Christmas Vacation

[KentuckyCeltophile]

My wife and I spent the last five days in Williamsburg, Virginia. Most people in the US know it as “Colonial Williamsburg”. We wanted to experience some Christmas decorations, singing, story-telling, and general Christmas spirit. I didn’t expect to see many kilts there, but I did. For our international brethren, Williamsburg was the capital of Virginia during its stent as a British colony up to 1776. The capital was moved and many of the founding fathers’ homes and state buildings were forgotten. In the 1950s, several city blocks still existed and was restored back to its colonial style. Now, you can visit there and experience “what it would be like in colonial America in the 18th century”. Tourist trap!!! I am a huge history fanatic, so I loved every minute of the vacation. I learned many stories of life during that era as well as Christmas tales and traditions.

To make a long story short, there were several Scots who worked there, wearing kilts and playing music. One man was a lovely violin player in the Scottish style. He had the perfect accent for telling stories and giving brief history lessons. My wife and I could listen to his stories for hours. The other man worked in one of the authentic 18th century taverns and played the violin as part of the dinner entertainment. I loved hearing them play.

On our final evening, we visited Busch Gardens Christmas Village. Basically, it was a theme park at night covered in Christmas lights decorations. The park is divided up into countries (i.e.-Germany, Italy, England) like Scotland. In this area, there were Christmas songs, hymns, and caroles played by bagpipes. It just meshed well with the holiday decorations. Along with the hot chocolate, it really put me in the Christmas mood. It was truly an enjoyable experience that reminded me of my love for history and all things Scot.

Happy Christmas to all!!

[OC Richard]

That's awesome!

I love Colonial Williamsburg. I especially like the Fifes & Drums band. It would be so cool to have one of those drum corps playing with a pipe corps.

BTW one side of my family, named Lavander, was at Jamestown Colony quite early (1608) so this stuff has special meaning to me.

[James Hood]

How gloriously memorable and double so, encountering other kilties "running wild," good on you!

Oooooh! GOTTA look for a CD of Christmas carols being played on bagpipes!

[AFS1970]

My wife and I will be leaving Monday night to go there for Christmas.

[KentuckyCeltophile]

How gloriously memorable and double so, encountering other kilties "running wild," good on you!

Oooooh! GOTTA look for a CD of Christmas carols being played on bagpipes!

On Duke of Gloucester Street (near William and Mary) the "Scotland House" shop was playing CD of carols on bagpipes. It was even more of a treat.

[KentuckyCeltophile]

That's awesome!

I love Colonial Williamsburg. I especially like the Fifes & Drums band. It would be so cool to have one of those drum corps playing with a pipe corps.

BTW one side of my family, named Lavander, was at Jamestown Colony quite early (1608) so this stuff has special meaning to me.

Hello OC Richard. I loved the very brief moment the fifes and drums were playing outside the taverns. They have a very thunderous sound. I agree that would sound great with bagpipes.

[MacKenzie]

Tourist trap!!!

Indeed. I lived in Williamsburg through the 8th grade. Each year there were one or more school field trips to Colonial Williamsburg and/or Jamestown. Every visiting relative meant another trip to Colonial Williamsburg and Jamestown. I went so much I became numb to it and, frankly, I can hardly remember any of it. I have not been back since the family moved to North Carolina.

That was almost 40 years ago. Lately I've been thinking of going back for a visit. I now have a keener interest in history, and the Redhead has never been, so I think I would enjoy it... finally.

[dcommini]

Indeed. I lived in Williamsburg through the 8th grade. Each year there were one or more school field trips to Colonial Williamsburg and/or Jamestown. Every visiting relative meant another trip to Colonial Williamsburg and Jamestown. I went so much I became numb to it and, frankly, I can hardly remember any of it. I have not been back since the family moved to North Carolina.

That was almost 40 years ago. Lately I've been thinking of going back for a visit. I now have a keener interest in history, and the Redhead has never been, so I think I would enjoy it... finally.

That's kind of how I am with Disney World. I lived in Central Florida for a while and some family friends worked there so we got free tickets all of the time. However, I just returned from a week long trip there as the wife has never been and it was one of her life dreams. She enjoyed it, the kids enjoyed it, and I enjoyed that they enjoyed it.

[KentuckyCeltophile]

Indeed. I lived in Williamsburg through the 8th grade. Each year there were one or more school field trips to Colonial Williamsburg and/or Jamestown. Every visiting relative meant another trip to Colonial Williamsburg and Jamestown. I went so much I became numb to it and, frankly, I can hardly remember any of it. I have not been back since the family moved to North Carolina.

That was almost 40 years ago. Lately I've been thinking of going back for a visit. I now have a keener interest in history, and the Redhead has never been, so I think I would enjoy it... finally.

Be sure to wear your kilt. I'm sure there will be loads of conversation started about it. Most of the people who work there talk as though they live in the 18th century. I would be interested to hear what they have to say about that subject. Christmas was definitely a great time to visit.