An Old Fashioned Christmas

 

Yesterday evening, we travelled to the village of Sherbrooke for the start of their Old Fashioned Christmas celebrations.  The opening night event was their Christmas tree lighting, followed by a candlelight procession and Christmas carols.

Sherbrooke Village is a living history museum, which is a representation of a typical Nova Scotia village of the 1860s.  Located on the St Mary's River, Sherbrooke was a boom town of the 1860s with the main trade being in tall ships, timber and gold.  During the summer season, the museum part of the village is brought to life by costumed interpreters who recreate the daily activities of the community in 25 heritage buildings. (The photograph above is of the General Store).

This was our first visit to the Christmas event and so we were unsure quite what to expect.  We parked on the edge of the modern-day village and walked into the museum along dark streets.  As we approached, we saw buildings decorated for Christmas and lots of lights.

There was actually a large crowd estimated at about 3,000 people for the event, although these photographs do not give that impression.  After the carols, we went for a walk around the village whilst other entertainment continued.  The night was relatively mild, although we were well bundled against the cold.  After almost two hours outside on a late November night, we were glad to make an early departure and beat the rush.

 

I was not very well prepared for photographs, so please excuse the quality, as I took them with my phone.  Also, it is hard to get great quality night photos without a good quality camera.

This is obviously Santa's landing pad and behind that, the Church.

It looks like he may have just arrived.

 

I love this house.  I can just imagine heading up those steps to a warm welcome.

 

The current fashions of the 1860s can just be seen in the right-hand window.

 

The nautical theme is picked up here with a dory bedecked with a Christmas tree and presents in the light festooned fishing net.  Sherbrooke Village is close to the Atlantic Ocean.

 

This majestic home caught my eye and I love the way that the tree is highlighted.

 

This is the village Courthouse, where concerts are held during the summer.

This lovely house is actually outside the museum grounds in the modern-day village, which still contains many century-homes, as they are known here.

 

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit.  There was a very special atmosphere and a happy crowd of people all eager to join in the festivities in preparation for Christmas.  It was a great way to get into the Christmas spirit.