The Reformed Church of Tappan will hold A Colonial Christmas on Sunday, December 20, an afternoon of readings and traditional carols drawn from the Dutch, English, Polish and German Christmas traditions that settled in this corner of Rockland County. Admission is free, but every seat must be reserved ahead, and the Historical Society of Rockland County, which organizes the program, expects it to fill.

This year's service is tied to the 250th anniversary of American independence, which the country marks through 2026. Tappan's place in that story is a large part of why the program is held here: George Washington made his headquarters in the hamlet more than once during the Revolution.

What the afternoon includes

The program is a service of readings and carols that moves through four of the faith traditions that shaped the county's early families: Dutch, English, Polish and German. It runs 55 minutes and begins at 4 p.m. sharp, so the society asks guests to be seated before then.

It is a joint program of the Historical Society of Rockland County, the Reformed Church of Tappan and St. Catharine of Alexandria Church in Blauvelt, the Catholic parish in the neighboring hamlet. Slattery Moving and the law firm Fellows Hymowitz Rice are the business sponsors.

How to reserve a seat

Admission is free and donations are welcome. Seating is limited and handed out first come, first served. There are two ways to reserve:

  • Online, through the Eventbrite link on the historical society's event page.
  • By mail, with the registration form from the society's website, sent to the Historical Society of Rockland County, 20 Zukor Road, New City, NY 10956, to arrive by Thursday, December 10.

The society asks anyone who reserves and then cannot attend to let it know, so that the seat can go to someone on the waiting list. Questions go to 845-634-9629 or info@rocklandhistory.org.

The rest of the society's December

A Colonial Christmas closes a month of holiday programs from the society, most of them at its headquarters in New City. St. Nicholas Day, the Dutch shoe-filling tradition, runs on December 5 and 6 at the 1832 Jacob Blauvelt House, at $5 a person. Candlelight tours of the same farmhouse follow on December 12, 13 and 19, with admission to the society's 50th Annual Holiday Exhibition included. Both of those also require reservations, with a mail-in deadline of November 25.

Getting there

The Reformed Church of Tappan is at 35 Kings Highway in Tappan, in the Town of Orangetown, near the hamlet's historic center and a short drive from the New Jersey line.

A Colonial Christmas: Sunday, December 20, at 4 p.m., 55 minutes. Reformed Church of Tappan, 35 Kings Highway, Tappan. Free, reservations required; mail-in forms due December 10.

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