Tickets are now available for the Bergen County Historical Society's 28th Annual Colonial Christmas Concerts, featuring Linda Russell & Companie in the Steuben House, 1209 Main St., River Edge, NJ 07661 on Saturday, December 17th with shows at 7pm and 8:30pm and on Sunday, December 18th at 6 and 7:30pm. Donation $25 per person (BCHS member $20). No refunds or exchanges. For info, call 201-560-2114. Tickets available through Paypal at http://www.bergencountyhistory.org or by sending SASE and remittance to BCHS Holiday Events, PO Box 55, River Edge, NJ 07661. Please indicate 1st and 2nd choices of show. Include email address for immediate response. First come, first served. Any tickets remaining at show time may be purchased at the door. Limited 45 guests per show.
This year, the Tavern in the Campbell-Christie House will be open on Saturday, December 17th, from 6 to 9pm and on Sunday, December 18th, from 5 to 8p. Come before or after your concert for light tavern fare, including soup & herb biscuit, ploughman plate, fruit pie, hot mulled cider and more. Choose from our traditional menu. Enjoy the holidays with friends and family in the setting of an authentic 18th-century Jersey Dutch tavern. Seating limited. See open-hearth cooking in the Dutch Out Kitchen, browse the Gift Shop and tour the Demarest House. Concerts in the Steuben House are a separate admission.
Holiday decorations are based upon ancient sources, including Jan Steen's 1664 painting, The Visit of St. Nicholas, which depicts a domestic theme familiar in several aspects to modern eyes. Decorations include an ancient Kissing Bough, supposedly of Druidic origin, celebrating the solstice and the birth of the new solar year. Here people may meet under the mistletoe for the blessing of harmony. The origins of other holiday customs are explained, as for example, how in an age before cheap glassware, a piece of toasted bread was dipped into the wassail bowl by one and all to make a festive "toast."
