An Old-Fashioned Yuletide Immerse Yourself In Christmas Past With A Trip To Colonial Williamsburg

When Colonial Williamsburg gets decked out for Christmas, it’s in full 18th-century regalia. The buildings wear garlands of green embellished with pineapples, pine cones, holly berries, and innumerable other fruits and decorations. From the apothecary to Christina Campbell’s Tavern - and all the private homes in between - Christmas at Williamsburg is as sincere a holiday celebration as you will find, unsullied by 20th century, or even 19th-century commercialization.

There are no Muzak versions of “Jingle Bell Rock” in this Virginia city. No Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. No sign of that 19th century innovation, the Christmas tree. And no nostalgia for the days of Currier and Ives. In the colonial period depicted, Currier and Ives haven’t been born.

But there is enough Christmas spirit to permeate the hard-crusted soul of even the most dour Scrooge. (Of course, Scrooge hasn’t been created yet, either.)

In the James Geddy House, frozen in the year 1770, holly trimmings surround picture frames and decorate the parlor mantle. Drop by for a visit as part of the regularly scheduled “Christmastide at Home” evening program. You might find James and Elizabeth Geddy and their daughters, Nancy and Mary, embroiled in the popular 18th century game of goose before breaking into a rousing rendition of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.”

If you get down to basics, Colonial Williamsburg folks celebrate Christmas in the same way as 1995 residents do, with music, social gatherings and feasting, feasting, feasting, just without the 20th-century frills.

Palate-teasing aromas suffuse the kitchens of Colonial Williamsburg most of the year, but especially in December. In the Wythe House, a young woman in smock and cotton dress stirs a sweet potato pudding as a fresh duck roasts on a spit. Stroll into the Wythe House dining room and you will encounter a table set for a winter epicurean repast: roast duck, Yorkshire Christmas pie, scalloped oysters, side dishes, and at each seat, a roll tucked inside a linen napkin.

Adorning the Christmas dinner table across the Palace Green at the Peyton-Randolph House is an enticing desert called a hedgehog. Shaped like the spiny little mammal for which it’s named, its body of almond paste is stuck with slivered blanched almonds to look like bristles while two currants resemble eyes.

Of the boiled turkey on the Peyton-Randolph House table, our guide says, “People then took pride in having their Christmas turkey come out white, so they put white oyster sauce on top. Anyone could make a brown turkey.”

Unfortunately, modern day laws prevent the offering of samples. For a taste of the 18th century, head to any of the village’s four taverns. Or - better yet - for a melange of entertainment and gluttony offered only at Christmas, reserve a seat at the early Virginia pig-out known as the groaning board. The name stems from the fact that the table supposedly groans from the weight of all the food.

Dip your sippets (bread sticks) into Virginia peanut soup and chow down on salmagundi, an 18th-century chef’s salad, while the Williamsburg Madrigal Singers belt out “Deck the Halls” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.” Savor Southern fried chicken as host Cliff Williams renders “A Coventry Carol” on his crooked-necked baroque lute and quips, “But it’s not a b-roke lute. The neck is meant to be bent.”

The main course, roast top sirloin of beef, is presented by waiters in step behind a marching fife and drum band. It also prompts Williams to tell the tale of the king who knighted his loin of meat, “Sir-Loin,” which causes a chorus of groans from the assembled diners.

With or without puns, the atmosphere is convivial and we chat easily with the other 20th-century visitors at our table comparing the day’s adventures or wondering aloud just what is figgy pudding? We also learn a gritty reality of colonial era dining. When my neighbor asks for a steak knife to replace a dull one, he is told, “This is the only kind we have. If you have trouble, I’ll try to find a sharper one. Back then they ate with their hands.”

Ready to prove that we in the 20th century are at least as adept with our feet, if not our hands, as our colonial counterparts, a few diners are encouraged but not forced to join the Williamsburg Dancers on stage in a Virginia reel.

More music is heard outdoors, and you can join in here, too. Carol sings are held in different locations, at the courthouse one night, the capitol or palace green the next. Or tag along on a nightly lantern tour (spell it “lanthorn” and you’ll pass as an expert) where a guide leads all by lantern light through the streets and into the homes. Then there is the daily Christmas decorations tour, affording a look at the care and symbolism of those luscious ornaments of garlands and pineapples you see on so many front doors.

You’ll also hear the truth. The front door decorations aren’t historically accurate. They are created solely for tourists’ benefit. But all are made from materials available in 18th-century Williamsburg, whose residents really did deck interior halls of their homes with garlands and greens. Honest.

Of course, work doesn’t stop during our modern Christmas season and it doesn’t stop in Colonial Williamsburg. The shops and houses on or around Duke of Gloucester Street are open on a rotating basis with nearly all accepting visitors daily. Learn why flipping your wig was a literal thing in the 19th century by meeting the village wig maker, or examine the fashionable hats and gloves on which the mop-hatted milliner is applying finishing touches.

Actually, you do have one chance to see a modern old-fashioned Christmas. Take your car to Carter’s Grove, a James River plantation, part of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation but eight miles from the historic district.

The Carter’s Grove sitting room is dominated by an 8-foot-high cedar Christmas tree with Tinkertoys and an electric train underneath, certain to jog the memories of those who can recall similar scenes from their own childhoods. The time here is not colonial America but 1940, when owner Archibald McCrea and his wife, Molly, began restoration of the plantation. The recorded carols by Bing Crosby will only reinforce the time frame.

Don’t be surprised to hear Der Bingle crooning over the classic 1930s radio in Carter’s Grove, “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” the same carol the Geddy family sang in their 1770 parlor. It’s been said the classics survive through the ages. A visitor here can only agree.

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: IF YOU GO To visit the historic buildings of Colonial Williamsburg, you must buy either a Patriot’s Pass (admission to all exhibits, $30 for adults, $18 for children 6-12) or a basic ticket (admission to most exhibits, $24 adults, $14 children). There is an extra charge to attend most Christmas events. It is best to reserve in advance, although tickets for frequent events can often be purchased upon arrival at the Visitor Center and the Greenhow Lumber House. To receive a schedule of events and a registration form, write to: Christmas Events Reservations Office, P.O. Box 1776, Williamsburg, VA., 23187; or call 800-501-0142. Lodging: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation owns and operates several types of lodging facilities ranging from the Williamsburg Inn ($249-$289 per room per night) to its 200-room hotel, The Governor’s Inn ($69-$80). One also has the chance to stay in several of Williamsburg’s colonial homes and taverns ($115-$250). Packages including lodging, guided tours, breakfasts and more are available. For lodging information and reservations, call 800-HISTORY. There are also the following independent bed and breakfasts, all within walking distance of the village: Applewood Colonial Bed and Breakfast, 605 Richmond Rd., 804-229-0205; Flemish bond brick style home with colonial decor and high poster beds, four rooms, full breakfast, $75-$120 per room. Liberty Rose Bed and Breakfast, 1022 Jamestown Rd., 804-253-1260; eclectic English and French colonial style house, all rooms decorated with Christmas trees from varied periods, four rooms (one with fireplace), full breakfast, $110-$180 per room. The Cedars, 616 Jamestown Rd., 804-229-3591; colonial revival building with antiques and reproductions, high poster beds, nine rooms and a cottage with a capacity of five, full breakfast, $95-$150 per room, $150-$275 cottage. For information call (800) 253-0192.