We visited Colonial Williamsburg over the holidays in Virginia, and we are so glad we did. We are both history buffs so we loved soaking up all that history, but we also loved the holiday wreaths and gardens we spied as we meandered through the colonial salt boxes and experienced this village like feel. This past December they even had an ice skating rink placed in the center square and Christmas music playing which was so nostalgic.
Those Wreaths of Colonial Williamsburg Though…
The ingenuity of how the colonists decorated their wreaths, jumped out at me immediately. They used leftover yarn, feathers, acorns, herbs, dried fruit and berries, and even used old hornet’s nests. Colonists would have used whatever they had at their disposal and would often have to get creative. Colonists were certainly ahead of their time in terms of sustainability efforts.
The wreaths convey different feelings…some are bright and citrusy, some are darker and have more natural items like pine cones and even various grasses, but all are lovely!
II took as many photos as I could find of the gardens and wreaths, and I hope you enjoy them! I also found out when we visited the palace, that very little decorating would have been done overall. A household might have just had a sprig of greenery on their mantel. The Colonists enjoyed celebrating the holidays but, they were overall very low key.
Stopping in at the Palace
This holiday for them would have been more focused on attending church and celebrating with family a special meal, perhaps. According to History.com, though the Colonists did bring their puritan traditions over with them to the new country, and would have included drinking mulled wine and singing, so not that different from our traditions today! 😉
The palace grounds, gardens, and wreaths were beautiful and while we were in the palace as the sun was setting, it was such a pretty time of year to visit. The gardens were more dormant because of winter, but it was all spectacular!
One of my favorite moments on our trip was visiting the Palace at dusk, during what I dubbed the glowing hour. The lights twinkled much like they would have back in the day in Colonial Williamsburg, but they would have used real candles.
The lights in Colonial Williamsburg were so beautiful!
According to Williamsburg Walking Tours, holidays in Colonial times were centered on the adults and not children, and decorations were often austere.
I am not a historian in any way shape or form, but I sure did love imagining and gleaning what I could from our visit. In addition to meandering through Colonial Williamsburg, and the Palace, we also stopped by the art museum, and by an archaeological dig. It was such a fun, whirlwind visit, but it just all went by way too fast.
I’ll be sharing another post soon, which will be our catch up post. Can’t wait to hear from all of you as well, what you have been up to.
Fondly,
