The History of Christmas Celebrations
I Took an Entertaining Tour at Historic Roscoe Village
A dried orange, like the ones I saw in decorations at an
exhibit, is hung by twine on an evergreen tree.
I dried oranges to make ornaments this Christmastime.
By Anna Krejci
Decorations around Christmastime complement the festive mood
of the holidays. This season I visited
Historic Roscoe Village and filled a shadowbox with objects that represented
my memories of it. I visited the village
earlier this December. Roscoe Village was an 1800s Ohio canal town and is in Coshocton.
The Past on
Display
At the village I entered a print shop, a doctor’s office and
house, a weaver’s house and a one-room school. I appreciated the interior
decorating and fascinating video presentations at each site about the history
of Christmas traditions in the village.
The Christmas-themed history was a seasonal exhibit. The content encompassed how people decorated
their homes and how residents would bring traditions to Ohio from their countries
of origin. The presentations put local history in context of a wider-known history
of the holiday in the United States.
I walked over red brick sidewalks which were covered in a
thin layer of snow. Snow fell that day
as I walked between educational sites and meandered into stores that sold nice
gift items. I enjoyed the
experience. Greenery hung on lampposts,
windows and doors. Old wooden framed
buildings coexisted with the ruddy brick structures. The visitor center was well within walking
distance of the rest of the village. I
walked everywhere. A handful of restaurants were interspersed. The educational sites and the
Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum were all within two blocks of each other.
A Tour I Will Treasure
I wanted to remember my visit. The history lessons at each
of the sites interested me the most. I
decided to fill a shadow box with tangible reminders of what I learned. Shadowboxes intrigue me because they can
display a variety of objects, and they do so in such an attractive way. They hold objects like trinkets, ornaments,
paper mementos, ribbons, bottle caps, twigs and dried flowers and just about
any small kind of thing that takes you back to an experience.
At the print shop, I learned about the history of Christmas
cards. At the beginning they were
largely items that businesses circulated but later became personal ways friends
and family used to wish each other a wonderful holiday season. I included a homemade Christmas card in my
shadowbox to remind myself of the lesson I learned.
Decorating the inside of a house with greenery predates
bringing Christmas trees inside, as I learned from the presentation at the
doctor’s house. Things like dried
oranges were used in decorations and not only that – nuts and fresh oranges
were common gifts for children. I dried
oranges and affixed ribbon to them to hang in my shadowbox. It made a nice reminder of what I learned.
At the weaver’s house, I discovered the story of the famous
scholar, Clement C. Moore, and how his well-known poem describing St. Nicholas
led to illustrations that cemented a common image of the merry old man who
bears gifts to children. I included a pen in my shadowbox to remind myself of
the poem and lesson.
Christmas was not always an official holiday. At the schoolhouse, I learned the history of
when Christmas became a holiday in the United States. For a period, school children attended
classes on Christmas Day, so I wrapped a miniature book in wrapping paper and
tied it in twine to remind myself of the days when children kept learning
through the holiday. Education is such a
gift!
A Shadowbox Holds
Memories
The holiday card, dried oranges, pen and miniature book I
displayed in the shadowbox helped me recall Historic Roscoe Village. Many travelers will buy pieces of artwork to
help them remember a destination, which is nice. I enjoyed this activity of making my own art,
and it helped me adorn the house in a meaningful way. The history lessons at the village delved
much deeper into the past and were quite informative. I learned new things. I would enjoy returning to visit the village
again during the future Christmas seasons.
I filled a shadowbox with a homemade card, dried orange
slices, a pen and a miniature book wrapped in gift wrap. These things remind me of what I saw and
learned at Historic Roscoe Village this December.
Historic Roscoe
Village
Johnson-Humrickhouse
Museum
About Our Trip
Corey and I enjoyed our tour of Tuscarawas, Coshocton and
Holmes counties in Ohio. The day before
we saw Historic Roscoe Village in Coshocton, we stopped for lunch at Dutch
Valley Restaurant in Sugarcreek. We
revisited Coblentz Chocolate Company in Walnut Creek, too. The day after visiting Roscoe Village and on
the way home, we toured the Victorian House Museum in Millersburg thanks to the
Holmes County Historical Society. Our
trip spanned a long weekend, and we ventured home in snow, but the weather was
not surprising for mid-December in Ohio.
We classify ourselves as dining enthusiasts who have a love of
history. It was a perfect winter
vacation for us.
