large electrically lit outdoor Christmas Tree. This is not necessarily a part of my timeline here - just a great scene I caught digitally. There's a moon in the sky called the moon! |
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| The 1832 Ackley Covered Bridge is electrically all lit up in a way that those who built it nearly 200 years ago could not ever imagine. And that's why it, too, is not a part of the timeline. |
But something magical was in the air that night - - a sort of time-space vortex - - -
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And then we found ourselves in the American colonies, shortly before the American Revolution.
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| The clouds almost gave the moon a sort of tail. There's the Giddings House, all lit as if there was a party going on. A mid-18th century kinda party~ |
So here we are in 1774 in colonial America, and December 31st (New Year's Eve), & the first of January (New Year’s Day) were both considered major holidays, rivaling, and even, in many instances, over-taking Christmas, for there were a number of religious denominations, such as Congregationalists (the faith to which the Giddings belonged) who disapproved of Christmas because of its blending of Paganism with Christianity. But these same folk happily and publicly celebrated the coming of the New Year, and so for many in the Protestant populace it was a much bigger and, for them, joyous holiday. And, yes, they did have New Year's Eve parties, not unlike today in so many ways; family and friends would gather to enjoy each other's company, eat food, and play games.
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| Both Jenny & I brought our own lanterns - we prepared to head inside. |
And then we went inside this wonderful upper class 18th century home - - -
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| As soon as you enter the front door, to the left we see a well-kept room. Here is the Giddings' "best room" - the room to reflect their wealth. These rooms were seldom used except for important rituals like Christening receptions, weddings, and funerals. Or perhaps New Year's gatherings. It was a place to assemble and display one's most expensive household furnishings, entertain distinguished guests, and observe whatever degree of social ritual was appropriate for one's rank and station. |
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| From where I am standing, there is plexiglass preventing anyone from entering the room. Unfortunately, my cravat, or neckcloth, had come undone...I had no idea. |
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| We were kindly greeted by Anne as we entered the sitting room. |
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| Anne was dressed in her New Year's finery, for, like the Daggetts, the Giddings were Congregationalists and did not celebrate Christmas, though they did celebrate the coming of the New Year. |
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| On average (remember, I wrote “average”) most Colonial homes would have needed at least 40 cords of wood for heating and cooking over the course of a year. A cord of wood is technically 128 cubic feet...or, roughly, a stack of wood 4 feet wide, 4 feet high, and 8 feet long - very similar to a "rick" of wood. |
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| And it would not only be just one variety of wood – there would be different varieties to be used for the different needs and types of cooking as well as for heating. The types of wood used for heating the home during the cold months, given the choice, a farmer may have chosen oak, black locust, and/or maple, should these tree varieties be accessible. It was the hardwood that gave off the best and longest-lasting heat. |
Chopping wood was not simply going out with an axe – there was a purpose for each piece cut.
A large family recorded in a journal that they burned forty four cords of wood within a one year period in a house with seven fireplaces, a bake oven, and two chimneys.
The Giddings House has six fireplaces, all using a single central chimney.
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| Deb, me, and Jenny~ |
Generally, candles were lit only during the nighttime hours, and sparingly so. Artificial light in the 18th century was truly a luxury. People were used to working by daylight while indoors, so lighting a candle when the sun was up was rare. It was customary for folks to move from room to room to get the most out of the day's light. According to one of the chandlers I spoke to at Colonial Williamsburg, a typical middle class home in the 1750's could go through nearly 500 to 700 candles a year. And that may even be a conservative amount for some. For those with means, such as the Giddings family, the amount of candles used would only go up from there.
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| Jenny standing on the opposite end of the best room~ |
Being this was a New Year's celebration, the Giddings' hired a couple of chocolateers to make a favorite drink for the party.
Chocolate was quite the treat for the New Year's celebrations in some households as well. Chocolate remained exclusively a drink until the mid-19th century when advertisements for solid eating chocolate first appeared.
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| Here, inside the Giddings' kitchen, we see a couple of chocolateers working their craft and explaining the importance and fondness of this treat to the colonists. |
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| Chocolate was initially a treat for the wealthy, but soon was available to the every man. But not every man could afford to hire chocolateers for a party! |
Benjamin Franklin sold locally produced chocolate in his Philadelphia print shop. In 1739, he was selling bibles and other books, pencils, ink, writing paper, and "very good chocolate."
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| Oh, how I wish I could taste a sample! |
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| My friend Amy - - |
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| I caught Amy & Jennifer through the window~ |
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| Amy & Jenny - I see an 18th century New England-style church... |
We'll remain in the 18th century for a bit longer, and visit the Daggett House - my favorite house inside Greenfield Village. It's a bit quieter over there.
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| For me, Samuel Daggett, his family and his life, just seems to fit the criteria of me if I had lived back in those mid-18th century days. (Though I probably would have celebrated Christmas lol) |
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| Dawn was one of the presenters inside Daggett this evening. |
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| My lantern to light my way. |
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| My friend Jennifer~ |
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| Here is the table in the great hall - a wonderful scene from the 1760s. |
My camera...yeah, I'm ready to throw it in the street! I bought it on the premise that it would take good nighttime pictures without a flash, and sometimes it does. But too often it doesn't - it's either blurry or it just won't take.
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| Here is a shot of Dawn and I - you can barely make us out. |
However, luckily for me, Ed had his camera ready (though he used a flash):
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| (from left): Jenny (living historian), Catherine (Daggett presenter), me (living historian), Dawn (Daggett presenter), and Amy (living historian)~ the 18th century lives! |
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| Here is Catherine in the kitchen. We tried a group shot---no go. My camera sucks. No wonder why people are going more and more to phone cameras. |
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| Dawn adds wood to the fire...if you can see her. |
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| Of course, the outdoors during nighttime hours would not be quite so bright, but the Village was lit up like a...well...like a Christmas Tree. |
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| One interesting tradition in England that I imagine could have happened here in America as well, was when the hands of the clock approached the hour of midnight, the head of the family would rise, go to the front door, open it wide, and would hold it open until the last stroke of midnight had died away. |
Having let the Old Year out and the New Year in, he shuts the door quietly and returns inside.
Did this happen here in America? It would not surprise me, though I have no primary source to prove it.
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| Perhaps Amy may be wondering, "Who knows what 1775 may bring…?" |
Well---we do - - -
Here is a reminder: April 18, 1775 was the night of the famous ride of Paul Revere, and April 19 saw the 1st major battle of the American Revolution: Lexington & Concord. Not long after came the Battle of Bunker Hill. The rest, as they say, is history, and a few of us have tipped our toes in it.
The Daggetts, though not playing a major role, were alive at the time and aware of the news and occurrences.
And so here we are - - this new year of 2025 will be the 250th anniversary of the very beginning of the American Revolutionary War – that War of independence.
I remember the celebrations of the Bicentennial well, and I hope to make the most of the 250th, called the Semiquincentennial.
I hope you will, too.
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A flaming good time at the Daggett House on the last evening for Holiday Nights -- December 28, 2024! The fire is coming from the cresset...not the house (thank God) lol A cresset is a metal cup or basket, often mounted to or suspended from a pole, containing oil, pitch, a rope steeped in rosin, or something else flammable that could burn for a while without much care. Cressets were burned as a light or beacon. |
There's always activity taking place along this back portion of the Porches & Parlors part of the Village for Holiday Nights. Some of this activity, just like our own American and world history, centered on the various wars, for it's with such notable events - whether war, an assassination, coronation of a king or queen, election of a president, or even in our more modern times, the moon landing and the 9-11 attacks - that mankind can distinguish any one year or period from all the others. The perception in the passing of time meant little to most people of long ago, and only few were even aware of any physical differences between the years and even decades.
So, events can easily designate our focus.
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| Though not soldiers, the men here make up the 1st Michigan Fife & Drum Corps of the Revolutionary War period (1770s) performing in front of the Daggett Home. Being that Congregationalists were considered to be a "direct descendant" (so to speak) of the puritans, and knowing the puritan history with England being as it was (not very good), the Daggetts, naturally, sided with the Patriots in the Revolutionary War. So perhaps that's why Sam Daggett doesn't mind them performing on his land. As long as they do not play Christmas music - remember: Congregationalists do not celebrate Christmas! |
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| In this wonderfully shadows of the past photo taken by Jen Julet, the darkened images of the fife & drummers seem to be etched into the stones of the Farris Windmill. |
From the 1700s we'll move into the next century - the 1800s:
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| "My! How the world is changing! This pathway through time is very interesting as it leads us into the future!" |
Up next we'll stroll past the Webster House - -
There was a growing line of people to get in, so we passed on visiting.
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| Moon over Webster. Yes, this is the home Noah Webster, the "forgotten founding father," who had it built back in 1822. |
Webster was the Founding Father who also helped define American culture.
While teaching in Goshen, New York, in 1782, Webster became dissatisfied with texts for children that ignored the American culture, and he began his lifelong efforts to promote a distinctively American education. He is remembered specifically for his blue-backed speller and the leading role he played in the creation of an American dictionary.
But not only did he fight for an American language, he also fought for copyright laws, universal education, and the abolition of slavery.
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| It's like I blinked my eyes and found myself in the 1840s! |
Just to keep this in some sort of a timeline order, we'll jump up from 1822 to the 1840s and visit the actual building - the Logan County Courthouse - where Abraham Lincoln once practiced law
Henry Ford spared no expense restoring this structure when he brought it to Greenfield Village in the fall of 1929: even the original plaster was preserved, having it reground with new plaster and included in the restoration.
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| However, for Christmas---for Holiday Nights---the interior takes on a different look, a different feel, and looks and sounds very festive and merry. |
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Lit only by candles and...
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| Looks like Amy has an 18th century idea - instead of a light bulb she has a candle above her head (lol) - aren't reflections wonderful when you can capture them?? |
In our timeline, we'll move into about 1844 to the time Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" was first printed in the United States ('twas a year earlier in England).
I'm not sure how long Greenfield Village has had The Magic Lantern Show, for I never took the time to check it out, but after watching the movie "The Man Who Invented Christmas," where there was a scene when Dickens' father entertained his grandkids and others with such an item. it clicked with me--"Hey! Wow---I just saw this in the movie!"---so, as I moved passed I made special note they had one here at Greenfield Village and to come back to see it in action!
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| Magic lantern shows were a popular form of entertainment and education before the invention of movies. |
In fact, The magic lantern was invented in the 1600s and was a common sight in European courts and festivals. The shows combined projected images with live narration and music.
Magic lantern shows grew in popularity, and were a staple of entertainment in the 19th and early 20th centuries. They were performed in theaters, churches, schools, and even homes (as seen in "The Man Who Invented Christmas").
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| The Magic Lantern used here was a replication of an original from, I'm guessing, the mid-19th century. |
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| The technology behind magic lanterns evolved over time, with limelight and kerosene lamps replacing candles as the light source. Seeing an earlier show with a candle would be pretty cool. |
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| Our Master of Ceremony did a fine job with his rendition of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" It was really well done - very enjoyable. ~(If you look close, you can see the Ghost of Christmas Present)~ |
Now let's move over to the McGuffey School where we find Civil War soldiers in winter quarters.
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| Winter encampment for Union soldiers of the Civil War. Often, soldiers would requisition a building, such as a school house, to stay in during the cold, harsh winters. |
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| And there would be the four walls, a floor, a roof, and usually some sort of a stove or fireplace for warmth and protection. |
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Both Tom (above) and Doug (below) are veteran Civil War reenactors and know how to capture and hold groups of people well.
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| Those in the lower ranks, however, may not always have such protection as the men inside the school house. |
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| My son, Robbie, also took part. |
Since we are in the Civil War period, let's jump over to the 1858/59 Smiths Creek Depot, and visit Holiday Home Front During The Civil War~
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| A train depot built near Port Huron, Michigan in 1858/59 also felt the pain of the Civil War just a few years later~ |
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| Portraying a member of the Ladies Aid Society, Larissa is an amazing living historian. She does three different periods in time: Revolutionary War, Civil War, and WWII. |
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| Larissa prepares the packages to be sent to loved ones off fighting in the south... |
Ladies' aid societies or soldiers' aid societies were organizations of women formed during the American Civil War that were dedicated to providing supplies to soldiers on the battlefield and caring for sick and wounded soldiers. Many were formed right after the war began in April of 1861.
By Christmas of 1863, the ladies at home offered the opportunity to remember: to remember absent family members or remember what those present family members had done.
Wherever they lived and however they celebrated Christmas, home front civilians’ celebrations often revolved around family and those memorable moments of stockings hung by the fireplace or Christmas dinners with everyone gathered round… but a few vacant chairs reminding keeping the war ever-present in their minds.
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| Every once-in-a-while my camera will capture "actual" period lighting, and show just how dark the world of 1863 could be. |
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| In the family parlor there in the depot, off limits to the public then, as now, the family of the station master that lives there are ready to enjoy, as best as they can, a Christmas in 1863. |
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| Soon it was time for us to venture back out into the crisp December weather... |
...and move ahead in time to that centennial year of 1876, where we can step inside the farm home in which the founder of the feast was born and grew up in - - - -
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| - - - Henry Ford! |
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| If you look closely (sorry about the colorization), but you can make out the red, white, and blue decorations on the tabletop Christmas Tree, including small flags. This was the Centennial, after all. And now we're coming up to the semiquincentennial (250th!). |
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| 1876 Christmas treats! |
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| Sadly, Henry Ford's mother did not live long enough to witness and celebrate the nation's centennial - she passed away on May 29th of that year, reportedly from complications related to childbirth, so Christmas of '76 may have seen aunts come to help. |
Again, we'll move forward in time to the 1880s where we can travel by horse and wagon to pay another Christmas visit:
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| Something different this year was the horse and wagon ride. Now, the ride itself isn't new, but the location of it has. |
Instead of trotting through the streets where many of the older houses are, this time riders get to move down the dirt road that leads to Firestone Farm, move past the farm, which is lit from the outside, and able to see a lit Christmas Tree shining through the curtains, then continue along the dirt road to the Liberty Craftworks area.
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| Moving toward the Firestone Farm House. |
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| Lights in the 2nd floor windows and tree lights in the formal parlor window. |
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| There must be a Christmas Party going on---an 1885 Christmas party at that! |
This change up is nice, and it helps to give us a glimpse into a more rural past, though the ride doesn’t stop – we continue to move onward. It is my hope this might bring us closer to eventually having the farmhouse open for Christmas once again, where we can see the decorations inside the house as we once were able to many years ago.
Hey! I have an idea: how about the carriage stops right in front of the house, let’s us off to go inside to be greeted by the Firestone workers, get a presentation on an 1880s farm house Christmas celebration, and then be picked up by another horse & cart to take us over to Liberty Craftworks? Just a thought I hope will be considered.
Either way, this is a good change, one that I enjoyed and snapped this picture as we unloaded.
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| Liberty Craftworks was where we were left off. |
Okay, let's continue eking our way into the future - - -
So...welcome to the turn-of-the-20th Century:
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| This was taken upon entry on the first night we went, December 14. We were lucky indeed, for the very next day there was an all-day rain. But not on this night: we had a clear sky to see the near-full moon, and the temps were in the mid-to-upper 30s, which was much better than the bitter cold teens we had the week before. Here we are strolling toward the "business district" circa 1903, the moon guiding us.
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Heading in to the 1910s, we can visit the Canadian home once belonging to the Grandparents of Thomas Edison:
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| Sam was our greeter when we stepped in. |
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| The smell of Christmas dinner and desserts wafted through the house. Christmas past come to life! |
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| A Christmas goose was roasting in the fancy oven they had, and cookies were made and decorated. |
We'll move forward in time just a couple years to 1914 and to another major historical event: The Great War (WWI).
There was a wonderful World War One presentation in the Cotswold Cottage barn and stable, built in England around 1620 - possibly earlier.
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| There's a moon out tonight.... I must say, I very much enjoyed the WWI presentation - I've never seen it before - sadly this scenario only takes place during the first couple weeks of Holiday Nights. The reenactors were inside the Cotswold Barn, which is over 400 years old. It was originally built in England and brought over to Michigan and Greenfield Village in 1930 by Henry Ford. |
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| Let's take a peak inside - - - This is the perfect architecture to show a war that took place in Europe. If you look closely, you can see a Christmas Tree all set up and decorated. |
The United States entered World War I on April 6, 1917. On that same day, John Mott, General Secretary of the International Committee of North American YMCAs, informed President Wilson that the YMCA would help provide services for the military forces.
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| The YMCA conducted its war work with soldiers in training camps and troop trains in the United States as well as in Europe, providing recreation, library services, bible study, and religious services. |
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| The YMCA provided a variety of services to soldiers during World War I, including Christmas celebrations, and helped to keep their morale high. The YMCA provided Christmas goodies to soldiers, such as cigars, coffee, and cake. |
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| A few of the accoutrements the soldiers used during The Great War. |
In the picture below here, we have Greenfield Village presenter and historic WWI reenactor, John Sproul, telling the story of the Christmas truce of 1914.
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| John Sproul telling of the Christmas Truce of 1914. Thank you, sir. |
The Christmas Truce, which took place during The Great War (eventually to be known as World War One) in the far north-west of Belgium known as Yser Front (part of No Man’s Land) happened on Christmas Eve in 1914 and continued into the following Christmas Day. It was at this time the soldiers themselves stopped the war for Christmas Eve. The Germans actually initiated it; the Brits went along. First the men gathered up the bodies of their fallen comrades and buried them; priests put on their white stoles and administered last rites to the dead. White crosses were erected and Scottish Highlanders played their bagpipes. Once the survivors completed the burial rituals, the men decided to celebrate the holiday with a soccer game.
According to records, the Germans won the game. Then chocolates, wine, beer, and schnapps were shared by all. British and German soldiers crawled out of their trenches, shook hands, and sang Christmas songs together. Along with German and English songs, of course, "Silent Night, Holy Night" also resounded across the ghostly tranquility of the battlefield.
This truce lasted 24 hours. It is hard to believe it even happened. But the events are preserved with letters, journals, and diaries of those who experienced it all, and it is also in war records.
When commanders of both armies heard about this outrageous peace transgression, they made sure something like this would never happen again.
And here is another WWI Christmas 1914 story:
Mary, Princess Royal, was a member of the British royal family. She was the only daughter of King George V and Queen Mary, the sister of kings Edward VIII and George VI, and aunt of Elizabeth II. In the First World War, she performed charity work in support of servicemen and their families.
The Princess Mary Gift Fund box is an embossed brass box that originally contained a variety of items such as tobacco and chocolate. It was intended as a Christmas present to those serving at Christmas in 1914 and was paid for by a public fund backed by Princess Mary.
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| It was Princess Mary's express wish that "every sailor afloat and every soldier at the front" should have the present. The gifts were devised in October 1914 and intended for distribution to all who were serving overseas or at sea, in time for Christmas 1914. |
Most of us who reenact the past, no matter which period in time, go to extremes - bills be damned! - to get the historic accessories and look we want or need to show and tell history, such as what you see here. It's these little sidelines that add life and adds "color" to the past.
Thank you again, John, for showing us this bit of history.
I am not very familiar with most of the history of The Great War, though some of the movies I've watched have piqued my interest, especially "Joyeux Noel," an excellent filmed version of the 1914 Christmas Truce (though not wholly accurate---but does tell the story), and the amazing "They Shall Not Grow Old," a Peter Jackson film where much of the original actual footage taken during that war was colorized and restored using modern production techniques for its use in the film, and also includes sound effects and voice actors, which were added to the silent footage to bring the past alive. The film's narration was edited from interviews with British WWI veterans from the collections of the BBC and the IWM (Imperial War Museum).
The vignette here at Greenfield Village is like seeing both of those movies in person---and better.
And right next door we jump up about 20 years to World War Two:
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| The small wooden gate here lead us to the Cotswold Cottage itself, where we are in the midst of World War Two. |
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| The Cotswold Cottage may have been built over 400 years ago, but inside it is the... |
...1940s - 1944---during the War---the 2nd World War!
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| Gigi was our first presenter as we stepped in. It was a nice surprise to see her here.
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I remember bringing my mother to see the WWII scenario about a decade and a half ago and she very much enjoyed it, for it was "her time" she was seeing - a time she was in her teens. So I kid people when I see the reenacting ladies by sometimes telling them they're my mother and her sisters incarnate.
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| Jillian and Meg (above) - both World War Two living historians. These girls know how to present and live history! Aside from their reenactments, they, too, also do their WWII thing at Motor Muster |
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| On the left we have Peter, who not only reenacts WWII, but the Civil War as well. Next we have someone I don't know (sorry), and then Jillian, and Meg on the right. Like the World War I program right next door, this is WWII come to life. I believe my deceased father, who was a veteran of WWII (Okinawa) would have been quite impressed with this group (plus Gigi). Their dedication to accuracy and authenticity of the War years in the early 1940s is to be admired. |
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| I see Santa Claus on the top porch of the home that poet Robert Frost once lived in, back in the 1920s. It almost looks like the moon is shining on Santa! |
I sent a comment to The Henry Ford suggesting that they might want to do a timeline history of Santa Claus...and to keep it from becoming over-bearing, perhaps center mostly on Santa's history in America, from the Dutch tradition of Sinterklaas to St. Nicholas to the Washington Irving version to the Clement C. Moore version to the Thomas Nast version through the 20th century right through the Coca Cola version.
A history of his name as well. For instance, the first mention of Santa Claus alongside of St. Nicholas is from the late 18th century: "The first written citation for “Santa Claus” does not appear in the U.S. until the late 18th century, where it was alluded to in a mention of a religious event in the New York Gazette: “Last Monday the Anniversary of St. Nicholas, otherwise called St. A Claus, was celebrated at Protestant-Hall.”
Still, before the 1830s, the substitution of Santa Claus for St. Nick was not in frequent use. In fact, prior to vastly increasing in general popularity toward the latter half of the 1800s, its use earlier that century was often to invoke Dutch heritage and culture.
(from "How Santa Claus Got His Name")
And contrary to what you may have seen or heard, "Father Christmas" was never an American name - it is British.
Something cool happened for me this year:
last summer I was asked if one of my photos that was taken years ago could be used for The Henry Ford's Christmas gifts catalog. Of course, I said "yes."
Then...I forgot about it. Until someone mentioned it to me...
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| Here is the cover of the catalog. |
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| The funny thing is I flipped through the catalog without noticing. It wasn't until someone on one of the Greenfield Village fan pages noticed it and posted about it, bringing it to my attention. |
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| Here---let's get a little closer. See it now? Like the Wright Brothers, I am an amateur photographer, but I tried to capture a modern image of their photo, as if I went back in time to visit them - same angle - just a bit further back as to get the curtains. I am pretty geeked at this. |
Wouldn't that be awesome?
However---my Christmas-past celebrations continue on. I have yet to celebrate Christmas with some of my 1860s reenacting friends this season; yes, that is coming up soon. And so is my 18th century Christmas celebration with my colonial and Rev War friends!
The season continues on...
I pray for blessings and good tidings to you and your kin for this coming New Year. May God be with you for your every step.
Amen.
As for me - - -
Oh, let the sun beat down upon my face
And stars fill my dream
I am a traveler of both time and space
To be where I have been
To sit with elders of the gentle race
This world has seldom seen
They talk of days for which they sit and wait
All will be revealed
(opening lyrics from Led Zeppelin's Kashmir)
Until next time, see you in time.
HERE is a posting on a Colonial Christmas
HERE is a posting on a Victorian Christmas
HERE is a posting on 18th century New Year's celebration
Thank you to Amy Pempeit, Jennifer Long, Emily Marchetti, Jen Julet, Chris Robey, Ed Davis, and my wife, Patty, for taking some of these amazing pictures.
Thank you to Amy Pempeit, Jennifer Long, Emily Marchetti, Jen Julet, Chris Robey, Ed Davis, and my wife, Patty, for taking some of these amazing pictures.
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