Holiday Nights at Greenfield Village Preview 2016

Do you have your tickets yet for Holiday Nights at Greenfield Village yet for this year?

This highly regarded event has been enriching the lives of attendees for years now and this year looks to be no different. 

Each weekend throughout December, the village is open at night for a special look at Holidays throughout the ages. 

The houses are decorated as they would have been in the time period of their origin. The streets are filled with well-wishers in period clothing and street vendors call out to enjoy roasted chestnuts or fresh cut evergreen boughs. Families whirl around on the outdoor skating rink, and then huddle near a bonfire to watch an outdoor silent movie or hear Anthony enthusiastically retell, Clement Moore's classic, "Twas the Night Before Christmas." 

At the McGuffey School House, we learn about the travails of Civil War soldiers camped far from home in the bitter winter. At the Cotswald Cottage we experience the exuberant British infantrymen using the cottage as a Red Cross comfort station. These serve as important touchstones to remind us of ebb and flow of history and always add a deep sense of gratitude for the simple comforts of family and friends sharing a cup of cocoa and stories in the safety of our own homes. 

A highlight of course is the glorious conclusion with a sing along on the steps of the Town Hall, the crowd extending to the campfires on the village green as the Dodworth Saxhorn Band joyfully punctuates the singing, yielding to the fireworks display and the raucous parade to the front led by the mummers. 

For those wanting to get a preview of the event or to learn more about the painstaking detail that the curators of The Henry Ford take when re-creating these homes, please check out the video on youtube "Celebrating Christmas with the Wright Brothers."  This five minute video can help your children understand and appreciate the effort that goes into making this holiday tradition so enjoyable. Plus, you can learn a bit more about life in the early 1900's. 

Enjoy!

Family Questions for Discussion

1. What are some of the similarities between how the Wright Brothers celebrated Christmas and people in our era celebrate?

2. What was a hobby of the Wright Brothers that allowed historians to replicate their Christmas tree?

3. What interesting information did you learn about the Wright Brothers from this video?

4. How did the curator work to reproduce the room?

5. What does our holiday celebrations tell us about our values?

6. What else does this inspire you to "dream, learn, do?"