Winter Family Fair

Celebrate the holiday season with the Morgan’s annual display of the original manuscript of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol and enjoy crafts and activities themed to their current exhibitions.

Christmas Present! The Grand Falloons company leads visitors in a lively celebration of A Christmas Carol with strolling characters Ebenezer Scrooge, Bob Cratchit, and the Ghost of Christmas Present, as Victorian-era performers delight with magic and music.

“Come in and know me better, man!” Get into character, literally, as a figure from A Christmas Carol using the head-in-the-hole board mimicking Punch contributor John Leech’s famous illustrations.

Sachet Your Way Inspired by Seeds of Knowledge: Early Modern Illustrated Herbals, create your own scent sachet using aromatic ingredients such as lavender and rose petals.

“As good as gold” Celebrate the fabulous jeweled bindings and coins on display in Morgan’s Bibles: Splendor in Scripture and Medieval Money, Merchants, and Morality by designing your own golden book cover.

Medieval Modeling Children can choose medieval costume props created by artist Pam Koehler and pose for family pictures in the historic parlor.

Please Touch! Families can examine an early printed book in person! Dr. Peter Goop of Liechtenstein, whose collection is featured in the exhibition Seeds of Knowledge: Early Modern Illustrated Herbals, has loaned his copy of the 1496 edition of Terence’s Comedies for public study. Families can feel the texture of 500-year-old linen paper and enjoy the woodblock illustrations.

Red Letter Day: Family Raffle Sign up for our Family Raffle for two chances to win a copy of A Christmas Carol and Maurice Sendak’s The Nutshell Library . Drawing at 3:45pm in the court as part of the Closing Carols.

2:30–2:45 PM- Book Look! Families will take a closer look at pages from an illuminated manuscript in the exhibition Morgan’s Bibles: Splendor in Scripture and discover colorful holiday stories.

3:00–3:30 PM- A Christmas Carol Off the Shelves: Reading in the Library Be dazzled by ghosts and spirits in Pierpont Morgan’s historic library as the Grand Falloons company brings Dickens and his masterpiece to life right off the library shelves with a lively and very merry rendition of A Christmas Carol.

3:45–4:00 PM- Closing Carols and Raffle Drawing in the Court The Grand Falloons close the afternoon with a rendition of classic holiday songs. Continue your museum visit by exploring all current exhibitions including the original manuscript of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol  in the West Room of J. Pierpont Morgan’s library.