What was Christmas like in colonial America? In Colonial Williamsburg, Va., historians have worked to re-create life as it was during that time. Ivor Noel Hume, who was director of the archaeological research program there for 30 years, described in “A Christmas Essay” the experience to be had during the holidays.

“Sleigh bells ringing, children singing, Yule logs aglow, toy-filled stockings hanging by the hearth, Currier and Ives, Tiny Tim, and a beer baron’s Clydesdales tromping through the…