On Christmas Eve 1895, George W. Vanderbilt, heir to the vast Vanderbilt fortune, hosted a grand holiday party at his new, 250-room French Renaissance chateau. It sat on 125,000 acres of exquisitely beautiful land in western North Carolina’s picturesque Blue Ridge Mountains. The upper echelon of New York society arrived in Asheville by private train with an entourage of personal servants, copious trunks and an intense curiosity about the baronial Biltmore House that had taken hundreds of laborers more than five years to construct.
In the cavernous Banquet Hall, bejeweled ladies and dapper gentlemen admired the 40-foot-tall Christmas tree — awe-inspiring even to those accustomed to having the biggest and best of everything. The Vanderbilt family crest prominently displayed above a trio of Gothic fireplaces imparted the romance of a medieval castle — apropos since Vanderbilt and his guests were considered American, Gilded-Age royalty. The New York Times and other newspapers covered the whole glorious holiday spectacle.
Today, you don’t have to be listed in the Social Register to experience the grandeur of Christmas at the Biltmore Estate. America’s largest home, which operates as a museum, is open to all, but its extravagant, yet tasteful, Christmas decor is still aristocrat-worthy.
An audio tour provides details about this architectural marvel designed by Richard Morris Hunt and the numerous works of art collected by Vanderbilt on his travels to Europe. In some rooms, the art inspired the holiday decorations.
Cathy Barnhardt, Biltmore floral displays manager, is largely responsible for decking the halls – and, boy, are there lots of halls to deck. Fifty-seven Christmas trees sparkle inside the 175,000-square-foot mansion and another 50 plus are spread across the sprawling estate. Each tree is hand decorated based on a theme that changes annually.
Barnhardt said this year’s theme, “The Nature of Christmas,” is not only about the décor, but a reference to how the Vanderbilt’s embraced the true meaning of Christmas.
“We not only have nature in the literal sense of evergreens and pine cones and holly berries that we can bring in from outdoors,” said Barnhardt, “but we also speak to the spirit of Christmas. We are telling the story of family and children and what went on at the estate in George’s time.”
Vanderbilt and his wife, Edith Stuyvesant Dresser Vanderbilt, were known for their generosity to estate employees and their families. It’s worth noting that the employee Christmas party was held in the Banquet Hall – the same venue where the Vanderbilts entertained New York’s haute monde. This was especially exciting for children of Biltmore employees who knew a gift would be waiting for them under that towering Fraser fir.
The Christmas extravaganza doesn’t stop at the Banquet Hall. Practically every nook and cranny is festooned with festive holiday decorations.
The Winter Garden, a round room surrounded by graceful arches, features a glass roof that illuminates a fountain sculpture, “Boy Stealing Geese,” installed just before Vanderbilt hosted that first Christmas party. This inviting oasis is usually filled with exotic plants. But, at Christmas, pots of scarlet poinsettias cascade from the fountain.
A tour highlight is the 90-foot-long Tapestry Gallery, featuring priceless, 16th-century Flemish tapestries.
You could say this is where heaven and nature sing.
The nature theme is reflected in the Christmas ornaments on the trees, but Barnhardt said it’s also the ideal space to interpret the Biblical story of Christmas.
“You see a lot of Christian symbolism in these tapestries, so it seemed like the perfect place to display the nativity,” she said.
Handcrafted in Spain, the nativity scene is just the sort of item Vanderbilt may have brought home from his travels.
Fans of “Downton Abbey,” the phenomenally successful British period drama series on PBS, know that country estates required a team of efficient servants downstairs to orchestrate elaborate dinners upstairs, especially during the holidays.
The audio tour allows guests a behind-the-scenes peek at the vast kitchens and pantries where lavish holiday meals were prepared.
Menus included venison steak, braised rabbit, lamb chops and turkey and dressing — Vanderbilt’s favorite.
Despite its Old-World exterior, Biltmore was equipped with the latest modern conveniences, making life easier not only for the family, but the servants. They benefited from a number of state-of-the-art systems, such as a dumb waiter, a small elevator that delivered food from floor to floor.
During the Victorian era, a nine-course dinner was not uncommon, and it’s likely the Vanderbilts served even more courses for holiday dinner parties. Each guest would have had at least fifteen pieces of silverware and an assortment of glasses for water, wine, sherry, etc. That’s a lot of dishes to wash, but Biltmore servants had access to plenty of hot water.
After every dinner, the tablecloth (one was 35 feet long) and dozens of napkins had to be laundered. Fortunately for the laundress, the Biltmore was equipped with a motor-powered barrel washer and an innovative system of rolling racks that dried the laundry with heated, electric coils.
During the Gilded-Age, it took a lot to create that holiday magic at Biltmore, and Barnhardt said it still does, but she doesn’t mind.
“I love Christmas,” said Barnhardt, “so I love the challenge of trying to come up with a little different twist in our theme each year, but one that still supports all of those authentic Biltmore stories.”
If You Go:
The Biltmore Estate: 1 Lodge St., Asheville, (800) 411-3812, www.biltmore.com.
Where to Stay: The Inn on Biltmore Estate is a luxury property near the Biltmore House. 1 Lodge St., Asheville, (866) 336-1245, www.biltmore.com A free shuttle is provided from the inn to the Biltmore House and Antler Hill Village and Winery, a dining and shopping complex.
Candlelight Christmas Evenings (Nov. 9-Jan. 4) and Enchanted Christmas (Dec. 23-26) are two packages that offer a festive Christmas experience.
Where to Eat:
The Corner Kitchen is located in a Tudor-style cottage in historic Biltmore Village. The restaurant serves American cuisine with a Southern flair. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. 3 Boston Way, Asheville, (828) 274-2439, www.thecornerkitchen.com
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