Colonial Williamsburg Christmas

Celebrating Classic Traditions and the Spirit of the Holiday

The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

“Christmas is come, hang on the pot,

Let spits turn round, and ovens be hot;

Beef, pork, and poultry, now provide,

To feast thy neighbours at this tide;

Then wash all down with good wine and beer,

And so with mirth conclude the YEAR.”

So wrote an anonymous poet in the 1765 edition of the Virginia Almanack, published in Williamsburg. Drawing on eighteenth-century traditions, Colonial Williamsburg has become famous for its celebrations of the Christmas season. In Colonial Williamsburg’s Historic Area—and in the pages of this lavishly illustrated book—you’ll find wreaths and roping crafted from greenery, fruit, and other natural materials; boards groaning under the weight of holiday fare; cressets warming the streets and candles flickering in the windows of the town’s homes and taverns; fireworks lighting up such iconic buildings as the Capitol and the Governor’s Palace. In colonial times and today, Christmas in Williamsburg not a day but a season—and one this book lets you experience throughout the year.

Globe Pequot

Pages: 192 • Trim: 8¼ x 10½

978-1-4930-4451-1 • Hardback • September 2021 • $29.95 • (£22.99)

978-1-4930-4452-8 • eBook • September 2021 • $28.50 • (£21.99)

Subjects: Photography / Subjects & Themes / Celebrations & Events

Colonial Williamsburg Christmas

Celebrating Classic Traditions and the Spirit of the Holiday

Hardback

eBook

Summary

“Christmas is come, hang on the pot,

Let spits turn round, and ovens be hot;

Beef, pork, and poultry, now provide,

To feast thy neighbours at this tide;

Then wash all down with good wine and beer,

And so with mirth conclude the YEAR.”

So wrote an anonymous poet in the 1765 edition of the Virginia Almanack, published in Williamsburg. Drawing on eighteenth-century traditions, Colonial Williamsburg has become famous for its celebrations of the Christmas season. In Colonial Williamsburg’s Historic Area—and in the pages of this lavishly illustrated book—you’ll find wreaths and roping crafted from greenery, fruit, and other natural materials; boards groaning under the weight of holiday fare; cressets warming the streets and candles flickering in the windows of the town’s homes and taverns; fireworks lighting up such iconic buildings as the Capitol and the Governor’s Palace. In colonial times and today, Christmas in Williamsburg not a day but a season—and one this book lets you experience throughout the year.

Details

Globe Pequot

Pages: 192 • Trim: 8¼ x 10½

978-1-4930-4451-1 • Hardback • September 2021 • $29.95 • (£22.99)

978-1-4930-4452-8 • eBook • September 2021 • $28.50 • (£21.99)

Subjects: Photography / Subjects & Themes / Celebrations & Events

Author

The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation operates the world’s largest living history museum, the restored eighteenth-century capital of Virginia. In Colonial Williamsburg’s Historic Area, you can see hundreds of restored, reconstructed, and historically furnished buildings, and you can meet the men and women—black, white, and Native American, enslaved and free—who built a nation.

Colonial Williamsburg Christmas

Celebrating Classic Traditions and the Spirit of the Holiday

The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

Colonial Williamsburg Christmas

Celebrating Classic Traditions and the Spirit of the Holiday

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