Colonial Holiday Landscapes

Colonial Williamsburg’s Historic Area shows off its charm and elegance during the Christmas season clad in miles of pine roping, truckloads of assorted greens, and bushels of fresh fruit. These combine to make the fragrant handmade decorations that are the signature of a Colonial Williamsburg’s Christmas.

The passage from the first window candles in the early 20th century to the present Grand Illuminations was a steady response to the delight of visitors who gather each year to view the Williamsburg holiday landscape. The Colonial Williamsburg Christmas Look did not begin in Williamsburg even though millions of visitors now come to the Historic Area during the Christmas season to admire fruit bedecked wreaths and swags that decorate front doors, and learn how to make them. These decorations that are associated with colonial Virginia did not even originate during the 18th century colonial times.

What were holiday decorations like in colonial Virginia and in the early days of the Colonial Williamsburg preservation? How did the fashion for the current customs take hold? The web site presents an interesting behind-the-scenes history of these holiday decorations.

Colonial Williamsburg decorated for Christmas in 1936 with a few plain green pine (Pinus spp.) and boxwood (Buxus spp.) doorway wreaths and red cedar (Juniperus virginiana) branches hanging here and there at the Governor’s Palace and Raleigh Tavern. Louise Fisher, in charge of flowers and Christmas decorations, researched how contemporary 20th century upper-class English and American households decorated for the holidays. Examples, she found, were not Colonial but rather the lush fruit motifs of Renaissance sculptor Andrea della Robbia. Fisher decided to use these models as guides and by 1939 her “della Robbia” wreaths attracted so much admiration that the Williamsburg Christmas Look was launched.

My introduction to Colonial Williamsburg took place at a Colonial Williamsburg Garden Symposium a little over two decades ago. Since that first visit, I have watched the educational opportunities, especially the gardening programs, increase and grow in number.

A visit at any time of the year, but especially at Christmas, will stimulate landscape gardeners, in particular those interested in historical settings and colonial America’s cultivated plants. A virtual visit via Colonial Williamsburg: Where History Lives can be a substitute for a bona fide visit because it also has grown in size and sophistication. The gardening and outdoor decorating sections feature a combination of historical explanation, good photography, and how-to-do-it instructions.It is even possible to Tour the Town using an interactive exploration of the Historic Area and other Colonial Williamsburg properties.

At the Christmas in Williamsburg site, garden landscapers can access many interesting and outstanding features:

1. View one or several virtual slide shows;
2. Listen to a podcast of Behind the Scenes Interview: Decorating for Christmas;
3. Read an article about hand-made natural door decorations or about the Christmas apples;
4. Learn how to make your own Colonial Williamsburg decorations;
5. Discover the history of the pineapple in Williamsburg;
6. Enjoy an article about the story of Christmas decorations in the colonial capitol; and
7. Research videos and DVDs that show how to create holiday decorations.

There is so much to do at this site, which changes so frequently, that you’ll want to return time and again.

©Text and photograph by Georgene A. Bramlage, December 2006. Reproduction without permission prohibited.