Richard;

I believe many of the major historic sites, particularly Colonial
Williamsburg and Old Stursbridge Village, do special Christmas programs. I
am not aware of much in Canada as, frankly, it is usually too damned cold to
do this kind of programming! Fort Stanwix, in Rome NY, does a great deal of
programming based on the various special occasions of the year. Their period
(colonial) is different from yours, but you might get some ideas from them.
Also, Chris Dill, director of the state history museum in ND, who often
contributes to this list, might be able to tell you what they do or plan to
do at Fort Lincoln, across the river from his site, where the 7th Cavalry
was based, under some ex-Civil War brigadier general with long locks, whose
name I can't quite recall!

I'm afraid the Canadian garrison experience will not be of much help to you
as, during the period you are interpreting, our garrisons were almost all in
well-established cities and towns in the eastern part of the country - and
many of the customs associated with the festive season by our military are
quite different from yours. I would be happy to provide more details, but
don't know if it would be helpful.

One of our Christmas projects for the near future will be an exhibition
based around a Victorian Christmas in a military garrison, but, so far we
have done nothing to plan for it. Another possibility for us is a special
Christmas exhibition based on our very large collection of military
miniatures and toy soldiers.

My partner and I host a mid-Victorian Christmas dinner each year and I could
provide ideas from this, but I wonder how similar the diets might have been
to the 7th Infantry!

In any case, best of luck!

Harry

Harry Needham
Special Advisor - Programme Development
Canadian War Museum
330 Sussex Drive,
Ottawa, Canada
K1A 0M8
Voice: (819) 776-8612  Fax (819) 776-8623
Email: [log in to unmask]

> ----------
> From:         Richard A Fields[SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> Reply To:     Museum discussion list
> Sent:         Wednesday, November 25, 1998 3:22 PM
> To:   [log in to unmask]
> Subject:      1848 Christmas
>
> Hi List,
>     I am hoping someone out there can help me out.  The Fort Gibson
> Historic Site will be having an 1848 Candlelight Tour on Dec 11 & 12.
> On this tour we have about a dozen stops where we portray life in the
> 7th Infantry as they were stationed at Fort Gibson in 1848.  One of my
> staff pointed out to me that as it is so close to Christmas, we should
> try to incorporate some Christmas elements into the program.  I know
> Christmas in 1848 was celebrated differently than so today, but as it is
> so close to the event, I don't really have time to do an extensive
> study.  So I guess what I am asking is this, does anyone have any
> suggestions on how 1848 Christmas scenes might be incorporated into what
> is essentialy an 1848 military tour?  Do any of the historic house
> museums display this period and if so, do you have any suggestions?
> Thanks in advance for the consideration.
>             Richard Fields
>             Superintendent
>             Fort Gibson Historic Site
>             Fort Gibson, Oklahoma
>