Victorian Christmas Tour: Origin of Christmas Traditions

Want to experience a new Christmas tradition in New York – something beyond the Rockettes and the Rockefeller Center tree? Go off the beaten path this holiday season by taking this walking tour through three Victorian areas--Gramercy Park, Ladies Mile, and Chelsea--exploring the Christmas traditions that emerged from each. Stops include where O. Henry wrote Gift of the Magi and where Clement Clarke Moore penned Twas the Night Before Christmas. The tour will also explore New York's role in the evolution of the modern Kris Kringle, from Washington Irvings St. Nicholas figure to Thomas Nasts jovial Santa. 

11:00am tour. $25 per person. Advance reservations required by Thursday, December 12th, at which time they are considered final sale. Attendees will meet at the northeast corner of 21st St and Lexington Ave, across from Gramercy Park and under the plaque to Cyrus Field. Subway: 6, N, R to 23rd Street.