Glencairn Museum hosts popular holiday events Nov. 29-Jan. 5

For an experience of the beauty, magic and pageantry of Christmas that lifts the spirit and celebrates the story behind the holiday for all ages, Glencairn Museum presents its annual Christmas at Glencairn series beginning the day after Thanksgiving on Friday, November 29, and continuing for five and a half weeks. Events and activities include the 11th year of its World Nativities exhibition, tours that run daily through Sunday, January 5, the Christmas Sing Concert and a holiday-themed workshop.

(The Museum will close December 9 & 10 for the Christmas Sing Concert and December 24 & 25, so please plan accordingly.)

World Nativities
Exhibition runs Friday, November 29, through Sunday, January 5.
Self-guided tour, handicapped accessible
Daily 12-4:30pm (closed 12/9-10 & 24-25)
Special hours 12/26-29 only! Opens early: 10:00-4:30
No charge; suggested donation: $5; included in “Christmas in the Castle” guided tour

Dozens of three-dimensional Nativity scenes from around the world reveal how artists interpret and adapt the Christmas story to represent their own unique personal and cultural perspectives.

This year’s World Nativities exhibition features an antique Moravian Christmas “putz” made by folk artist Jennie Trein (1879-1977) on loan from the Moravian Historical Society in Nazareth, Pa. A putz (from the old German word putzen, meaning “to arrange or decorate”) is a miniature landscape that tells the story of the Nativity.

The putz in Glencairn’s exhibition includes pieces from Trein’s very first putz, created in 1908, as well as others added through six decades of putz production. Visiting the Trein home to see the putz was an important part of the holiday season for many Nazareth residents. She created 63 putzes in her lifetime, welcoming an estimated 50,000 visitors to the Trein home over the years.

Other nativities include some on loan from the Knights of Columbus Museum collection in New Haven, Conn., as well as outstanding examples from Glencairn’s own growing collection. Every year this continually changing exhibition offers new works for visitors to see, each one researched by Glencairn’s curatorial staff and labeled with a story that explains its significance and origins.

‘Christmas in the Castle’ guided tour
Reservations strongly recommended!
M-F 1:30 & 2:30 and Sat-Sun 1:00, 1:30 & 2:30pm
Not available 12/9-10 & 24-25
Special hours & added tours 12/26-29! Tours every half hour 10:30-2:30 these days only
$12, $10 65+/students with ID, Basic Members half price
FREE for Gold & Patron Members, children 3 & under

For 40 years, from the 1940s to 1970s, Glencairn was home to the Raymond and Mildred Pitcairn family and their lively Christmas festivities. The 45-minute tour gives visitors an intimate look into how Christmas was celebrated in this 20th-century castle using some of the family’s decorations, historic photographs, and family members’ recollections.

This year’s tour focuses on stained glass and includes time in the Treasury and the Medieval Gallery—places rarely included in the year-round “Highlights Tour.” The tour also features significant examples of Nativity art in the Museum’s collections, with stops on five different floors. At the close of the tour, visitors can explore the first floor and the World Nativities exhibition on their own.

“We offer nine tours per day the week after Christmas, December 26-29,” says Leah Smith, tour coordinator, “for families who are together for the holiday. We’ll add extra tours when possible to meet the demand for this extremely popular holiday experience, so visit the website or call for extra availability.”

The new Book Your Tour button at GlencairnMuseum.org shows tour times & open spots so you can make your choice right on the webpage. But please call if you have questions: Visitor Services at 267.502.2990 are happy to help.

Homeschool Day Open House
Tuesday, December 3
9:30am-12:30pm
$5 per person, children 3 & under are free

Glencairn Museum welcomes homeschool families for a morning of holiday fun that includes exclusive access to our World Nativities exhibition. Team up with friends for our popular Nativity Seek and Find to win a prize, then get creative with a Christmas project you can take home. Talk with guides as you wend your way at your own pace, exploring areas of the Museum that feature the Christmas story in art and learning how Christmas was celebrated at Glencairn when it was a family home.

No reservations needed. For more information: Christine McDonald, 267.502.2995 or Christine.McDonald@GlencairnMuseum.org.

Make a Christmas Country Church workshop
Saturday, December 7
1-4:00pm
Register by December 4
$40 per person includes materials

Rekindle old memories or start a new tradition with the creation of this decoration based on the traditional German-style putz. Artists Karen Loccisano and R. Michael Palan, the husband-and-wife team behind several stunning original Nativities displayed in Glencairn’s exhibition over the years, will guide participants in constructing a country church from pre-cut, scored and folded glittered paper on a Styrofoam base. Participants will also decorate two bottle-brush trees and add a choir singer, already assembled, to the scene. For ages 18 and up—bring just your Christmas spirit and enthusiasm.

To register: 267.502.2990 or info@GlencairnMuseum.org.

Annual Christmas Sing Concert
Sells out early!
Tuesday, December 10
8:00pm (doors open at 7:15)
$15 general admission, FREE for Members

This year’s Christmas Sing Concert continues the Pitcairns’ tradition, begun in 1937, of a Christmas concert each year in the castle’s Great Hall. Set to entertain and engage the audience are the “Glencairn Horns” featuring current and former members of the Philadelphia Orchestra and Les Canards Chantants, Glencairn’s Ensemble in Residence. The evening includes soloists, audience caroling and readings from the Christmas story. Reserved seating for Gold and Patron Members only. Tickets and reserved seats: 267.502.2990 or info@GlencairnMuseum.org by 12:00noon December 9.