December 3, 2018
CONTACT: Trevor Beemon
Executive Director
678-594-4994
MARIETTA - Join the William Root House in downtown Marietta for a special holiday experience that's perfect for the entire family! Visitors to the antebellum home will enjoy exploring candlelit rooms adorned with traditional 1850s Christmas decorations. During the event, the museum will offer cooking demonstrations, live music, and hot cider and cookies. Guests will also have an opportunity to take their picture with Santa before he heads back to the North Pole.
BACKGROUND: 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.
WHAT: Christmas Candlelight Night
WHEN: Saturday, December 8, 2018 6:00pm-8:00pm
WHERE: William Root House Museum & Garden
INFO: This special program is included in the cost of regular museum admission. Visit RootHouseMuseum.com for more information.
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 house is more typical of its time and place than the grand plantations and columned mansions popularized by Gone With the Wind.