After spending a few days in Charleston, we headed north to Williamsburg, Virginia. I had been to Williamsburg a long time ago and really enjoyed it, but I was unsure what it would be like during the holidays and a pandemic. Would it be crowded? Would it be enjoyable walking around in the cold?
Since we would be in Williamsburg for Christmas Eve and Christmas, we rented a cozy apartment with a kitchen and a real wood-burning fireplace. It was important to me that I could cook a Christmas dinner, and a wood fireplace just screams of Christmastime. I even brought a bag full of Christmas decorations, and we had the apartment looking festive in no time. As a bonus, the apartment was only a few minute’s drive away from the Colonial Williamsburg Visitor Center. Score!
I planned to spend the Christmas day sitting in front of the fireplace relaxing, so that meant Christmas Eve was our only chance to explore Colonial Williamsburg. We wanted to make the most of it, so we got there right when the visitor center opened. I highly recommend anyone visiting to park at the visitor center. It is FREE, you can buy a ticket to tour the historic houses and buildings, and they even have a free bus service that will shuttle you around.
We opted not to take the bus in the morning, and instead we strolled along a peaceful and short path that passed by the Great Hopes Plantation and dropped us off right in front of the Governor’s Palace. At the visitor’s center, they advised us to either start at the Governor’s Palace or the Capitol Building and work your way through the L-shaped historic area. Since we were at the Governor’s Palace, that’s where we started.
Because of Covid-19, they were only letting in a very limited number of guests at a time. But, because of the pandemic or it being the Christmas Eve, Colonial Williamsburg was relatively empty. We barely had to wait 5 minutes before a tour guide was leading us through the first floor of the Governor’s Palace. Since it was the residence of the Royal Governors of the Colony of Virginia, it of course displayed their wealth and authority.
Right at the entrance you are greeted with hundreds of swords and guns displayed on the walls. You are then lead through a couple of more rooms that are less impressive but grand nonetheless. And, the guide does a wonderful job of keeping the history entertaining. After the short tour, you exit through the rear of the building into a gorgeous garden. Honestly, I think I was more impressed with the garden than the palace itself. It was beautiful in the winter, so I imagine it would be amazing in the springtime with all the flowers.
Next up on our itinerary for the day was a show that was supposedly full of hilarious songs. The show was so boring and dry that we snuck out after 5 tortuous minutes and headed on down the street towards the George Wythe House.
The George Wythe House was probably one of my favorite parts of the day. Only 1 family was allowed inside at a time, so we got a personal tour through the downstairs rooms and we got to ask 10 million questions. I didn’t know anything about George Wythe, but it turns out that he was a brilliant and fascinating man. He was a lawyer that fiercely believed in liberty and opposed the British taxes. He was also a teacher and mentor to some of our nation’s finest leaders including Thomas Jefferson.
Just like at the palace, the end of the house tour led us out back to the gardens. These weren’t exquisite fancy gardens though, but it was just as interesting. There was a vegetable garden, outhouse, smokehouse, laundry house, kitchen, etc.. You could look in all of the buildings which was neat, including the outhouse. Something I didn’t realize was that the slaves, at least here, mostly lived in the same building they worked in. Working in the kitchen or laundry room was a “good” position because it meant you had a warmish place to live. Speaking of slavery, Wythe believed all men are equal, and he didn’t own any salves by the end of his life.
After touring the house and grounds, it was only fitting that we stumbled upon “George Wythe” himself giving a lecture. He was teaching everyone about Natural law which is a portion of the eternal law that applies to the behavior of human beings. The actor was in full character mode and he not only spoke and dressed like Wythe but he also carried himself with such authority as one could assume an important town scholar would. He really embraced the role that he had been playing for almost a decade.
At the far end of Duke of Gloucester Street was the Capitol Building. Like all the other buildings, the number of guests allowed inside were extremely limited. But again, that was fine with us. We were getting basically personal tours everywhere we went! As we explored the courtroom, we learned a lot about the founding principles of our government, but we also learned a lot about the building itself. The first Capitol building was in Jamestown but got burned down in a fire. The government then relocated to Williamsburg. At first they were so cautious about having another fire that they didn’t even have a fireplace inside the Capitol. But they got tired of the cold and added them which caused….another fire! It was built again, but the capital then moved to Richmond in 1780. After that, the building was used for various things, and then…fire! The building that stands today is just an impressive looking reconstruction.
We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around and popping in and out of various buildings and shops. We saw a tinsmith and a blacksmith hard at work. And it was fun venturing into the various stores and hearing old tales from the merchants. And, of course, there were lots of interpreters on the streets answering questions and carriages bringing the 18th century back to life.
As we wandered around, we also admired the Christmas decorations. Some of the decorations were simple garlands outlining windows and doors. Others were elaborate wreaths that incorporated fruit or items that represented the establishment such as beer mugs or books.
While the decorations were stunning and intricate, the interpreters advised us that these decorations did not represent the 18th century time period. The holidays were not like they are today with festivities and decorations at every turn. Everyone went to church in the morning, and some might have had a nice meal with friends and family. There might have been some simple decorations with greenery, but nothing like the wreaths that adorn the Colonial Williamsburg houses today.
Right as it got dark and all of the buildings started closing up for the night, the rain started. I can’t believe it held off all day! We really lucked out.
We weren’t ready to head back to the apartment yet though. For one thing, we really wanted to go to the special 9 PM Christmas Eve service at the Bruton Parish Episcopal Church. Since there were couple of hours left before the service, we decided to checkout Williamsburg’s Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum that supposedly had one of the most beautiful Christmas trees on display.
There were a lot of really interesting art exhibits at the museum. Some of the ones that Nisheet enjoyed were the Weapons of the Revolutionary War and the furnishings of the early Williamsburg. But, the piece de resistance was their amazing Christmas tree. In 1975, First Lady Betty Ford asked the museum staff to provide ornaments for the White House Blue Room’s Christmas tree. Honored with the opportunity, museum staff, volunteers and local community members created nearly 3,000 ornaments all by hand. There were so many layers upon layers of ornaments that you could barely see the tree itself! Absolutely stunning.
We explored the museum and marveled at the tree for a couple of hours until the museum closed. And then it was time to head to the Christmas Eve service. It was absolutely magical and truly a candlelight service to remember. Because of the pandemic, they couldn’t have the traditional indoor service. Instead, you were given a candle to walk around the outside of the church. Every door was open displaying a different part of the service. There was music from one door and a nativity scene acted out by children from another. There was a sermon, scripture readings, and Eucharist too. Such an amazing experience and a great way to end a history filled day.
Like I mentioned earlier, we planned on spending Christmas day in front of the fireplace in our cozy apartment. And that is exactly what we did. While we were sad we couldn’t be with family, it was a wonderful Christmas and one that I’ll never forget.
