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Christmas is coming soon, and it’s time to step back from the hustle and bustle of the holiday for an evening of fun at the Historic Carter Mansion. Come December 1 and 2, step back in time to the 18th century and enjoy a colonial Christmas at the beautiful Carter Mansion at 1031 Broad St.

The public is invited to join the Carter family and their friends for a glimpse into a simpler time when Christmas was the grandest celebration of the entire year. In colonial America, the Christmas season was celebrated as a month-long array of merriment and festivities signaled by caroling, feasting, dances, fox hunts, and the firing of Christmas guns. Christmas on the colonial frontier would have been much different, though, with only the simplest of pleasures being offered by the humble backwoods settlers. However, in contrast, the Carters would have displayed an opulence only seen in the finest homes of Williamsburg or Philadelphia.

The Christmas celebration will feature the sights and sounds of the 18th century as you are escorted by lantern light, through the oldest frame house in Tennessee, decorated with bright greenery and soft candlelight for the holidays.  Visit with historic interpreters as they transport you to a Colonial American Christmas. Tours begin at 6 p.m., with a new tour starting every twenty minutes until the last tour at 8:20 p.m. General admission is $14; ages 12 and under are $10. Tours are by reservation only. You may register at tnstateparks.com/parks/events/sycamore-shoals. 

The tour, which is a one-of-a-kind holiday gathering, is sure to become an annual tradition with your family.

For more information, contact Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park at 423-543-5808. You can also drop in for a visit at the park visitors center and museum at 1651 West Elk Avenue.