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Learn how French-Canadian and Swedish settlers of the Indiana Dunes celebrated the holiday season during two special programs sponsored by the Friends of Indiana Dunes. Join in the fun at Indiana Dunes National Park on Saturday December 16 at both the park’s Visitor Center and the historic Chellberg Farm.
First, celebrate like French-Canadian fur trader Joseph Bailly and his family while enjoying songs, stories, humor, and dance with Susan and Gary Brown from 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm at the Indiana Dunes Visitor Center. Listen to stories and learn about Joyeux Noel and let the music played on old time musical instruments like the dulcimer, zither, guitar, penny whistle and harmonica, take you back to a frontier homestead in the Indiana dunes of the 1800s. Holiday and winter stories from Bailly writings and diaries will be intertwined with this sing along.
Then, immerse yourself in Swedish holiday traditions from 12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. in the Chellberg farmhouse. Enjoy live holiday music, tour the historic Chellberg house, all decked out in Swedish holiday decorations, and let the kids make an ornament. Learn about how Swedish immigrants lived in Northwest Indiana in the late 1800s and about the cultural traditions they brought with them. Volunteers, in traditional dress, will share the legends of Jul Tomte (Santa) and Santa Lucia. In the kitchen, enjoy the warmth from the woodstove and see a display of a typical Swedish holiday feast at that time.
These programs are sponsored by Friends of Indiana Dunes. For more information on how to join the Friends, visit dunefriends.org. For more information on this and other programs at Indiana Dunes National Park, call 219-395-1882, visit our website, download the official National Park Service app, or view our Facebook page.
The Indiana Dunes National Park is one of more than 400 units of the National Park System ranging from Yellowstone to the Statue of Liberty. Located in Northwest Indiana, the park includes 15 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline and 15,000 acres of biodiverse beaches, woods, prairies, and marshes. Over 3 million visitors come to the Indiana Dunes each year.
Last updated: December 11, 2023