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December 2nd  Courthouse Office Decorating Contest Friday morning; Cambria County Courthouse
The courthouse is open to visitors all day Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and is a stop that the entire family will enjoy.
County employees are encouraged to wear period costume to work on Friday.
Tree Lighting & Wassailing Friday, Noon; Cambria County Courthouse Join the Cambria County Commissioners and county employees as they bring in the Christmas season at the courthouse with the lighting of the 30’ tall Christmas tree, positioned in the rotunda of the courthouse. The historic stained glass dome above the rotunda displays the Cambria County seal, and allows sunlight to fill the rotunda. County employees surround the open rotunda on three levels to sing Christmas carols.
Gingerbread Contest & Display Friday, 10:00 am - 4:00 pm; Cambria County Historical Society The entire community is invited to participate in our gingerbread contest, sponsored by the Cambria County Historical Society. While the contest is for entrants age 18 and under, everyone is welcome to display their own gingerbread masterpiece! Prizes will be awarded for most creative, most Victorian, most artistic, most representative of Cambria County’s history, and best of show. Entries must be dropped off at the Historical Society BEFORE Dickens Weekend. For a list of rules, visit www.cambriacountyhistorical.com or call the Historical Society at 814-472-6674. Join the fun and start your own Christmas tradition! Visit the gingerbread display during regular hours over the weekend.
Light-Up Ceremony Friday, 6:00 p.m.; Kimball Park
This traditional opening of Ebensburg’s Christmas season is made bigger and better for the Dickens celebration. Enjoy a holiday performance of Christmas carols. The Mayor will proclaim the official opening of Ebensburg’s “Dickens of a Christmas”. Those attending will be invited to sing Christmas carols. Warm up with hot chocolate and enjoy a tasty treat. Immediately following the Light-Up Ceremony, stroll to your choice of holiday events, all in downtown Ebensburg. Choose to enjoy the Cresson Lake production at the courthouse, walk to the Sparkling Weddings Fashion Show & Tea at the 1st United Church of Christ, join carolers about town or just enjoy a stroll through downtown to see a wonderful holiday light display. Period costume is encouraged, but not required.
Sparkling Weddings, 1890-1960, Fasion Show & Tea The Ebensburg Cambria Library is hosting a Fashion Show featuring vintage wedding gowns, brides maid dresses, lingerie, fancy dresses and accessories. This event will be held in the church’s Educational Building, and is presented by Patti Peer of Paper and Lace Vintage Fashions from White Oak, PA. A traditional high tea with scones, assorted tea sandwiches and sweets will be provided during the show. Seating is limited and reservations are required. Call the library at 814-472-7957 or visit the library to make a reservation. The cost of the show and refreshments is $15.00 per person. Victorian dress is encouraged but not required.
Teen Dance Come out with your friends and enjoy an evening of music, games, and dancing. The YPCC will be open for refreshments and socializing with friends. All tickets are sold at the door. You are encouraged to dress in Dickens-style costume. From A Christmas Carol…… “There were more dances, and there were forfeits, and more dances, and there was cake, and there was negus, and there was a great piece of Cold Roast, and there was a great piece of Cold Boiled, and there were mince-pies, and plenty of beer (in this case, Coca Cola). But the great effect of the evening came after the Roast and Boiled, when the fiddler (an artful dog, mind! The sort of man who knew his business better than you or I could have told it him!) struck up Sir Roger de Coverley.' Then old Fezziwig stood out to dance with Mrs. Fezziwig. Top couple, too; with a good stiff piece of work cut out for them; three or four and twenty pair of partners; people who were not to be trifled with; people who would dance, and had no notion of walking.” Admission for this event is a pound & ten shilling ($6.00) and includes food and drink. celebration of Chr Cresson Lake Playhouse Holiday Production of "Winter Wonderettes”. Friday, 7:30 p.m.; Cambria County Courthouse
Call early to reserve your seats for this family production. Admission to the production is seventeen crown ($17) for adults and ten crown ($10) for children. For more information or to purchase tickets, call (814) 472-4333 or visit www.cressonlake.com. Wassailing Friday Evening
Got pudding? If not, it's time to stock up - especially on the figgy variety. Because if carolers show up at your door singing "We Wish You A Merry Christmas," be warned: They won't go until they get some. Some of the earliest carols still in common use today date back to the 17th Century, like "Greensleeves." By the 19th century, caroling evolved into a purely Christmas treat, spurred on by the work of Charles Dickens in A Christmas Carol.
In Dickens’ day, there were special wassailing songs offered by groups of children (sometimes of the poor) out wassailing through their community. They were often composed by the singers and conveyed musical wishes for good-health. Of course one of their important purposes was the solicitation of special holiday drink, food or money. The wassailers customarily carried bowls of the hot drink, wassail, and offered sips to prospective donors. The practice of begging from door to door remained well into the 20th century, even in America. In the 1930s and ‘40s, New York City children dressed in ragged clothing and dirtied their faces, rang doorbells and asked for pennies. Residents are encouraged to form their own caroling groups. It’s great holiday fun for those participating, and it’s enjoyed by the community. All “wassailers” are encouraged to dress in Victorian Dickens style costume in the spirit of the event. Winter Wonderland Holiday Light Display  You have to see it to believe it! Experience Ebensburg’s small town charm during this holiday weekend. Stroll the streets of downtown Ebensburg after dark and enjoy an absolutely dazzling display of white lights. The holiday wreaths around the Victorian streetlights, the lights that illuminate every tree along the downtown streets, and the holiday displays in store windows makes Downtown Ebensburg truly magical. Be sure to visit Kimball Park, Penn Eben Park and Veterans’ Park at night for an outstanding holiday light display. Drive through Ebensburg’s neighborhoods and let our residents share their Christmas spirit with you. Their homes are adorned with lights and Christmas greenery. Throughout Ebensburg, smiles are bigger and arms open even wider at Christmas! If we’re fortunate, a blanket of white snow will add the final touch.
When Isaiah told of the coming Prince of Peace, he spoke of light dispelling darkness. The metaphor of light is central to our celebration of Christmas and its meaning. Christmas arrives again with all the promise of remembrance and celebration.
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Wassailing is the custom of going door-to-door singing carols with a wooden wassail bowl, in hopes of gifts of food and drink. Each region in England had its own traditional "wassailing songs." These songs all had the same theme: to bid good health to neighbors, friends, "kin and kinsfolk," and all the cows, horses, dogs, and apple trees within the village bounds. All the best for a Joyous and Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous New Year!
