Daniel Boone Homestead to hold Christmas event

For many families in 18th century America, Christmas was a time for celebration, feasting and frivolity.

Visit the Daniel Boone Homestead on Dec. 10 from noon to 4 p.m. and experience Christmas as it was almost 300 years. Visitors can learn about English and Pennsylvania German holiday celebrations, enjoy parlor music with Bob Mouland, listen to the Homestead Carolers, visit with Santa and the Belsnickel, and enjoy Christmas crafts and activities.

Throughout the historic area, visitors will hear about the different Christmas traditions of the families who lived on the property throughout the 18th century as they tour the festively decorated buildings.

In the Boone House, volunteers will cook a Christmas meal in the hearth and talk about the English Christmas traditions. Visitors will get to enjoy the English and German parlors festively decorated for the season.

Visit the Blacksmith Shop and the Homestead Barn as you walk to the Bertolet Log House. This Pennsylvania German log cabin will be open for tours, and visitors can learn about its unique architectural history.

Join the Homestead Carolers as they meander throughout the historic area singing joyous, holiday medleys. And of course, make sure to save time for a visit and picture with Santa.

There will also be holiday crafts and activities for children, including a Christmas scavenger hunt through the historic area. After completing the hunt, children will be able to receive a holiday treat bag.

Make sure to keep an eye out for the Belsnickel, who will stop by the Homestead for a visit. The Belsnickel, part of 18th century rural Pennsylvania German Christmas lore, is much different from today’s jolly, old Santa Claus.

Visitors can warm up with complimentary hot chocolate and hot wassail. Don’t miss this great opportunity to take a stroll through Christmas past and enjoy an afternoon of old-fashioned, good cheer.

The Daniel Boone Homestead is the birthplace of the famed frontiersman, born in 1734. The Boone House, constructed in three stages throughout the 18th century, is a 10-room stone structure fully furnished to the period and situated on 579 acres of rolling countryside. The Homestead is owned by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, and daily historic operations are run by the Daniel Boone Homestead Associates, a local, nonprofit organization.

If you go

What: A Homestead Holiday

Where: Daniel Boone Homestead, 400 Daniel Boone Road, Exeter Township

When: Dec. 10, noon-4 p.m.

Admission: Adults $10, seniors (65+) $8, youth (6-17) $5. Children 5 and under and DBHA members are free.

FYI: No pets and no smoking. For more information, go to www.thedanielboonehomestead.org or the Daniel Boone Homestead on Facebook, or call 610-582-4900. The event is sponsored and run by The Daniel Boone Homestead Associates.