Twelfth Day celebrated at Priestley House

By Rob Scott
The Daily Item

January 05, 2009 07:36 am

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NORTHUMBERLAND — Joseph Priestley and his family liked to party.
At least that’s what their grocery receipts might lead us to believe.
According to Susan Brook, a volunteer at the Joseph Priestley House, preserved store ledgers from the 18th century show the Priestley family ordered a good deal of red wine. And Joseph Priestley’s wife, Mary, brewed beer.
“We do know Joseph Priestley enjoyed a party,” Brook said, noting that the historical figure often attended community festivities in both England and, after he arrived here in 1794, in Northumberland.
To honor that spirit, Brook and other volunteers at the Priestley House celebrated Twelfth Day on Sunday, marking a European tradition of observing the 12th day after Christmas.
“It was a reason to have a party,” Brook said. “I don’t know why they felt they needed an end to the party tradition.”
Twelfth Day has become an annual event for the Priestley House. This year, the museum opened the celebration with refreshments and the cutting of the Twelfth Day cake, another long-standing tradition. A few pieces of cake contained either a bean or a clover. Whoever discovers the bean is crowned king for the day, and the finder of the clove is named court jester.
Other activities included chemistry experiments presented by Joseph Priestley — portrayed by Ron Blatchley — in his laboratory and a 12 Days of Christmas scavenger hunt throughout the house. Volunteers dressed in period garb answered questions and gave short lectures to provide guests with a glimpse of what the holidays were like in late 18th-century America.
While it wasn’t exactly a faithful rendering of a traditional Twelfth Day celebration, the event drew a large crowd to the Priestley House. “If we were being authentic, we would probably be playing dice or cards, and drinking heavily,” Brook said. “We’re not doing that.”
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