Mill Talk: How Dickens Helped Bring Christmas to Boston

Our Mission: To educate people about America's industrial history and to encourage and inspire future innovation.We do this by creating engaging experiences that highlight the many fascinating technical and business innovations that have taken place in this region and continue to change the world.

Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation

Christmas finally began to be embraced in the mid 19th century, and  Charles Dickens' arrival in Boston really added fuel to the yule log.

This event is FREE and open to the public THIS IS AN IN-PERSON EVENT. It will not be live streamed, but will be available at a later date on the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@GBHForumNetwork" title="https://www.youtube.com/@GBHForumNetwork" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">GBH Forum Network YouTube Channel.</a> Readings and performances of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol have played an integral part in winter holiday festivities since longer than most of us can remember. What fewer people know, however, is that the British literary superstar and his popular novella actually helped bring Christmas back to Boston.Accompanied by a beautiful slide show, Susan Wilson—the Official House Historian of <a href="https://www.omnihotels.com/hotels/boston-parker-house" title="https://www.omnihotels.com/hotels/boston-parker-house" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">the Parker House</a>—traces the history of Christmas celebrations, which were discouraged and even banned in the Puritan stronghold of colonial Boston. Wilson explains how and why Christmas finally began to be embraced in the mid 19th century, and how Charles Dickens' arrival in 1867—when he made his home at the Parker House for 5 months—really added fuel to the yule log.

Above: Susan Wilson with Dickens' great great grandson, Gerald Charles DickensSusan Wilson is a widely respected photographer, author, and public historian who has written and lectured about Boston history for the past three decades. She is the official House Historian of the Omni Parker House, an Affiliate Scholar at Brandeis University’s Women’s Studies Research Center, and an Honorary Fellow of the Massachusetts Historical Society.Her most recent books are Heaven, By Hotel Standards: The History of the Omni Parker House (2019) and Women and Children First: The Trailblazing Life of Susan Dimock, M.D. (2023).The Mill Talks at the Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation are free and open to the public and are made possible by the generous support of the <a href="http://www.lowellinstitute.org/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Lowell Institute</a>.

<h1>Event FAQ &amp; Directions</h1><h3>What are my transportation/parking options for getting to and from the event?</h3>There is NO Museum Visitor parking at the Francis Cabot Lowell Mill facility where we are located. We ask that you use the nearby public parking facilities.Maps and directions to both the Museum Visitor Entrance and Parking can be found HERE: <a href="https://www.charlesrivermuseum.org/directions" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">charlesrivermuseum.org/directions</a>

<h3>How can I contact the organizer with any questions?</h3>Please feel free to call us at 781-893-5410. Museum staff hours vary during the week, but someone will be available to answer any calls the day of the show.<h3>Is it ok if the name on my ticket or registration doesn't match the person who attends?</h3>Yes, we do not need to verify identity upon presentation of the ticket.

Mill Talk: How Dickens Helped Bring Christmas to Boston

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Mill Talk: How Dickens Helped Bring Christmas to Boston

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