View Hermann-Grima House and Gallier House in holiday dress while learning about 19th-century life from November 13, 2024 - January 6, 2025.
“Creole Holiday Traditions” at Hermann-Grima House:
Discover Creole holiday traditions from the 19th-century while touring the Hermann-Grima house and slave quarters, an example of historic preservation and interpretation in the French Quarter. The culmination of the Creole holiday season was a New Year’s Day celebration, when New Orleanians exchanged gifts and called on one another. While on tour visitors will view the holidays through the lens of enslavement, while also learning about local methods of holiday decorating and culinary traditions.
“A 19th-Century Christmas” at Gallier House:
Tour the private family home of famous New Orleans architect James Gallier, Jr. as it would have looked for Christmas with his family in the mid 19th century. The Gallier house and slave quarters is an architectural gem and the perfect example of a French Quarter townhouse. Guests will learn about Christmas customs of the day including holiday décor, religious traditions, reveillon dinners, and the experience of enslaved men and women and later domestic servants who made the such holiday celebrations possible.