Saturday,
December 5, 2015, 11:00 am to 4:00 pm
Sunday,
December 6, 2015, 11:00 am to 4:00 pm
Eden
Woolley House, 703 Deal Road, Ocean, NJ 07712
Holiday Weekend features tales of
Christmas past
Christmas season has always been a
highlight of the Museum calendar. For 25 years, we filled the
auditorium of the old Oakhurst School the first weekend in December
with exhibits, trains, crafts, and handmade goodies. We continued the
tradition in our new home, transforming the Woolley House into a
holiday showcase for two days each December.
On Saturday and Sunday, December 5 and
6, the Museum holds its 31st Holiday Weekend. Model trains and
Christmas collections fill the Our Town Gallery. On the porch, the
Ocean Township Garden Club sells freshly made wreaths. The Hearth and
Home Gallery is emptied to make way for an expanded Museum Shop and
Bakery stocked full of homemade treats and one-of-a-kind gifts
hand-crafted by the Museum quilters. Children search the house for
hidden nutcrackers in a “Holiday Hunt.” Sunday afternoon, the
winning quilt raffle ticket is drawn. All this is followed by the
lighting of the Township Christmas Tree on the Museum grounds Sunday
at 4:30.
Something special
This year, there’s something special.
Our Holiday Weekend pays special tribute to the season we celebrate.
Christmas has become a American cultural and economic juggernaut. Our
talented “living history” actors explore the historical roots of
its traditions. We’ve conjured up the spirits of Woolley family
members from the 18th and 19th centuries to entertain visitors with
stories of the holiday customs of their times.
A peek at Colonial Christmas
Phoebe Woolley, third wife of Thomas
(who built the oldest part of the Woolley House) will describe
Colonial Christmas.
European settlers brought to the New
World the holiday customs (and attitudes) of the Old. The Puritans
would have nothing to do with it. In fact, in 1659, they outlawed the
celebration of Christmas altogether.
The Anglicans in the southern colonies were more receptive. They celebrated with festive feasts, music, and gift-giving that foreshadowed today’s customs.
German colonists decorated with
Christmas trees, as in their home country. But the custom was not
widely adopted by their neighbors, who rejected its pagan roots. The
Dutch brought with them “Sinte Klass,” but our plump, redsuited
American Santa did not take shape until the 19th century.
The Victorians set the stage
Mary and Sarah Woolley, Eden’s
daughters, will be on hand to explain the customs, popularized in the
19th century, that largely define how we celebrate today.
Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol,
published in 1843, was an instant best seller. It elevated public
interest in the season and helped redefine it as a time of giving.
About the same time, that Christmas
tree the German settlers couldn’t get their neighbors to adopt
caught on, helped by widely circulated photos of Queen Victoria and
her German husband with theirs. In 1856, President Franklin Pierce
brought the first tree into the White House.
On June 26, 1870, Christmas was
declared a federal holiday. That same decade, Americans began sending
Christmas cards. Santa emerged as a cultural icon. Gifts and
gift-wrapping took center stage.
Join us to learn more, shop local, and
start the season in style. Recommended donations: adults, $3;
children, free. Those paying their 2016 membership dues at the door
are admitted free.
The Township of Ocean Historical
Museum, founded in 1984, is a member-supported, 501(c)(3) non-profit
organization, incorporated under the laws of the State of New Jersey.
Its headquarters, the Eden Woolley House, is one of the few 18th
century structures still in existence in the Township. The Township
of Ocean Historical Museum offers exhibits on the history of coastal
Monmouth County and a full calendar of events. The Museum also houses
a library and archive of local history. It is open, free of charge,
1 to 4, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursday, 7 to 9 Thursday Evenings
and 1 to 4 the first and second Sundays of each month. Visit
ocenmuseum.org for more information.