Christmas open house Dec. 12-13 at Rose Hill Plantation

UNION - Christmas in the years before the War Between the States and the common perception of Charles Dickens' Victorian Christmas are vastly different.

Antebellum Christmas was actually a low-key affair - a day spent with family, a betterthan usual meal, small gifts exchanged and a church observance. Décor, if any, was geared towards "sprucing up the house" with evergreens and holly to brighten up the dreary winter.

Visitors can see Rose Hill Plantation as it might have been in the Antebellum era at a Christmas open house on Friday, Dec. 12, and Saturday, Dec. 13, at 6 p.m. Interpreters in period clothing will be on hand to lead tours through the mansion and explain the differences between a real Antebellum Christmas and the image of Christmas with which we are all familiar.

Admission to the special evening is $5 per person. Preregistration is required. Reservations may be made calling the park office, 864-427-5966, and specifying which evening is preferred; pre-register no later than Thursday, Dec. 11.

The mansion will be decorated for the holiday season during December.