Photos: A Plantation Christmas at Gunston Hall

George Mason would have been proud. On Saturday, Gunston Hall celebrated Christmas in a style befitting the 18th century. As carols were heard in the background, guests sipped warm cider, went on hayrides, toured the mansion and ate 18th century food. 

"The winter holiday was really a time for dinners, parties, fox hunts and it was a religious holiday," said Gunston Hall interim Director Patrick Ladden to Patch. "It was not celebrated the same way that it is today." 

Gunston Hall was outfitted on Saturday to look exactly as it did in 1775, sans a Christmas tree or stockings hanging from the hearth. George Mason was 50 (and recently took George Washington's place at the Third Virginia Convention in Richmond), and the affairs of the homestead were managed by his 20-year-old niece Nancy Mason.