Fort New Salem kicked off the start of the holiday season on Sunday. It was a trip back through time, as people came out to celebrate The Spirit of Christmas in the Mountains.

Visitors could visit each house to see what it was like at Christmas time for settlers in the Mountain State years ago. In each house, something was going on. There was live music, storytelling, and different foods to enjoy.

There was also a recreation of the German tradition of belsnickeling. That's when people would dress up and go from house to house having people guess who they were at Christmas.  If you didn't guess right, you had to give the belsnickle a gift.

This event is meant to be a celebration of cultural folkways of our settlers. Some kids there today got a little history lesson.

"It's really fun to see the old traditions and what they did in the 1700's," said Christian Cork.

His sister Ashton said, "Well, I like the cookie making, and I think the blacksmith is pretty cool, because it shows you what they made and how they made it and what they used it for."

Also on display, was a replica of an 1820's Christmas tree at the McIntyre House.

This event will also be going on the first weekend in December, so be sure and check it out if you missed it Sunday afternoon.