Holiday Events in Charleston, S.C.

Visitors near and far can experience the holidays in the Holy City with these festive activities.

Miniature Book Society Exhibit: Charleston Library Society, December 2013

In 2012, the Charleston Library Society, the oldest library in the South, welcomed book binder Brien Biedler to repair books in its collection that dates to the 15th century. This holiday season, the Library Society invites guests to enjoy the tiny tidings of Brien's recent binding work of a miniature book (2 ½ x 3 ¼ inches), complete with a custom box. The Miniature Book Society's traveling exhibit will accompany Brien's work and will be on display during the month of December. For more information, please visit www.charlestonlibrarysociety.com or call 843.723.9912.

Holiday Dining & Entertaining Tours: Charleston Museum, November 26, December 3 & 10, 2013

The Charleston Museum's Heyward-Washington House offers spirited holiday tours focused on 18th century fare, tablescapes and décor. Guests experience the preparations for a holiday feast with a tour of the c. 1740 kitchen where they learn the art of open hearth cooking followed by a visit to the laundry service area, servants' quarter and auxiliary kitchen herb garden. The tour is complete with a viewing of the elaborate table settings and period appropriate faux food throughout the house. For more information, please visit www.charlestonmuseum.org or call 843.722.2996.

Christmas Traditions Tour at the Joseph Manigault House: Charleston Museum, December 4 & 11, 2013

During the holiday season, the Garden Club of Charleston adorns the Charleston Museum's Joseph Manigault House, a National Historic Landmark, in holiday décor. Guests celebrate the season in true Antebellum style as the Joseph Manigault family did with a tour that shares Christmas traditions practiced by the family including meals, songs and more. The Christmas Traditions Tour is offered December 4 & 11 at 4 p.m. and costs $10 for adults and $5 for children over 3 years of age. Museum members receive free admission. For more information, please visit www.charlestonmuseum.org or call 843.722.2996.

30th Annual Spirituals Concerts: Drayton Hall, December 7 & 8, 2013

Circa 1738, Drayton Hall is the oldest unrestored plantation house in America that is still open to the public and the nation's earliest example of fully executed Georgian-Palladian architecture. Now in its 30th year, the Spirituals Concerts are one of the Charleston area's most popular holiday events with its annual observance of traditional African-American spirituals. This year, Ann Caldwell and the Magnolia Singers will present two concerts in the raised English basement of Drayton Hall, offering a rare opportunity to hear music that could have been heard centuries ago in the surrounding fields and praise houses. The occasion begins with a catered reception and guided tours of Drayton Hall, now in its fourth century. Performances will be held on Saturday, Dec. 7th from 4:30 – 6:30 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 8th from 3 – 5 p.m. Tickets are $35 for adults and $30 for Friends of Drayton Hall. Group Rates available. For more information, please visit www.draytonhall.org or call 843-769-2638.

Yuletide in the Lowcountry: Historic Charleston Foundation, Mid-November through January, 2013

Experience the feasts, festivities and local traditions at Historic Charleston Foundation's two museum houses with Yuletide in the Lowcountry, taking guests on a journey through Christmas past. From the Federal to Antebellum era, guests learn how families and enslaved African Americans at the Nathaniel Russell (c. 1808) and Aiken-Rhett (c. 1820) House Museums celebrated the holidays. This exhibition will be on view mid-November through early January. Historic Charleston Foundation invites you to enjoy the holidays at the Nathaniel Russell House Museum and the Aiken-Rhett House Museum from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. with the last tour at 4:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday; 2 - 5 p.m., Sunday. Admission is $10; children under 6 admitted free. These exhibits are closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. For more information, visit www.historiccharleston.org or call 843-723-1623.

Spend Christmas with the Alstons at Christmas 1860: Middleton Place, December 6 & 13, 2013

Christmas 1860 brings an Antebellum holiday to life with decorations and theater. Guests tour the Edmondston-Alston House, while historians dressed in period costumes reenact the conversations of a family on the brink of the Civil War. Continuous tours are offered each night from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. For tickets or more information, go to www.middletonplace.org or call 843-722-7171.

Family Yuletide: Middleton Place, December 14, 2013

Family Yuletide in the Plantation Stableyards is a longstanding Middleton Place tradition combining Christmas cheer with history and hands-on crafts. Activities include wreath and ornament making, along with special presentations on Gullah Christmas traditions from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Stableyard artisan shops are lit by candlelight as craftspeople demonstrate their trades and interact with visitors. Tickets are available online at www.middletonplace.org or by calling 843-556-6020.

For a complete list of the Charleston Area holiday offerings, please visit www.mycharlestonchristmas.com.

For more information, visit explorecharleston.com

Photo credit: Wentworth Mansion