“Get a feel for what a winter’s evening in the 1740s was like,” director Becky Gochnauer says.
Guests entering the visitors’ center will be greeted with live music, and demonstrators dressed in 18th-century style will offer demonstrations throughout the house and grounds, which are based on Mennonite life in early Lancaster County.
The arched stone cellar will feature ice cutting and storage. Savory smells will welcome guests to the kuche, or kitchen, where demonstrators will make gumbis, a dish of smoked sausage, cabbage and apples; molasses cookies; and apple fritters. Guests may sample the food.
The main room, which is known as the stube, will host a German reading of the Christmas story, from the gospel according to Luke.
Anna Herr will tell bedtime stories to her girls in the back bedroom, and the “first attic,” which is the second floor of the house, will feature both Pennsylvania-German and Moravian Christmas traditions. Two trees will be decorated, and two tables will be set to reflect Christmas traditions.
According to Gochnauer, Pennsylvania Germans didn’t celebrate Christmas until the mid-1800s.
“Christmas was just like any other day,” she says.
Christmas trees didn’t become popular until the mid- to late-1800’s.
“The German side will be much more simple than the Moravian side,” Gochnauer adds.
Visitors won’t want to miss a walk around the grounds, where they can sing carols around the bonfire, listen to tales of frontier and trapper life and enjoy free hot cider and pretzels. Smoked sausage will be available for sale.
Demonstrations will include candle making and the use of a treadle lathe to make candleholders. Working blacksmiths will also be on-site.
Cost of the hour-long tour is $6 for adults; $3 for children ages 7 to 12; and free for children 6 and under.
For details, visit www.hansherr.org or call 464-4438.
