Christmas Candlelight Tours continue at Vann House this weekend

Published 2:00 pm Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Most of the faces are new, the schedule has been tweaked and there’s more to see, but the beauty of Christmas at the Chief Vann House hasn’t changed since the first Christmas Candlelight Tours were held more than four decades ago. This year’s program is Friday and Saturday from 5 to 9 each night.

Built for Cherokee leader James Vann in 1804, the house saw its first Christmas celebration in 1805. Anna Rosina Gambold, wife of Moravian missionary the Rev. John Gambold, took the children from the nearby Springplace (one word then) Mission school on a “field trip.” They returned with a cedar tree and other greenery to decorate the house and their cabins.

Both the Moravians and the Cherokees were forced to leave North Georgia in the 1830s. The Vann House had other owners and occupants and many more Christmases before local residents purchased the house and the state of Georgia created a historic site that has since become one of the most recognized landmarks in the area. Formally dedicated in 1958, the site hosted its first public Christmas celebration 20 years later.

Decorating the house was the dream of longtime ranger Pat Hall, who found a willing helper in Connie Jones, a teacher from Collegedale, Tennessee. Site superintendent James Hall was finally allowed to expand the staff to include Tim Howard as programmer and the dream came true.

These four plus another longtime staff member, France Adams, started small. The first Candlelight Tours were for groups and by reservation only. More nights, opening to the general public, serving Moravian cookies and hot cider and the inclusion of more Moravian traditions were soon added. Word spread and the people came, and came, and came.

Jones brought students, friends and family while the staff recruited volunteers from the community to grow the special program. These workers became the nucleus of the Friends of the Vann House —an auxiliary organization of the Whitfield-Murray Historical Society — in 1989. As the site and the Friends of the Vann House organization grew, more hands and more funds were available, so the program expanded until it received state and even national attention.

So the candlelight program has continued with only one interruption, but the decorating has never stopped. Whether there was a full staff, only part of a staff or almost no staff, the Friends of the Vann House makes it happen every year — in the wind, the rain and even in the snow. No gaudy tinsel, no sparkling lights, no reindeer figurines will you find, just a cedar tree, holly, magnolia and pine from nearby woods, handmade decorations, candles in the windows, lanterns lighting walkways, red bows on the staircase, a Moravian star in the parlor and cider and Moravian cookies in the cabin continue to bring hundreds of folks to the Vann House during Christmas each year.

Music is another Moravian “thing.” Musicians Jane Davis, Jim Pankey, Matt Downer and Sloane and Brandon Singleton will again be adding their wonderful “strings” to the evening tours. Friends of the Vann House volunteers from 8 to over 80 will be on hand to share the story of the Vanns and their home, the Moravians and their history, and customs from Christmases past.

Admission is $6.50 for adults and $5.50 for youth. You can also join Friends of the Vann House and receive free admission. The house is open during regular daytime hours Thursday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Reservations are not required. For more information, call (706) 695-2598, check Facebook at Friends of the Vann House or go to www.gastateparks.org/chiefvannhouse.