Any readers interested in the colonial period of the United States would do well to read the Belle Grove Plantation Bed and Breakfast site.

Michelle and her husband Brett hope to open Belle Grove to paying guests in 2013. Belle Grove is President James Madison’s birthplace and what a splendid estate it is, judging from the photographs! Michelle and Brett have both served their country in the Marine Corps and Navy, respectively. You can read more about them here.

Michelle writes the Belle Grove blog which delves into a lot of colonial history. I was particularly taken by her recent post, ‘Christmas during Colonial America’, which explains the Advent and Yuletide traditions of the time. Excerpts follow, emphases mine:

During the colonial period in Virginia, the Christmas season followed a four week period of Advent. Most Virginians were devout Anglicans and they would have observed a period of fasting, prayers and reflection. They would have read daily from the Book of Common Prayer. Fasting would have been only one full meal, which generally would have been meatless during the day. After the four weeks, they would end with a Christmas meal and the start of the Christmas season.

Did you know that most of New England didn’t celebrate Christmas during the colonial period? Christmas was outlawed in most of New England because Puritans and Protestants disliked the celebration and likened it to pagan rituals. In 1659 Massachusetts if you were found observing the season in any way, including feasting, you would have been fined five shillings per offense. During the same time, in Connecticut, you were prohibited from reading the Book of Common Prayer, keeping of Christmas and Saints Day, making mince pies, playing cards or performing on any musical instruments. This didn’t change until the early nineteenth century ...

The Christmas season was a twelve day event during the colonial period. It would have started on December 25th (Christmas Day) and would end on January 6th. During this time, you would have great feasts and meals, attended parties, gone to visit others and would have received guests to your own home.

Christmas decorations were a common sight during the colonial period. However, those used today in Colonial Williamsburg are inaccurate recreation of the eighteenth century customs and materials. Oranges, lemons and limes would never have been wasted on any form of decorations. Pineapples were considered a precious commodity and you would have never seen them used. What were used were garlands of holly, ivy, mountain laurel, berries, mistletoe or whatever natural materials were available. Lavender, rose petals and pungent herbs like rosemary and bay set the holiday scent for the season. Also during the colonial period, only one or two rooms in the home would have been decorated. The church was general more decorated than the homes. The door would have had decoration, but no Christmas tree. Most Christmas trees didn’t make their debut until the nineteenth century.

Christmas meals would have been fresh meats such as beef, goose, ham and turkey. They would have also had fish, oysters, mincemeat pies and brandied peaches. In the well to do households you would have found wines, brandy, rum punches and other alcoholic beverages.

There is much more at the link, including Michelle’s outstanding photographs.

Christmas trees were German; Queen Victoria’s husband Prince Albert introduced the custom in England in the 19th century and, from there, to the world.

It’s also interesting that, even today, a number of Calvinist families in the United States still do not celebrate Christmas because of its pagan past. They feel the same way about Easter. When I first started blogging, an occasional reader once asked me why conservative Protestants were not more active in the arts, particularly religious painting. They consider many of the arts to be unbiblical. Religious painting is seen as a violation of the second Commandment (Exodus 20:4, Deuteronomy 5:8), which prohibits heavenly images.  Going to the theatre, not to mention acting, is also seen as somewhat suspect by some (not all). I have a 20th century Calvinist treatise on this which I’ll try to remember to post on next year.

One can see the tension between Anglicans and Calvinists in the way they handled this time of year. That tension originated in England decades before the English Civil War — explaining why Oliver Cromwell is still a highly unpopular historical figure here — and carried over to the American colonies.

Note that the Calvinists settled New England and the Anglicans the southern coastal colonies. Their approaches to life were quite different. Michelle’s post unpacks this beautifully.

I wish Michelle and Brett not only a Merry Christmas but all the best with Belle Grove and pray for their success.