The Best of North Carolina, South Carolina and Beyond.
More Christmas
festivities
around the South:
Web Travel Guides
for
North Carolina
South Carolina
Sites We Recommend
For more information on events in the Carolinas, visit:
BestFests.com
BestFilmFests.com
By the same publishers
SEARCH OUR SITES
The Best of the Holiday
Season
Around The South
Old Salem
by Renee Wright
An entirely different holiday tradition awaits visitors to the living history village of Old Salem, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Settled by Moravians in the mid-1700s, Old Salem preserves customs from Moravia and Germany.
Members of a Protestant sect that had suffered persecution since founder John Hus burned at the stake in 1415, the Moravians sought a peaceful harbor in many countries. With the grant of the 100,000-acre Wachovia Tract in North Carolina in 1753, they finally found a home.
They named their new town Salem, a word meaning peace.
[Visit www.moravian.org for more information on the history and customs of the Moravians]
Today, some 100 restored buildings make Old Salem the largest historic district dating from the colonial era in the United States. Many buildings are open to the public, including an apothecary, a shoemaker and the oldest authentic working gunsmith's shop in the nation.
Costumed interpreters recreate life in the colonial village.
At the Winkler bakery, traditional Moravian ginger cookies and Lovefeast buns, plus many other goodies, are still baked in a wood-fired oven and sold to the public.
Museums located in the Old Salem historic district include the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA), the Old Salem Children's Museum, and the Old Salem Toy Museum, a collection of antique toys that is unequalled in the region. A single admission ticket gets you into all three, plus nine historic buildings.
Several other historic buildings, including the Old Salem Tavern, the Winkler Bakery, the museum store, the print shop and the Salem Soda Shop, do not require a ticket.
Visitors can tour the historic district in horse-drawn wagons and sample Moravian chicken pie and other traditional recipes at the Old Salem Tavern.
Multi-pointed Moravian Advent stars are the best known of the unique ornaments created by village craftsmen. Look also for angels and other figures made by the Old Salem tin-smiths.
Other traditional Moravian holiday decorations include wooden pyramids adorned with candles, greenery, fresh fruit, and Bible verses, decorated candles, paper Nativity scenes, and small trees hung with paper roses, apples, and ornamental cookies. Wreaths and garlands often incorporate apples or other fruit.
Thin Moravian cookies, flavored with ginger and walnut, make wonderful holiday treats or gifts.
Old Salem’s Christmas Open House is in early November. Other special holiday events include Candlelight Tours of the Miksch and Vogler Houses, "Weihnachtfest: A Taste of the Holidays," and "Candlelight Festivities," guided tours of Christmas Past at the 1784 Tavern with live music, games and food.
Children enjoy special holiday puppet shows, Magic Lantern presentations and visits from St. Nicholas and Christkindel. Visit www.oldsalem.org or call 336.721.7350 for details.
At the Single Brothers House, located in the historic district, the Home Moravian Church presents a traditional Candle Tea during the holiday season. Guests see candles being made, enjoy Lovefeast coffee and Moravian Sugarcake, then tour the "putz," a series of traditional holiday scenes. Visit www.candletea.org for times and directions.
Christmas Lovefeasts are held at the Home Moravian Church on Christmas Eve.
originally published in Square Dancing Today, 2003
Photo credits: Photos above © 2004 Renee Wright ARR. Photo at right courtesy of Old Salem
Next Page...
RETURN TO TOP
SEARCH OUR SITES OR THE WEB
return to Connoisseur HomePage
