Winter Holidays at The Ballantine House  

How do you celebrate winter holidays during the shortest days of the year?

The Ballantines observed Christmas in The Ballantine House between 1885 and 1919. For the first time since 2019, experience 19th-century holiday celebrations with decorations and faux food on the first floor. Upstairs, look for new installations that highlight holiday cards and ornaments.

Today, many of the elements seen here—food, candles, decorations, and gifts—also appear in winter holidays that are celebrated in Newark and around the world. For example, look for the menorah on the Hallway mantel. Also, Yinka Shonibare’s installation Party Time: Re-imagine America upends a traditional gathering in the Dining Room.

George Edward Harney, The Ballantine House Holiday Installation, 2019. Purchase 1937 | 37.646.1‑27. The Newark Museum of Art, 2020. Photo by Richard Goodbody

Unrecorded manufacturer, Teddy Bear, 1907. United States. Plush, cotton velveteen, gilt braid, 19 in. (48.3 cm) Gift of Gail Trowbridge, 1958 | 58.110A‑C

Ludwig Wolpert, Hannukah Menorah, 1956. Silver, 16 3/8 x 9 3/8 in. (41.6 x 23.8 cm). Gift of the Friends of the Robison Institution of the Newark YMWHA and of The Newark Museum, 1957 | 57.40A‑K

R. Bliss Manufacturing Company, Dollhouse, Ca.1890. Wood, paper, paint, 20 1/4 x 18 x 10 in. (51.4 x 45.7 x 25.4 cm). Gift of Mrs. C. H. Parsons, 1939 | 39.290A‑C 

Raphael Tuck and Sons, Holiday Postcard, Late 19th Century. Paper, ink, silk. Gift of Katharine Alleson Shafer, 1951 | 51.270.4 

A close‑up of a card Description automatically generatedA couple of people standing in front of a letter Description automatically generatedUnrecorded maker, Holiday Postcard, 1880s. Paper. Gift of Katharine Alleson Shafer, 1951 | 51.270.6