Old World at Christmas

On Sunday we went to Old World Wisconsin to enjoy their Christmas activities and displays.  We had a great time!  I loved learning how they decorated, what special foods they made, and how they celebrated Christmas.  In one of the houses there was a special parlor room that back then children were not allowed to be in.  Hailey immediately said, "Oh, like the one where Almanzo (from Farmer Boy) got paint on the wallpaper!  And where he slid off the seat because of the way the cushion was."  Exactly!  It was fun to see her make the connection between the two.  In another house the interpreter was mentioning that Irish Americans didn't typically decorate much for Christmas.  They did place a candle in their window to show that there was room for Mary and Joseph in their home, but they didn't have a Christmas tree inside.  The church usually had the tree so they would go there to see it.  Brian and Hailey had been watching a demonstration in the blacksmithing barn while Clara and I were there, so afterwards, I started to tell Brian what we had learned in the Irish house.  After saying, "They didn't have a Christmas tree in their house", Clara said, "Yeah, it was at the church."  Just when you think they aren't paying attention!  Next we went to the church to sing some carols and sure enough, there was a tree all decorated.  Clara looked at me and said, "So this is what they were talking about!"

Listening to Father Christmas tell a story.

Clara listening in awe.

They got a chance to tell him what they wanted for Christmas.  Clara was too shy to say, but Hailey said she wanted a "Frozen" guitar.

We all got to take a picture with him then.

The church in the distance.

This is the Yankee home, settlers who came from New York, all decorated.  So pretty!

Beautiful swag on the door.

Tree decorated with candles and other small handmade ornaments.

This was neat to see the types of gifts given then.  Very simple and often handmade.

Waiting in line for our horse and wagon ride.  The horses had bells on their harnesses that would jingle when they walked.

While waiting in line, we took a picture with the Thomas Nast Santa...Civil War era Santa.  Clara liked him and called him the "good Santa".

The girls did not want to take a picture with Jultomten (with the red hat...a Swedish figure) and Krampus (the bad figure that scares children into behaving...a Central European tradition), so Brian had to join them.  They were afraid that Krampus was going to put them in his bag. :-)

The girls got to make paper ornaments to take home.

On the horse and wagon ride.

Stopped off at the Finnish house to give the horses a rest.

Sheep grazing as the afternoon sun starts to set.

Pretty decorations in the Four Mile Inn.

I thought the ribbon candy was so pretty in the jar.

This was at the Czech shoe shop...typical things Czechs would eat at Christmas...Hoska, kolache, hard-boiled eggs, etc.  My great grandfather immigrated here from Czechoslovakia, so I am very familiar with these foods!

A sauerkraut soup was stewing on the woodstove.  It smelled so good!

The tree at the church!

We sang O Come All Ye Faithful with an interpreter playing the organ.

All we needed was one horse hitched up to this and some snow and we could have had an authentic sleigh ride!

We all fit!  Well, sort of. :-)