December 2008 - The Light Shows of West Virginia

This month's article is a little different from previous articles. For the past few months, since I started doing these articles, I've written about places I visited during the month. That was the original intent of the WV Wanderer column and, for the most part, that's what it will continue to be. This month, though, I let time get away with me just a little and I really didn't visit any WV events. I didn't know what I was going to write about. Then I saw all of the Christmas decorations in the stores - what's up with that? It's not even Thanksgiving yet. But it started me thinking about Christmas markets.

I lived in Germany for many years, and outdoor Christmas markets are really, really big and are found in almost all towns of any size. Christmas markets are widely thought to have had their origins in the Middle Ages in the German speaking parts of Europe. One of the earliest is thought to be the Dresden market, held around 1434. The markets were held on the town squares and sold food and drinks, along with other seasonal items, from open-air stalls. The markets there are still held in the center of town and attract thousands of people each year to sample the food, drink the warm, mulled wine, and buy all sorts of Christmas decorations. German-based traditions, like Christmas markets, can be seen all through West Virginia.

The first white settlement in West Virginia is thought to have been at Shepherdstown in 1717, and Germans from Pennsylvania settled there in 1727. Many German and Irish settlers followed and quite a few West Virginians have German and Irish (or Scots-Irish) heritage. I know that I do. When I first moved to Germany, I was surprised at how similar some of the food was to what my mother used to make. There are many Christmas markets in the United States, and West Virginia has its share. While the German Christmas markets feature food, mulled wine, and Christmas decorations, our West Virginia markets seem to feature light shows and arts and crafts. This list includes some of them, but there are many more … in every county in West Virginia.

Christmas Fantasy Light Show at Krodel Park, November 21 - December 31. This holiday themed parade starts 5:00pm at the Board of Education Office (old Central School) on Main Street in Point Pleasant. The drive-through the Christmas Fantasy Light Show has unique light displays throughout Krodel Park including Santa Claus, a sternwheeler, the Mothman, and a twenty foot windmill. There is no admission fee, and visitors may drive through the display from 5:30pm-9:30pm nightly.

Holiday Light Festival in Point Pleasant, 12-22 December, from 7:00pm to 9:00pm nightly. This drive-through event features Christmas light displays on every tree, shrub, and building through the Farm Museum, which is located four miles north of Point Pleasant. Admission is free and there will be hot chocolate and cookies for children.

An Annual Appalachian Coal Town Christmas & Light Festival is hosted by the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine and Youth Museum of Southern WV on December 5 and 6. The festival includes: Lights and decorations, Theatre WV and community church groups, Arts, Crafts and food vendors, as well as Horse and Buggy rides, and Underground mine tours.

The Winter Festival of Lights at Oglebay Resort in Wheeling is one of the nation's largest, covering more than three hundred acres over a six-mile drive throughout the resort. It's held November 5 - January 4, 2009 and this year is going 'green', switching to energy-conserving LED lights.

Christmas on the Frontier will be held at Fort Randolph in Point Pleasant's Krodel Park on December 6 from 10:00am to 5:00pm. This is themed around a 17th century Christmas on the wild frontier.

Prickett's Fort Annual Christmas Market is held November 28 -30 and Dec 5-7. This is one of the most well known Christmas events in West Virginia and is one that I plan on visiting. In addition to hot food and live music during a special winter tour of the Fort and Job Prickett House, buildings will be decorated for the season, interpreters will be on hand with information and demonstrations about 18th and 19th century holiday traditions and the Museum Shop will feature vendors and traditional gift items.

Harpers Ferry's Olde Tyme Christmas Celebration is on December 5, 6, 7 and December 13, 14, and 20, a traditional Christmas celebration in an 1860 setting. There are holiday musical performances, puppet shows, story telling, visits with Santa Claus, caroling, Arts and Craft Show, and a living nativity at St. Peters Church on Saturday Nights.

Also in Harper's Ferry, there is a Prospects of Peace: A Soldier`s Prayer, held on December 6 and 7 from 11:00am to 5:00pm in the Lower Town District. This special focuses on Yuletide 1864 when Harpers Ferry soldiers attempted to create their own version of Christmas at the front while recalling happier ones at home. Programs and activities feature local citizens and soldiers preparing for the Yuletide, a Civil War style Santa Claus dispersing presents to the soldiers, a Victorian Cotillion, Yuletide confections, and special guided walking tours.

Webster Springs Hometown White Christmas lasts the entire month of December. Downtown streets, buildings, and the Baker's Island Recreation Area are decorated with thousands of white lights and dozens of interesting Christmas displays. Many merchants offer extended store hours.

The Lions Tri-State Arts & Crafts Festival, held December 5, 6, and 7, is a combination of a juried Arts & Crafts Show, charitable organizations raising funds, and local high schools' show choirs and jazz bands providing entertainment. Artists and crafters from WV, KY, VA, OH, TN, NC, PA, and IN participate in the show.

In Helvetia, there is a Feast of Sankt Nickolaus Celebration at noon on December 6. Local cooks gather at the Community Hall Kitchen to begin baking their holiday favorites and Peter Schaefer from Bern, Switzerland, demonstrated the making Swiss traditional Christmas Sweets.

Italian heritage is celebrated on December 13th at the Feast of the Seven Fishes Festival on Main Street in Fairmont. The Feast of the Seven Fishes is a Christmas Eve tradition, based on food, family, celebration, and it originated in Italy as a way to create a celebration in honor of the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church.

There are holiday events in towns and counties from now until the end of December; too numerous to mention here. You can always type some keywords into an internet search engine but some handy web sites for finding events are: visitwv.com, eventcrazy.com, & craftlister.com. You can also visit our Central West Virginia event calendar at www.twolanelivin.com.