New Echota-Cherokee Capital State Historic Site and Friends of New Echota announce their annual Christmas Candlelight Tour on Saturday, December 1, 2012 6:30 to 9:30 pm. By the early 19th century many Cherokees had adopted the traditional Christmas celebrations still in practice today. Visitors are invited to tour historic pathways of the town brightened by luminaries and enjoy the decorations inside the historic buildings. Decorations by park staff, Friends of New Echota, Gordon County Master Gardeners, Girl Scout Troop 771, Georgia Chapter Trail of Tears Association, Garden Buddies Garden Club, and local volunteers will include traditional greenery and Kris Tingle decorations introduced by Moravian missionaries during New Echota’s time period. Boy Scout Troop 30 will serve as fire tenders throughout the evening. Sounds of the season include traditional Christmas caroling by the King Family. Singer-storyteller, Gary Greene, will perform songs and tell Cherokee stories in the Council House, while the New Echota Singers entertain visitors with Christmas favorites in the Supreme Court House. Carole Hall will be in the Worcester House singing and playing the psaltery, a harp-like instrument that dates back to ancient times. Visitors will witness the Cherokee Phoenix printing press operating in the Print Shop and enjoy warm refreshments in Vann’s Tavern. Visitors should dress for the weather, bring a flashlight or lantern, and be prepared for a ¾ mile walk.