“Deck the Halls: Female Abolitionist Societies and the Evolution of Christmas” with Ken Turino

December 21, 2021

In the mid-nineteenth century, what we think were the Christmas celebrations of today were actually just beginning. In this virtual lecture, Historic New England’s Ken Turino narrates the history of female abolitionists in America and their contributions to the development of modern American Christmas traditions. These abolitionists, including Maria Chapman and Lydia Marie Child, hosted Christmas fairs to raise money for the abolitionist cause. Turino looks at the Sewing Circles both abroad and across America that contributed a wide array of goods for sale at these fairs. These fairs had a wide-ranging influence on a number of Christmas traditions, including the adoption of greenery and the Christmas tree in America.

Ken Turino is a curator, educator, director, producer, and author. As Manager of Community Partnerships and Resource Development at Historic New England, he oversees community engagement projects throughout the region and is responsible for the exhibitions at the Sarah Orne Jewett Museum and Visitor Center in South Berwick, Maine and the Langdon House in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. His films have been shown on PBS and he has curated recent exhibitions such as “Cultural Keeper, Cultural Maker,” paintings of Richard Haynes. Ken’s most recent publication, with Max von Balgooy in 2019, is Reinventing the Historic House Museum, New Approaches and Proven Solutions, for Rowman & Littlefield. He has served on the Council for the American Association for State and Local History and currently has a book on the history of Christmas in development.