This month I have something a little different for you. Instead of one specific site or town of historic significance to visit, we are exploring a theme. The theme is of course Christmas in New York! In this episode you will discover how crucial New York was in the formation of the Christmas holiday icons, imagery, and traditions we know and love today. We will run into our old friend Washington Irving and join him in his meetings with Charles Dickens. We'll do a deep dive into the origins of Santa Claus as we know him today beginning back in antiquity then moving forward in time to the Hudson Valley Dutch. We'll learn how Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Victorian Britain influenced our Christmas and just how spooky some Christmas traditions were. For sites to visit we are all over the place in this episode including Rockefeller Center, https://www.rockefellercenter.com/ Radio City Music Hall, https://www.msg.com/radio-city-music-hall Staatsburg https://millsfriends.org/mansion/ The Old Dutch Church in Kingston NY, https://olddutchchurch.org/ Sunnyside, https://hudsonvalley.org/historic-sites/washington-irvings-sunnyside/ Germania of Poughkeepsie, https://germaniapok.com/ and others. Join me on this incredible journey through centuries and across continents to find out the origin story of New York Christmas!

In this episode of Empire State History, we travel to the capitol of New York Albany. We will meet the original inhabitants of the Albany area the Mohawks and Mohicans. We'll also learn about the Dutch, English and later American colonists, the Revolution, and the 19th century period of economic growth in Albany. Finally, we will visit the Capitol building and the Plaza. The sites we will visit are the Schuyler Mansion https://parks.ny.gov/visit/historic-sites/schuyler-mansion-state-historic-site, The New York State Museum https://nysm.nysed.gov/visit, The Egg https://theegg.org/, The New York State Capitol Building https://empirestateplaza.ny.gov/capitol, and the Albany Institute of History and Art https://www.albanyinstitute.org/. My food recommendations this episode are Tanpopo Ramen https://tanpopoalbany.com/, and Banh Mi 47 http://banhmi47.com/.

Halloween season is finally here in Sleepy Hollow Country! In this episode enjoy some of the most haunting and historic folklore stories from Sleepy Hollow Country. Meet the Lady in White of Raven's Rock, the Star Maidens of Spook Rock, Captain Kidd the Pirate, Hulda the good witch of Sleepy Hollow, and of course the Headless Horseman. History and Legend go hand in hand in Sleepy Hollow; while enjoying the ghost stories you will also learn local history. New to this episode is also an events segment where I will cover the cemetery tours, Hulda's Night, and performances by expert storytellers among other events. I will provide links below for the sites and events.

Sleepy Hollow Cemetery Tours, https://sleepyhollowcemetery.org/tours-and-events/

Hulda's Night, https://huldasnight.com/

The Great Jack-O-Lantern Blaze https://pumpkinblaze.org/

Historic Hudson Valley Events, https://tickets.hudsonvalley.org/events

Rockefeller State Park Preserve https://parks.ny.gov/parks/59/details.aspx

Susuru Ramen https://susururamentarrytown.com/