Americana Christmas

Americana is alive and well. At least in the small town of Burlington, CT where, for the last 23 years, they have celebrated Christmas in a style reminiscent of something out of a Norman Rockwell painting. With the high school band doing their best to play in the down-right cold night air, the town selectman, Theodore “Teddy” Schiedel lit the town green Christmas tree with the traditionally New England white Congregational church for a backdrop. Afterwards, native daughter Lynn Gresh-Whittaker sang and led the 200 or so assembled carolers through several verses off the well known holiday classics. The children clustered in the front to lend their voices and unique interpretations to many of the songs, while many of the parents huddled for warmth around the fire provided by the local fire department. Later, with the refrain of “Santa Clause is Coming to Town” filling the air, Santa himself arrived, not on a sleigh, but aboard a very modern, and very shiny, fire truck. Candy canes were distributed along with hot cocoa and cookies thanks to the Burlington Town Ladies Auxiliary. The historic tavern was opened for the evening and well lit, adding to the overall festive mood. All in all, except for the fire truck, this was a scene that anyone living within the past several hundred years would have recognized as a quintessentially American celebration of Christmas.