Twelfth Night cake in the palace parlor 



night of the Christmas Celebration. 



The Victorians, with their taste 

 for nostalgia and their keen sense of 

 history, were responsible for resurrect- 

 ing Christmas in the 19th century, 

 sanctifying it and putting in place the 

 customs we know today. Popular in 

 medieval Europe, Christmas had 

 ebbed through the centuries until the 

 Victorians restored it to its full regalia 

 in the late 1800s. 



The season began with a period 

 of anticipation and preparation that 

 increasingly centered on Christmas 

 shopping. Earlier in the century, the 

 main expenditure had been on food 

 and drink, but as the custom of giving 

 presents became more popular, 

 shopping became part of the ritual. 

 By this time, toys could be found under 

 the tree. Alphabet blocks and other 

 wooden toys, especially Noah's ark 

 with pairs of animals, were popular. 



A Victorian Christmas tree in the 

 Commission House is decorated with 

 ornaments both homemade — popcorn, 

 garlands and presents — and store- 

 bought. By the 1880s, American flag 

 ornaments were popular, so the tree is 

 hung with 38-star flags of the time, 

 Hick says. 



Often, the tree was decorated by 

 parents or Santa Claus and the candles 

 lit only for a few moments as the 

 children had their first glimpse of the 

 tree. Water buckets and sponges on 

 poles were kept close by to extinguish 

 the candles. Stockings hung by the 

 chimney were filled with toys and 

 candy for good children, or coal and 

 switches for naughty children. 



In the Commission House drawing 

 room, a World War II Christmas comes 

 to life with tinsel, electric lights and 

 big band Christmas tunes on the radio. 

 This era was chosen because it takes 



people back to a Christmas that they 

 can remember or at least recognize, 

 Hicks says. 



"So many people walk into that 

 room and either it's their childhood 

 Christmas or it looks like their 

 grandmother's house," Hicks says. 

 "We've had people start dancing in 

 there, and we've had people start 

 crying in there." 



While World War II servicemen 

 and women longed to be home for 

 Christmas, their families found ways to 

 make the holidays bright despite 

 shortages and rationing. Among other 

 tactics, they used recipes such as the 

 "Ingenuity Cake," an upside-down cake 

 made with any one of five Libby's 

 canned fruits. Flexibility was important 

 at a time when shoppers couldn't be 

 sure what they'd find on the grocery 

 store shelves, Hicks says. 



Austerity aside, however, Christ- 

 mas as we know it had arrived by the 

 1940s. 



♦ 1996 Tryon Palace 

 Christmas Event Dates 



Admission is $12 for adults and $6 

 for children with an additional $2 fee 

 for Christmas Secrets and Deck the 

 Doors tours. 



• Tryon Palace Christmas Celebra- 

 tion, Dec. 9-22. Continuous daytime 

 tours of the buildings decorated for 

 Christmas. 



• Christmas Candlelight Tours, 

 Dec. 13, 14, 19, 20, 21. Evening 

 candlelight tours of the decorated 

 buildings and grounds. 



• Christmas Secrets Tours, Dec. 

 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 19. Tours in small 

 groups with information about how the 

 exhibits were put together and other 

 inside information. 



• Deck the Doors Tours, Dec. 9, 

 13, 16, 20. Tours of holiday doors and 

 evergreen plants, beginning at 2 p.m. 

 Advance reservations are required. 



Tryon Palace is located one block 

 from U.S. 17 (Broad Street) at the 

 intersection of George and Pollock 

 streets in New Bern. For more informa- 

 tion, call 1-800/767-1560. □ 



COASTWATCH 7 



