Christmas is all about excitement, joy, laughter and celebrations so the Western Development Museum (WDM) has come up with an exciting Christmas campaign to spread the celebration.
WDM is once again hosting its popular holiday program A Christmas Long Ago on Dec. 10 and Dec. 17.
“This is my favourite program that we offer here at the Western Development Museum,” saod Karla Rasmussen, education programs co-ordinator. “It is important to get together to mark these special occasions such as Christmas with one’s family.”
The focus of this program is to experience the traditions of Christmas and how they were celebrated 100 years ago. Christmas is always about family gatherings, turkey dinners, brightly wrapped gifts, decorated trees and much more. Children would be excited about what gifts are under the tree, what would be inside the stockings, what new Christmas stories will unfold and what goodies would the family bake.
The presentation is also about the early pioneers in 1910. They came from Europe and settled down for farming opportunities. The story is a progression of their arrival and how their families branched out to different places.
It was during Christmas when everyone used to gather around for family reunions. Family members who live in bigger cities like Saskatoon or Regina came down to their grandparent’s homes in rural areas for celebration.
In those times, communication devices were limited, and letter writing was popular. Families used to receive greeting cards and letters for holiday preparations. Trees were decorated with ornaments and children used to gather around for gifts. Carved wooden toys were very popular in 1910.
The presentation will consist of three parts: a story narration with projections of photographs from the museum’s archive, a real-life visual, followed by an activity where everyone would make Christmas cards with recycled materials and replicate different techniques that were used 100 years ago.
There is also a Snowflake Seek and Find activity for youngsters where nine images of different snowflakes have been hidden within the museum galleries. Young visitors will try and locate these images and record where they were found. At the end of the hunt, there will be an announcement with a great big prize basket for the holidays.
WDM will also be handing out a Christmas at the WDM booklet containing guided questions about winter and holiday traditions, and artifacts archived in the museum galleries. There will also be short films from the National Film Board screening in their Saskatchewan Theatre throughout the month.
This is an interactive presentation where attendees would engage with real-life archives from the museum. The session has an in-person and a virtual presentation. In-person sessions will be hosted on Dec. 10 & 17 from 10.00 a.m. and another at 2.00 p.m.
Virtual session will be on Dec. 23 at 7.00 p.m. Tickets are required to purchase to attend the in-person sessions but the virtual presentation is completely free. Tickets for WDM members cost around $12.69 for adults and $9.51 for youths (5-18). For non-members, $15.86 for adults and $12.69 for youths (5-18). Participation is limited to 25 people per session. Pre-registration is required for participation.
To register for this program please go to wdm.ca/winter. For more information contact 306-693-5989.
