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MAP & DIRECTIONS to Jamestown Settlement and Yorktown Victory Center.
Open daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Closed Christmas Day and New Year's Day.
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A Colonial Christmas
December 1 - 31, 2011
Jamestown Settlement &
Yorktown Victory Center
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“A Colonial Christmas” offers a glimpse of 17th- and 18th-century holiday traditions with special tours and interpretive programs and, from December 26 through 31, musical entertainment of the period. Songs and sounds of the season will be performed during the week by musicians on fiddle, guitar, fifes and drums, recorder, hurdy-gurdy, and pipe and tabor.
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| The Lord of Misrule makes daily appearances at 11 a.m., 2:30 and 4 p.m. in Jamestown Settlement's re-created fort. |
JAMESTOWN SETTLEMENT
At Jamestown Settlement, "A Jamestown Christmas" holiday film and special interpretive programs compare and contrast English Christmas customs of the period with how the season may have been observed in the difficult early years of America’s first permanent English colony. In England, the holiday season – extending from December 25 to January 6 – was a time of merriment and feasting. Little is known about Christmases at Jamestown, but it is likely there were few celebrations other than church services to mark the holiday. Learn more about Christmas in 17th-century England and Virginia.
Holiday-themed tours, beginning each day at 11 a.m. and 1 and 3 p.m., guide visitors through the museum’s outdoor interpretive areas. Learn about the English colonists’ Christmas at sea in December 1606, and the Powhatan Indian hospitality shown to Captain John Smith’s trading party in 1608 during a winter storm.
In the 1610-14 re-created fort, visitors can see wattle-and-daub buildings decorated with greenery. At 11 a.m., 2:30 and 4 p.m. daily, encounter the Lord of Misrule, an English tradition in which “grand captain of all mischief” and his followers progressed through town with riddles and revelry during the Christmas holiday. In the fort church, visitors can enjoy 17th-century holiday music at 11:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. December 26-31, including David Gardner playing fiddle December 26-28 and 31, Jim and Anna Holloway on recorder, hurdy-gurdy, and pipe and tabor December 29-30, and Jim Holloway on December 31.
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| Yorktown Victory Center historical interpreters set a holiday table at the re-created 1780s farm. |
YORKTOWN VICTORY CENTER
At the Yorktown Victory Center, hear accounts of Christmas and winter in military encampments during the American Revolution and glimpse holiday preparations on a 1780s farm.
Visitors to the Continental Army encampment can learn about winter camp life and hear accounts of Christmas during the war, as well as assist the quartermaster in preparing military supplies and, at 11:05 a.m. and 3:05 p.m. daily, observe artillery demonstrations.
At the clapboard farmhouse adorned with greenery, historical interpreters compare and contrast 18th-century holiday traditions with those of modern times and demonstrate a variety of holiday activities, including setting a farmhouse table for a holiday feast. Visitors can see open-hearth cooking in the farm kitchen and take part in candle-dipping activities.
From December 26 through 31, enjoy 18th-century musical entertainment in the farmhouse at 11:35 a.m. and 3:35 p.m. daily. Musical performers include members of the Fifes & Drums of York Town December 26-27, Dan Jackson on guitar and recorder December 28, 29 and 31, and David Gardner on fiddle December 30.
Jamestown Settlement and Yorktown Victory Center are open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily year-round, except for Christmas and New Year’s days. A History is Fun for the Holidays online combination ticket is $20.00 for adults and $10.00 for ages 6-12, offering a savings of 20% on individual admission. Children under 6 admitted free. Buy online and receive seven days of admission to both museums. Admission to Jamestown Settlement is $15.50 for adults and $7.25 for ages 6-12, and to the Yorktown Victory Center, $9.50 for adults and $5.25 for ages 6-12. Children under age 6 are free. Additional holiday ticket and package options are available online with Williamsburg area attractions.
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Administered by the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, an agency of the Commonwealth of
Virginia that is accredited by the American Association of Museums.
©Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, P.O. Box 1607, Williamsburg,
Virginia 23187-1607 (757) 253-4838 or toll-free (888)593-4682; fax (757)253-5299
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