Date Of Visit: Dec. 21, 2024

Location: Old Sturbridge Village, 29 Stallion Hill Road
Sturbridge, MA (1 hour southwest of Boston, MA)

Universally Accessible: Some of the areas are universally accessible. But, many of the houses do not have ramps or other universally accessible entryways. See below for more details from their website:

Old Sturbridge Village is an outdoor museum with unpaved roads that lead to houses, farms, shops, mills, and gardens typical of 19th-century rural New England. While more than half of the Village’s historic buildings have wheelchair-accessible entrances, interior access varies. The Village’s unpaved roads are generally firm and stable. Most roads are level, with steeper grades located near the Bullard Tavern, Glass Exhibit, and Herb Garden. Longer, more gradual grades are located near the Visitor Center and Freeman Farmhouse.

Summary: Old Sturbridge Village hosted their annual Christmas By Candlelight event last month. Historical actors discussed the many historical aspects of the holiday and many Christmas decorations were on display.

The spirit of Christmas was alive in Sturbridge, MA! An 1830s Christmas that is.

Every year, Sturbridge Village recreates Christmas during the olden days. Toys, treats and decorations were in abundance at the event.

The first thing that caught my eye was the Tree of Heroes.

Each star hanging from the tree included the name of a service member from the area who has died. It is a sobering reminder of the sacrifice of others and the loss people feel this time of the year and throughout the years.

At the village, one of the biggest decorations, literally and figuratively, were the nutcrackers.

Although nutcrackers were a part of the Christmas decor of the 1800s, they really became more common in the states after World War II. American soldiers stationed in West Germany after the war would send them home as gifts.

Nutcrackers are said to represent fear and strength. And, in some cultures, luck. Since their purpose is to crack open the shells of nuts, which requires a certain amount of force and strength, they are figures of strength and being fierce. In fact, they are so fierce, according to German folklore, they were believed to ward off evil spirits and protect homes because of their strength.

This employee at the village was working diligently on a nutcracker. The carved bodies of the nutcrackers are delivered to the village and the workers are responsible for painting and decorating them. She said she can paint and decorate one nutcracker in one evening (at least when people like me weren’t pestering her with questions). She told me the hardest part of decorating the nutcrackers is getting all the lines straight.

Of course, the homes, buildings and grounds were decorated for the season.

The interior of the homes were just as beautiful as the outside of them.

Toys, of course, are also a big part of the holiday. There were toys from the 1800s and modern day era at the event.

But, not all of the gifts children received were toys or dolls. Children in the 1800s would leave carrots and hay in their shoes to feed St Nick’s horse (or donkey) in the hopes he might leave gifts such as chocolates, candy, fruits, nuts, coins and other gifts in their shoes.

There were also musicians, magicians and other entertainers at the event.

Of course, what would the holidays be without food? The house where the Italian traditions were shown featured a Ceppo, a wooden pyramid structure designed to hold shelves full of different Christmas items. Some levels had gifts and food items while other levels had candles on them. Besides being a potential fire hazard, the Ceppo was meant to represent a flame and act as a substitute for the Yule log.

In the corner of the table you may have noticed a figure holding a stick.  La Befana, the “Christmas Witch”, is considered a good witch who rides around on her broomstick. She carries around a sack of gifts and candies for good children. The name  La Befana originates from the Greek word Epifania, the Italian name for the religious festival of the Epiphany.

The Italian Christmas Eve tradition of the Feast of the Seven Fishes was also discussed. But, thankfully, no fish was prepared or served at the event. In its place, cakes, cookies and other sweets were on display. And a chocolate layered cake was served. I did not partake. But, the consensus was it was “delicious.”

Just looking at all the photos makes me hungry! Believe it or not, even with all of the photos I have posted, I could have posted even more.

As an added bonus, there was a gingerbread house contest.

The “winning gingerbread house was “Best In Show” gingerbread house was this “Farm Creation.”

The rest of the gingerbread houses and other gingerbread structures are posted below, in no particular order.