Home for the Holidays

"It is not a very great while till Christmas now. One begins to feel the restlessness and secrecy in the air, and to smell the cedar and see the holly gleaming in the windows. Almost every one I meet has a bundle and is hurrying home to hide it."

 

–Willa Cather,

published in the Nebraska State Journal, December 17, 1893

Join us this holiday season for a new guided tour focusing on the Victorian Christmas traditions Willa Cather and her Red Cloud community observed during this festive time of year.

This year’s tour will specifically focus on Cather's love of Christmas, from the decorations popular during her childhood to the unique holiday cards she sent to loved ones each year. We know Cather often traveled to Red Cloud to spend Christmas with her family, and holiday depictions turn up in novels and short stories such as My Ántonia and "The Burglar's Christmas." She likely carried with her fond memories of annual Red Cloud Christmas traditions that included an annual supper and even a masquerade ball!  

Registration for this tour includes:

• A tour of the Willa Cather Childhood Home, decorated for the holidays

• Materials and instructions to make a Victorian-inspired ornament

• A copy of "The Burglar's Christmas," a perfect stocking stuffer!

• Festive refreshments