Historic American Christmas Traditions

This presentation, by Kayla Metzger, will discuss the origins, influences, and evolution of the holidays over time, from the Puritans, to Queen Victoria, to the rise of middle class America.

Americans tend to recognize the holidays, particularly Christmas, as a celebration of sacred or secular traditions filled with decoration, worship, feasts, and more. But where did the more "traditional" perception of the holiday season originate, and how did it come to be celebrated as it is today? This presentation, by Kayla Metzger with Spring Hill Historic Home, will discuss the origins, influences, and evolution of the holidays over time, from the Puritans, to Queen Victoria, to the rise of middle class America.

Spring Hill Historic Home, located in Massillon, Ohio, is recognized as a site on the Underground Railroad by the Underground Railroad Network to Freedom and Ohio Friends of Freedom Society. Inhabited from the 1820s to the 1970s, the Rotch-Wales families were strong supporters of the abolitionist movement and opened their home to runaway slaves on the Underground Railroad. Their mission is to preserve unimpaired for future generations the house, outbuildings and grounds known as Spring Hill; to interpret Spring Hill and the families who lived there in light of their historical importance; and to maintain Spring Hill as a historic site open to the public.