![\"Christmas](\"https:\/\/travelthruhistory.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/heritage3.jpg\")
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by Rick & Chris Millikan<\/em><\/p>\n Every December, Burnaby Heritage Village in Burnaby, B.C. Canada reopens for its heritage holiday schedule. Festively dressing up and entertaining guests with special activities, it\u2019s an opportunity for visitors to rediscover the true meaning of Christmas.<\/p>\n Opening the door of Seaforth School we feel like new students as the plainly clad school-marm sternly teaches all grades, all subjects. Evidently she\u2019s directed her class to adorn this one-room school with classic handmade decorations, making it very Christmassy!<\/p>\n A plaque posted on the two-room log home tells us that Tom Irving and Bob Moore first built this house near Burnaby Lake. Tom prospected in the Yukon and later helped build BC\u2019s early tram line, represented nearby in a barn sheltering a beautifully restored 1923 interurban tramcar and model toy train diorama. Tom never married and died in 1964 at the age of 100. Like most of the thirty structures there, this cabin\u2019s interior, dons early Christmas trimmings.<\/p>\n Peering through Burnaby Lake General Store\u2019s windows, we see a bygone wish list and examples of popular toys of that era. And outside the soda fountain, a brass band plays familiar Christmas melodies. Listeners mingle with still costumed Footlight Theatre Company performers, who\u2019d just staged a children\u2019s tale in the cozy Village Theater. Inside the soda fountain, we sip cups of mulled cider. Exiting later, we watch a clown perform mirthful magic in front of the old-fashioned Home Bakery.<\/p>\n Weaving in and out of shops, we check out paper lanterns in the Chinese herbalist shop, pick up seasonal bookmarks at the print shop and admire little Union Jack flags ornamenting the Royal Bank\u2019s fir tree. At the end of Main Street, a one-room cabin is decorated as a gingerbread house; a costumed gingerbread gal skips mischievously about, posing with visitors of all ages.<\/p>\n A popular family attraction is the festively decorated C. W. Parker 1912 Carousel. There\u2019s not enough time to take a spin, or hear the costumed carolers serenading visitors each evening. But, before departing we pop into the Love farmhouse. Simple decorations hint at this home\u2019s jolly winter gatherings. The tweedy-suited interpreter reports, \u201cThe Loves were Burnaby\u2019s first landowners. Building in 1893, they added this kitchen and living room in 1911. These rooms were important for big Christmas get-togethers, when Grandpa took the train from Vancouver, bringing a turkey, goose and his fiddle…\u201d<\/p>\n And long may these merry celebrations continue!<\/p>\n It\u2019s easy for visitors to find. For drivers: it\u2019s just off Trans-Canada Highway 1 at Exit 33 and left on Canada Way for one block to its colorfully quaint entrance on Deer Lake Avenue. For public transit users: take Bus 144, 123, or 129.<\/p>\n Check out the Burnaby Village Museum website<\/a> to learn about seasonal schedules, special events and programs.<\/p>\n![\"Clown](\"https:\/\/travelthruhistory.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/heritage2.jpg\")
<\/a>Entering this charming 1920\u2019s village, families cross a bridge above a murmuring creek and step back to a simpler era. The narrow roadway curves upward between an old schoolhouse and a tiny cabin. Just below sits a high peaked church, where a children\u2019s choir practices melodic carols.<\/p>\n<\/a>Red-ribbon bows and greenery decorates the corner bandstand and drapes over the village\u2019s main street. Spotting Father Christmas, we follow him into the Village studio to snap a few photos of this Yuletide hero. The bewhiskered chap proudly tells us, \u201cYou\u2019ll notice I\u2019m not dressed in red and white like today\u2019s chubby elf. Coca-Cola created him in their 1931 ad campaign. My long, brown fur-trimmed robe and cap represent apparel of that fourth-century gift giver and famed Turk, Saint Nicholas.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a>Remaining on its original site at the other end of town, the Bateman family home is authentically furnished with 1922 d\u00e9cor. This December, their home depicts \u201cThe Night Before Christmas,\u201d an old red sleigh sits on the verandah and a large toy mouse sleeps in its spacious living room. Their garage was converted a few years ago into a playhouse stocked with vintage toys for ageless girls and boys.<\/p>\n
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