It?s time to deck the halls Welcome back to Period Dramas, a weekly column that alternates between rounding up historic homes on the market and answering questions we?ve always had about older structures.
The idea of historic Christmas decorations usually inspires the image of a room that would make The Ghost of Christmas Past from A Christmas Carol at home?something outfitted with holly and pine, with no shortage of ornaments and candles and ribbon.
But we were curious: Is that mind?s-eye notion of history purely fabricated, or is there any truth to it" How were houses decorated for Christmas in the 1800s"
For answers, we turned to the team at Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts, which recently installed a display chronicling how Christmas decorations evolved in New England over the course of the 19th century.
Courtesy of Creative Commons.
The Salem Town House in Old Sturbridge Village.

?In the early 19th century?the 1830s?most New Englanders were not practicing Christmas,? says assistant curator Shelley Cathcart. ?The majority of the population had Puritan roots, so most people were not decorating the interiors of their homes, especially with a Christmas tree.?
And those who were decorating their homes did so very modestly. The living room of Old Sturbridge Village?s Salem Town House is decorated in the style of the 1830s, and the decorations don?t even take up the entire surface of a small card table.
?Typically, you?ll...