Interpreting Christmas at Museums and Historic Sites - (Interpreting History) by Kenneth C Turino & Max A Van Balgooy (Paperback)

About the Book

The comprehensive guide to the interpretation of Christmas at museums and historic sites. It shows how Christmas celebrations evolved along with regional differences to help create a distinct and accurate presentation for museums of different periods and locations.

Book Synopsis

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.

Review Quotes

"This indispensable guide offers a feast of practical and thoughtful ideas for museum programming around Christmas and other winter holidays. The authors provide crucial historical, cultural, and religious context and share wisdom derived from a wide range of institutional experience. Useful advice includes both highly specific details (such as where to find collection-safe Christmas greenery) and multiple, energizing perspectives on creating welcoming, inclusive, accurate, community-driven--and popular!--seasonal exhibitions and events." --Gretchen Buggeln, professor of Art History & Humanities, Valparaiso University

About the Author

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.