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Greetings! Your eagle eye, intrepid spirit, and trusty smartphone have led you to some bonus information this holiday season!

We’ve hidden ten QR Codes throughout the site, each one linking to a different holiday-related anecdote.

Now you can thrill your friends and family with amazing factoids of how of Christmas and New Year's Day were celebrated at Fort Vancouver in the past!

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The dawning of Christmas day brought many of the gentlemen of the fort out and about to bestow the compliments of the season, much like Thomas Lowe who “went the rounds wishing my friends a ‘Merry Christmas and many returns of the day.’”

An American missionary noted that on Christmas morning the fort’s employees and their families would “dress themselves in their best attire, accelerated movements are seen in every direction, and preparation is made for dinners, which are sure to be furnished in their first style, and greatest profusion; and the day passes in mirth and hilarity.”

Source: Gregory P. Shine, “A General Time of Indulgence and Festivity”: Early Winter Holiday Celebrations at the Vancouver National Historic Reserve.

Last updated: March 31, 2012

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