Interpreting Christmas at Museums and Historic Sites

Interpreting Christmas at Museums and Historic Sites offers a wide range of perspectives on Christmas and practical guidance for planning, research, interpretation, and programming by board members, staff, and volunteers involved in the management, research, and interpretation at house museums, historic sites, history museums, and historical societies across the United States. Packed with fresh ideas and approaches by nearly two dozen scholars and leaders in this specialized topic, as well as Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, they can easily be adapted for the unique needs of organizations of various budgets and capacities. An extensive bibliography of books and articles published in the last twenty years provides additional resources for museum staff.

Kenneth C. Turino is manager of community partnerships and resource development at Historic New England, where he oversees community engagement projects, community exhibitions, and fundraising. Since 1993, he has given presentations on the history of Christmas mainly for historic sites and libraries.

Max A. van Balgooy is president of Engaging Places, a design and strategy that connects people and historic places. He regularly teaches interpretation at George Washington University and the American Association for State and Local History.