A prophet walked on snowy streets
Glad greetings filled the air.
And still today we feel that love
Whenever we are there.
Those simple joys of Old Nauvoo
Still set our hearts aglow
And rest upon us tenderly
Like softly falling snow.
For those of us with a Mormon heritage, the facts and folklore of Nauvoo live large in our minds and hearts. In those few legendary years of the 1840s, Nauvoo was our Camelot, “for one, brief shining moment” a Zion society of love and joy that we hope will someday, somewhere be duplicated.
Combine our love of Nauvoo with the magic of Christmas, and you have the stuff that dreams are made of. The people who live and work in Nauvoo today are intertwining their efforts and talents to make those dreams a reality with a weekend of special holiday activities for visitors and locals on December 4-6.
The festivities begin with the second annual An Olde Nauvoo Christmas, a two-day event sponsored by Nauvoo Events and Retreats, an entity directed by a committee of Nauvoo women. On the evening of Thursday December 4, the Kimberly Smith family, great-great-grandchildren of Joseph and Emma Smith, will present “The Greatest Gift.” It is the story, in word and song, of Joseph's and Emma's family through the years and how they are beginning to overcome generations of division and contention as some are coming to find and accept the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. “This is about how the Smith family are trying to unite, and how important it is for all families to do the same and heal their generational issues,” Kimberly says. “That is why I do these presentations, to promote the unity of families.”
In the later years of her life, Emma Smith shared hospitality and meals with travelers and guests in the historic Nauvoo House, which came to be known as the Riverside Mansion . On the morning of Friday December 5, guests will arrive at the Nauvoo House to find “Emma” there, welcoming them for a hearty Christmas brunch in her dining room, which will be festively decorated for the holiday.
After brunch, Lachlan Mackay, director of the Joseph Smith Historic Sites, will take guests on private tours of the Homestead , Smith Family Cemetery , Mansion House and Red Brick Store. “As I share the Nauvoo homes of Joseph and Emma Smith with visitors during December, the season of giving,” he says, “I can't help but think of the incredible generosity of so many in 1840s Nauvoo as they worked to bring about the Kingdom of God on earth. Some gathered to chop wood for those struggling with the cold. Others gave gifts of ham and flour to families who had nothing but Johnny cakes to eat. The Relief Society, organized in Joseph's Red Brick Store, with Emma as the first president, often led the efforts to find jobs for the widows and food for the poor. Though impoverished themselves, the Nauvoo pioneers model for me what it truly means to give.”
The final event of An Olde Nauvoo Christmas is an 1840s Christmas supper party on Friday evening at the Nauvoo House. Guests will be welcomed by the “Taylors,” “Kimballs,” “Wooodruffs” and “Pratts” for an evening of good food, music, dancing, laughter, story-telling and some surprises. This interactive dinner theater is performed by members of the Nauvoo Re-enactors Guild, who each year recreate segments of Nauvoo's history for visitors including the organization of the Relief Society each March in the Red Brick Store.
The Christmas spirit continues on Saturday in uptown Nauvoo, with Mulholland Street dressed in nostalgic holiday decor as the Nauvoo Tourism Office sponsors the annual Christmas to Remember holiday walk. Businesses will feature holiday specials, refreshments and live music. Free horse-drawn carriage rides will be available along Mulholland Street from noon to 2:00 p.m. Sts. Peter & Paul Catholic Church will sponsor a Tour of Homes and Inns of Nauvoo from noon to 5:00 p.m.
Jeanene Dean, director of Nauvoo Tourism Office, loves welcoming visitors to this little city. “Nauvoo is such a unique and wonderful place anytime,” she says, “but at Christmastime there's a special feeling in the air. Christmas in Nauvoo is the epitome of what we think of as an ‘old-time Christmas.' It is fresh, crisp air. It's the sounds of sleigh bells and horse hoofs in the quiet. It's Christmas carols being sung in a place where you and your family can stop and enjoy the pure joy of the season.”
At 5:00 p.m. on Saturday everyone is welcomed into the Historic Nauvoo Visitor's Center for the annual tree-lighting ceremony with caroling and music by the Nauvoo-Colusa High School choir and band. Illinois Nauvoo mission president Robert Ludwig and Nauvoo Mayor John McCarty and will offer brief remarks before Mayor McCarty flips the switch to light the magnificent, two-story tree. Afterward, Historic Nauvoo's horse-drawn carriages, decorated with fresh evergreen boughs, sleigh bells and glowing lights will take visitors through Old Nauvoo to tour restored homes and shops all decked out in period Christmas decor. The sites will be open until 9:00 p.m.
Kathleen Hughes, first counselor in the General Relief Society Presidency from 2002-2007, and her husband, popular author Dean Hughes, came to Nauvoo as public affairs missionaries in October of this year. “As we anticipate the coming of the Christmas Season we feel so blessed to be in this place,” says Sister Hughes, “and we are excited about the prospects of welcoming visitors to Historic Nauvoo on the evening of December 6 to experience ‘Christmas On the Prairie.'” She says citizens and visitors will be able to enjoy stories and songs in some of the historic sites; caroling; and, of course, homemade cookies, hot chocolate and cider in the Family Living Center . A live nativity will be performed in the Historic Cultural Hall at 6:30, 7:15 and 8:00 p.m.“What better beginning to this joyous holiday could we have!” Sister Hughes adds.
In December 1843, Joseph Smith put a notice in the Nauvoo Neighbor, saying he and Emma would be entertaining guests at a Christmas day dinner party in the newly opened Nauvoo House. They happily received guests all day long and well into the evening. That was Joseph's last Christmas on earth. Nauvoo residents believe he would be pleased to know that the Christmas traditions of Old Nauvoo are still being celebrated and shared today.
Activities sponsored by the Nauvoo Tourism Office and Historic Nauvoo are free and open to the public. For further information about Nauvoo please visit www.historicnauvoo.ne, www.cofchrist.org/js, and www.beautifulnauvoo.com. To register for An Olde Nauvoo Christmas, and other upcoming Nauvoo events visit www.nauvoovillas.com.
