Special Holiday Evening in the Tradition of the 17th-century Colonists at Historic Jamestowne

November 14, 2012

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. -- Sir George Yeardley, Virginia's Governor in 1620, invites guests to a holiday program, 'At Christmas be mery': A Special Evening, 6:30, 7:30 and 8:30 p.m. on Dec. 19 and 21 at Historic Jamestowne

An Early Virginia Christmas Celebration at the Jamestown Memorial ChurchDeparting from Colonial Williamsburg's Visitor Center by bus, guests travel along the Colonial Parkway with a guide who offers insights into early English Christmas traditions and gives hints of what the earliest Jamestown settlers expected during their Christmastide.

Gov. George Yeardley listens attentively as Rev. Richard Buck offers a prayer in the candlelit Memorial Church at Historic Jamestowne during the December program, "At Christmas be mery."At Historic Jamestowne, guests are met by the Captain of the Guard who escorts the "new arrivals" along a cresset-lit path to an early Virginia Christmas celebration. After a welcome by Governor Yeardley and singing carols in the historic church, guests herald in the season by the bonfire with light refreshments and the firing of the Christmas guns in the shadow of the old fort.

Participants will walk approximately one-half mile during the program.

Tickets are $19.95. Ticket price includes round-trip motor coach, admittance fees and light refreshments. For more information and tickets, call 1-800-HISTORY.

This unique Christmas program is presented jointly by The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and Historic Jamestowne.

Historic Jamestowne is located at 1368 Colonial Parkway on Jamestown Island, seven miles west of Williamsburg. It can be reached via the Colonial Parkway or VA State Route 31.

Historic Jamestowne is jointly administered by the National Park Service and The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (on behalf of Preservation Virginia) and preserves the original site of the first permanent English settlement in the New World.