Other editions of book Christmas In The Big House, Christmas In The Quarters

Rich in historical detail and filled with luminous illustrations, this poignant book movingly describes the holiday celebrations of both slaves and slave owners on a pre-Civil War plantation.The year is 1859, and it's Christmastime on a Virginia Plantation. The slaves are cleaning and setting up the Big House--where their masters live--for the festivities. The Big House is filled with warmth, colorful decorations, and yummy food...but there is talk of war and a sense that times may be changing. In the quarters--where the slaves live--conditions are poor, dirty, and cold, but the slaves are filled with hope for better times ahead, and they sing songs of freedom.Moving deftly between two worlds, this beautifully illustrated book is a historical tale as well as a holiday treat.

Think of yourself as a time traveler, a visitor who has just gone back to a Virginia plantation in 1859 at Christmastime. The Big House is awash with light and color. Elegance and beauty dazzle your eyes at every turn. There's plenty of food and warm hospitality. But, the people seem uneasy. Listen to their conversations. They're talking about John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry, slave insurrections, secession, and possible war! Now, take a walk to the slave Quarters. There is no grandeur here. The wretchedness is staggering. People live in cramped one-room cabins with dirt floors. Yet, there's a celebration going on - eating, singing, and dancing. Does this mean the slaves are happy and contented? No. Listen carefully to their songs and stories. They are mostly of the hope that freedom is coming soon! The events and customs we describe in the book are historically accurate. The conversations and dialogue are real; so is the setting. However, everything we use could not and would not have happened on one plantation. For this reason, we recreated a 'Big House' and 'Quarters' based on real people, events, and places located in Virginia, 1850. Why Virginia? Because, the Jamestown Colony is where the first American Christmas was observed, and where many of our present holiday traditions began. Remember while you're reading that this is more than a seasonal account. It is the story of a region and its people on the eve of a war. When that war ended, the great plantations were never the same (taken from the author's note).