Stroll through Nurnberg's Christkindlmarkts, overflowing with decorations, toys and German crafts. Visit Dickens' Old Curiosity Shop in London. Feast on plum pudding and cassava pie in Bermuda. Sing Christmas carols in the Colonial town of Williamsburg.
Or sit before a roaring fire in a quaint New England inn. Catch a glimpse of Papa Noel in New Orleans. Break a pinata in San Antonio. Dance to romantic waltzes in Vienna. Snowmobile to a reindeer farm in Finland. Cruise the Caribbean.
Holiday travel is getting to be more than going over the river and through the woods to Grandma's house. The options are growing each year. And since many holiday travelers are seniors, Grandma might just be leading the way.
Bermuda, located 600 miles off the North Carolina coast, is a great holiday destination because, unlike the islands of the Caribbean, winter is off-season. The island is less crowded than the summer months and prices are generally lower. Yet the weather is just right for golf, tennis or Christmas shopping in the gaily decorated shops of Hamilton or St. George's.
The atmosphere is a mix of North American customs and English traditions. Lavishly decorated Christmas trees line the streets of Hamilton; and the aroma of fruitcakes made with Bermuda black rum, plum puddings and cassava pies, a special Bermudan Christmas treat, waft from the restaurants. Santa Claus is on hand, and local theaters also stage English pantomimes. Candlelight services are held at historic churches on Christmas Eve, and bells welcome the dawn of Christmas Day.
Boxing Day, Dec. 26, is celebrated in the British style with visiting and soccer matches. Special to Bermuda are the Gombey troupes costumed in extravagant outfits decorated with ribbons, fringes, peacock feathers and bells. These dancers, who trace their roots back to Africa and the West Indies, dance through the town from morning until sundown.
Cruises are a popular holiday vacation. And cruise ships are decked to the nines in Christmas decorations, trees and lights. Holland America, Royal Caribbean, Princess, Royal Viking, Norwegian, Carnival, Costa and Cunard offer cruises to warm, sunny places like the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Bahamas, Antigua, Martinique, St. Kitts, St. Maarten, Curacao, Mexico, Jamaica. Gala celebrations are planned for Christmas Day and New Year's Eve.
