A Christmas by Candlelight

This year, my sister-in-law, Missy, surprised us with tickets to see "A Christmas by Candlelight" at Old Sturbridge Village. I laughed at the serendipity as this was something I wanted to do for a while--in fact, we just had a family trip to Old Sturbridge Village during the summer with my cousins Billy, Vincent, Jamie, and Crystal!

Christmas by Candlelight takes us back in time to a festive 1830s New England village, with glowing lanterns, costumed interpreters and storytellers, Christmas music, and delicious treats (from mulled cider and hot cocoa to maple and gingerbread cookies).

When we first arrived, they gave us a map and an itinerary. For example, in the church, they played festive music on a romantic guitar, harp, and flute; in another building, they hosted a magic show; and still, in another building, they offered miniature train displays. Other structures, such as individual residences or the general store, featured themed storytellers who taught us how to make crafts or handed out homemade, tasty treats. (I enjoyed the baked treats the most--I wondered if they would mind if I kept on visiting the same house over and over again to continue getting those yummy gingerbread cookies. My family wouldn't let me find out. In fact, one thing I learned is that when you're sightseeing with a bunch of teenagers, be prepared to walk quickly. This was not a group interested in quiet, peaceful strolling.)

It was a chilly night, but not nearly as cold as when we would take the kiddos to Santa's Village in New Hampshire. Most of us wore hats, scarves, and gloves with handwarmers tucked inside. My son, who feels perpetually warm, just wore a lined jacket. I was amazed at how warm his hands were without any gloves!

Overall, it was a special holiday outing with all of Lewie's cousins — the kind we used to have when they were younger and still believed in Santa. Nowadays, with Sarah in college and Lewie and Brooklynn in high school, it is hard to align everyone's schedules for a short trip. (We are discovering this with Lewie's friends, who now have jobs after school.) Instead of holding our kiddos' hands, making them wait in line to get a picture with Santa, our kiddos were leading the pack, chatting a mile per minute while we struggled to keep up. There was a line for Santa, but they unanimously decided to skip it. Conversations were no longer about Christmas and wondering what Santa might leave under the tree; instead, they were about internet memes, Netflix shows, or previous or current high school teachers. 

At one point, I fell behind the group, purposely wanting to take in this new era. I remember being a teenager, but my teenage years were so different from this generation, which was so different from the generation before, and the generation before that...  Indeed, we were trying to capture Christmas in the 1830s — a time before the internet, TV, phones, or even modern electricity. I just finished studying the history of higher education in the United States and learned that only two colleges existed in Connecticut at the time—Yale and Trinity—both established to expand their Congregational and Episcopal religious denominations, which were rivals. Residents of Old Sturbridge Village would have been Puritan (Congregational), and slavery would have been outlawed in their region by this time; however, in another 30 years, some residents would join the Union Army to fight the bloodiest and deadliest conflict in U.S. History, the Civil War.

My mind eventually returns to our present. The quieter, humbler Christmas of the 1830s has been replaced by one of haste, materialism, and capitalism. Instead of receiving a homemade wooden toy or an orange in a stocking, our children dream of plastic Lego sets or cell phones. Life is less physically taxing for us (few of us labor on farms or cook over stone hearths), but it is still as mentally taxing, perhaps more so, as we are constantly bombarded by advertisements and opinions across social media, the internet, TV, and everyday life. Yes, each generation has its own traditions and its own problems. Living in the 1830s was simpler but no easier with war looming. 

Today, I look back on our family time from a week ago and am so grateful for the unique experience of this generation. Life evolves, but memories exist, no matter the era.