November 30, 2017

CONTACT: Trevor Beemon

Executive Director

tbeemon@cobblandmarks.com 

MARIETTA - Join the William Root House on December 9th for a special holiday experience that's perfect for the entire family! Visitors to the antebellum home will enjoy traditional 1850s Christmas decorations, cooking demonstrations, live music, hot cider and cookies, and much more. Self-guided tours are offered from 6:00pm to 8:00pm.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Christmas was made a legal holiday in the state of Georgia in 1850. Evergreen branches found in nearby forests and gardens would have been used to decorate mantles, mirrors, doorways, and tables. Evergreens were thought to represent everlasting life. Many believe the tradition of displaying a Christmas tree was brought to America from England via Prince Albert. While Prince Albert and Queen Victoria made the Christmas tree more popular, references to Christmas trees (and New Year's trees) could be found in American literature well before Prince Albert's arrival in England. During the 1850s, trees were secretly decorated behind closed doors. Decorations consisted of fruit, candles, and unwrapped toys. Christmas trees were revealed to children with an element of surprise as the gifts were typically placed on the tree and were not wrapped in paper. Stockings became very popular after the release of Clement Moore's poem, The Night Before Christmas, which was published in 1822.

INFORMATION: 770-426-4982; roothousemuseum.com

Christmas Candlelight Tour

Saturday, December 9, 2017

6:00pm-8:00pm

ABOUT THE WILLIAM ROOT HOUSE MUSEUM & GARDEN: Owned and operated by Cobb Landmarks & Historical Society, the William Root House Museum & Garden offers an authentic look at life for a middle-class Georgia family during the 1860s. The simple frame house is more typical of its time and place than the grand plantations and columned mansions people typically imagine when they think of the Old South.