Lampeter-Strasburg DECEMBER 18, 2024
SERVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
VOL LXI • NO 33
Rock Ford slates Yuletide Tours
LanChester Chorus to present holiday concert
BY ADRIAN ESCHENWALD
BY FRANCINE FULTON
Volunteer Dana Lewis sets the mansion’s candlelit dining room table.
home, Hand and other Irish or Christmas festivities do, but English Americans obser ved revelers us ually exchange d their own culture’s customs, small items of sentimental including Yuletide. The English value. tradi t ion involve d 12 d ays T he many rooms in the o f re ve l r y t h at mansion will be began on Dec. 25. restored to the way “One of our Christmas Day they likely were was reserved for when Hand still main goals is to re l i g i o u s r i te s , l ke d i t s h a l l s . introduce people wa but the holiday The home will be to the Christmas was followed by filled with historia series of parcally accurate decotraditions of the ties. The large rations and cooking late 18th century d e m o n s t r a t i o n s gather ings typand early 19th ically included of popular meals big meals, music, from the Colonial century.” games and era, as well as live dancing that music provided by culminated in an extravagant harpsichordists Faith Martin ball on Twelfth Night. Yuletide and Margaret Marsch and viodid not highlight gift-giving linist Mercy Martin. Volunteers a s m u c h a s c o n t e m p o r a r y and performers will be dressed
in period-accurate attire and stationed in the hallways to answer questions and show case traditional 18th-century dances. This year, Historic Rock Ford will partner with Town and Countr y Garden Club to place a mixture of live greenery and faux flora throughout the home. “One of our main goals is to introduce people to the Christmas traditions of the late 18th centur y and early 19th century,” said Christina McSherry, executive director of Historic R o ck Ford. “ S ome o f them might surprise people, and it’s a good way to celebrate the season and to keep the holidays going.” For more information, visit www.historicrockford.org.
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he Christmas season as we know it today is an amalgamation of traditions that have been observed by cultures around the globe. Over the course of many centuries, people have adopted customs rooted in ancient pagan societies such as the Roman Empire and rituals that originated during the earliest days of Christianity as it spread from nation to nation. Although the moder n-day holiday season typically concludes after Dec. 25, Yuletide is a bygone Christmas tradition that kept the party going well into the new year. Historic Rock Ford, 881 Rockford Road, Lancaster, will host its annual Yuletide Tours on Friday, Dec. 27; Saturday, Dec. 28; and Sunday, De c . 2 9 . O n F r i d ay, t i m e d entries will take place at 4, 5 and 6 p.m.; on Saturday and Sunday, guests will be admitted at 2, 3 and 4 p.m. The selfguided tours will offer members of the community a glimpse of Yuletide celebrations as they were celebrated by Colonial Americans in the 18th century. Tickets may be purchased in advance for a set price, and discounted rates will be offered to seniors and youths between 6 and 17 years old; children age 5 and under may attend for free. A limited number of spaces are available for each tour. To purchase a ticket, visit https://rock ford.yapsody.com. During each tour, guests may wander the halls of the former home of Revolutionar y War general Edward Hand, a mansion located on Historic Rock Ford’s grounds. Although some Christmas traditions originate from German culture, such as placing a Christmas tree in one’s
Holiday tunes like “Silver Bells” and “Winter Wonderland,” as well as religious hymns, including “Mary, How Could You Have Known?” and “ While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks” will be featured at a Christmas concert to be presented by the LanChester Chorus on Sunday, Dec. 22, at 3 p.m. at the Christiana Fire Company, 214 S. Bridge St., Christiana. The chorus gets its name from the fact that its members are from both Lancaster and Chester counties, including many singers who attend Middle Octorara Presbyterian Church and other faith communities in the Southern End. The director of the chorus, Kimberly Kusnersyk, is a resident of Strasburg, and the accompanist, Christine Smith, resides in Willow Street. Light refreshments, including cookies and punch, will be served after the concert. There is no admission fee, but a freewill offering will be received. For the concert, the fire hall’s banquet room will be festively decorated by members of the chorus with poinsettias and greens. Members will dress formally for the occasion. “The men wear dark suits and red ties, and the ladies wear black with red scarves,” noted Kusnersyk. “It’s a mixed choral group - alto, soprano, bass and tenor - and a mixture of ages. They sing very well. Most of them have sung in their church choirs or other choirs. They have a musical
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R113245
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