Christmas in Colonial Williamsburg

The first time I visited Williamsburg as a child, the site included just two blocks of old buildings on a muddy street and admission was free. Nearby streets of historic buildings were closed to the public, pending preservation activities that can be seen in completion today. What a change a couple of decades have made!

Years ago, at the end of the two-block park, sat a train track on which we could visit one railroad car. In it was a display of silkworms spinning silk and this fascinated me. Aside from three volunteers in period costumes on the street and some small exhibits to view, this was the entirety of Colonial Williamsburg. Modern expansions have resulted in a whole city of Colonial U.S. culture and history, along with entertaining performances, merchants, tours, carriage rides, and even a Christmas Town.

Free shuttle busses run from 9:00am to 10pm daily, from the headquarters building to all points around the park. In addition, the park is ADA compliant and special accommodations can be made beyond the easy accessibility to many areas.

An official grand ball for all ages is held at the Governor’s Palace during December. Although period costumes are not required, visitors can dance and chat with folks in costume and listen to the Governor’s Musick Ensemble for an hour from either 7:00-8:00pm or 7:30-8:30pm during the first two Fridays in December.

The Governor’s Musick Ensemble also performs a Christmas concert at the House of Burgesses on Sundays.

Williamsburg supports an ongoing multi-million-dollar construction and archeological expansion, including two art museums since Spring 2017:

• Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum: 326 West Francis Street
  Williamsburg, VA 23185
• DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum: Same address.

Additional Arts Celebrations

• Annual arts festival called An Occasion for the Arts, held during the first week in October.
• Second Sundays: From March through December every year, street artists perform throughout Williamsburg.
• Virginia Arts Festival: Musical performances of all kinds from international guests are celebrated all year. www.vafest.org/

The first year that colonists arrived in what would become Massachusetts was a horror. It was hard for the colonists and hard for the local natives. A bit later, Myles Standish earned the white man's "Indian" name Wotowquenange, which means "cutthroat stabbers."

The Massachusetts settlement had no food or running water. The colonists brought no seed for crops, but they brought kegs of beer. Many died of disease, malnutrition, and hypothermia during the first winter. However, Williamsburg settlers fared better.

Reenactors Show How Williamsburg Succeeded

The first non-native settlers in Virginia eagerly caught fish, clams, and even whales. Soon, they could sell excess fish, whale oil, and whale blubber at fish markets that rose up on locally built docks. Folks also hunted, gathered, and farmed when they learned how, working about 12 - 14 hours a day. At the historic site, dozens of men, women, and young people reenact what it was like to live in early Williamsburg.

When colonists became farmers, they raised the crops of corn (maize), barley, wheat, tobacco, and rice. They took their crops to town on Saturdays to the weekly Farmers' Market, which we also now have today! They sold to fur traders, seamen, merchants, and others. Farmers also raised chickens, pigs, and cows. If they were fortunate, they had fruit trees.

At home, the women and girls spent all day baking bread, cooking, gathering food for natural sources, helping on the farm, sewing, making their own threads and wool and cotton yarns and cloth, etc. You an see all this happening inside the historic buildings.

The United States Park Service and the US States make available a large number of historical landmarks to the local American public and visitors. The National Registry of Historic Places, local registries, and a wealth of historical societies offer travelers a chance to see The Thirteen Colonies as they were in the 1600s and 1700s.

Along with commercial enterprises, all of these entities produce vacation theme parks, some with working farms and villages like Williamsburg that are interesting and fun to visit. Such a trip to even one of these places can provide insight into the daily life of the American colonists.

During November, December, and early January, the people of the town and national park that is Colonial Williamsburg celebrate American Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's, inviting travelers and local guests to attend gala dinners and parties in the style of the Colonies. It's a great way to spend Christmas.

Virginia is the first of the original colonies, and Colonial Williamsburg is a sound place to start when looking for daily colonial life and a traditional American Christmas.

For review, the Original 13 Colonies are listed below, along with their working farms and historic villages that operate to bring travelers back to the days before the American Revolution.

The 13 Colonies

1. Virginia Commonwealth, founded 1606
2. Massachusetts: 1620
3. New Hampshire: 1623
4. New Jersey: 1623
5. New York: 1624
6. Maryland: 1633
7. Rhode Island: 1636
8. Connecticut: 1636
9. Delaware: 1638
10. North Carolina: 1653
11. South Carolina: 1663
12. Pennsylvania: 1682
13. Georgia: 1732

Sources

• Brems, R. Step back in time at Colonial Williamsburg. Coshocton Tribune; November 20, 2018.
• City of Williamsburg, Virginia.
• Colonial Williamson at History.org.
• Routh, M.; Routh, K. It's time to remember what Colonial Williamsburg means. Virginia Gazette; November 24, 2018.
• The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation