Its HOT! HOT! HOT! THINK COOL THOUGHTS! Christmas in July! A Charleston Walking Tour full of Holiday Spirit!~

The weather outside is frightful, but in here its so delightful. Yes friends, as I write you today from a cool air conditioned room, the Dog Days of Summer are upon us, and it's hot and steamy here in Charleston! For many years in the 1980s and 1990s I was in the Real Estate Industry. My office was a third floor walk up at the corner of Church and Broad Street.In those days, even in the heat of the Summer, no business man would be seen on the sidewalk without a coat and tie. Oddly, many looked fresh and cool. Perhaps it was the seersucker suits. I decided to ask my dad, Bernard Ray, a man who watched television at home wearing a tie,how it was that he and that cadre of Charlestonian men forged on through the Summer as if the heat wasn't an issue.What was it, what was the secret? So,going to the source, the Chairman of the Board at the C&S Bank and a former President of the Hibernian Society, I asked my father to reveal to me the great secret of staying cool in a steamy Lowcountry Summer. His response? "Son, think cool thoughts." And so friends, I proclaim it Christmas in July! Yes, Christmas is just six months away so I want to bring to your attention our hugely popular Christmas in Charleston Walking Tour that we offer starting Thanksgiving Weekend through New Years Eve. For this tour I have researched Christmas as it was celebrated at pivotal years in Charleston's history.

Not to give too much away.... What was the hottest job in town on Christmas Day 1886? (the year of the Great Earthquake?) What was the hot new dance craze at Christmas in 1860? ( South Carolina has recently declared independence) How about 1929, the year of the Stock Market Crash? What was Christmas Pie, sold in every food shop and a staple on every Holiday buffet? What prominent congregation did not celebrate Christmas? These are just a few of the fascinating insights into Charleston culture and society that you will learn as we tour past homes festively decked for the holidays and tour churches preparing for the Birth of the Savior. Make this really fun Walking Tour of old Charleston a yearly tradition, and join a public group in the afternoon or arrange a private tour for your family , visiting friends, or community group.