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Christmas Fun
By Susan Olling
I’ve been trying to ignore the news. So, let’s take a couple
of leisurely drives to enjoy some Christmas cheer.
A twenty-two-year old tradition in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania occurs on
the second Friday in December: the Tuba Carol Fest in front of the
Gettysburg Hotel. Despite the name, all low bass horns are found
in this choir We first attended several years ago and have seen
the number of musicians increase each year. There were
seventy-four representatives of the low brass family in this year’s
concert. The event starts at 7:00, but the audience begins to
assemble at about 6:30. You want to find a good place to watch
(and listen) as well as to enjoy a cup of the delicious hot chocolate,
with or without marshmallows, that the hotel provides. (Who’s
going to say no to marshmallows in hot chocolate?
Scandalous.) You can sing along or simply enjoy a choir of
low brass. The horns have become more decorated, and Santa hats
abound. One lovely lady was wearing a fur coat and a very
tasteful non-Santa hat. She appeared underdressed compared to
what was standing next to her: a rather tall elf. Twenty of
the musicians were from two of the local school districts.
Various musicians are recognized. Two gentlemen drove
three-and-one-half hours from West Virginia to participate.
The oldest musician was seventy-eight. The youngest were two
seventh graders. The best decorated baritone was covered with
tinsel. The best decorated tuba had Santa falling into the bell
of the horn. Three high schoolers played the best decorated
sousaphones. The kids put Christmas paper over the bells of the
horns, and “Ho” was “written” in ribbon on each of the three
bells. Just as the number of musicians has increased each year,
so has the size of the audience. Mr. History said the crowd went
all the way to the Christmas tree in the center of the square.
In past years, we’ve driven home right after the concert. This
year, we stayed at the Lightner Farmhouse. Built in 1862, it was
a hospital after the battle in July 1863.
Christmas was celebrated differently in the eighteenth
century. No Christmas trees; that was a nineteenth
century development. Thank you, Reverend Minnigerode. No
Christmas lists from the younger members of the family. Sorry,
kids, they didn’t get presents. The season was celebrated
starting 25 December and ending twelve days later on
Epiphany. There was quite a bit of visiting during this
period, and it wasn’t unusual for a wedding or two to occur.
George Washington and Martha Dandridge Custis were married on Epiphany,
06 January 1759.
We’ve been to Colonial Williamsburg in December a number of times, but
Mount Vernon offers a nice break from the crowds down in the Historic
Triangle at Christmas. We went to Farmer Washington’s home on
Saturday. Mr. Washington spent eighteen shillings one Christmas
to bring a camel to Mount Vernon. A ten-year-old dromedary,
a one-humped camel, named Aladdin has been making an appearance at
Mount Vernon for eight years now. He’s one of the stars during
the month of December. Visitors used to be able to go up close to
this character, but he has a tendency to grab hats and scarves.
Now, there’s some space between us and Aladdin. There was a
program about camels on Saturday morning. Camels are not
the cleanest of animals, and their breath is worse than dog
breath. Camels have two sets of eye lashes, and their ears have
quite a bit of fur in and around them. Gotta keep the sand
out. Aladdin lives further out in Northern Virginia where his
best buddy is a zebra. Evidently Aladdin was experiencing
separation anxiety when he got to Mount Vernon this year. He was
chewing on the fences. He doesn’t like the illuminations
(eighteenth century term for fireworks) that are shot off during the
month of December.
No visit to Mount Vernon is complete without a tour of the
Mansion. The Blue Bedroom recently reopened after
restoration. Beautiful result. The house used to be
rusticated with sand which gave a bright white color to the
exterior. The house had been originally rusticated with crushed
sandstone from a quarry in Southside Virginia. When it was time
to re-rusticate the Mansion, sandstone from the same quarry was
used. A hedgehog (a marzipan and almond dessert), a Great Cake
(one of the General Washington’s favorites), and other eighteenth
century goodies were on the table in the New Room.
There were chocolate making demonstrations in the afternoon.
Eighteenth century folk loved chocolate. The chocolate beverage
they drank was a bit different than what we’re used to. They
used no milk, just the melted chocolate. Depending on your
recipe, you might add vanilla or spices like cinnamon, cloves, or
cayenne pepper (gives a good kick to the drink).
Thanks for reading these contributions. Merry Christmas to all.
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