Christmas in New France: Come join us on Saturday, November 21, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. EST. We’re excited to welcome Dr. Catherine Cangany as she brings some Christmas spirit to everyone attending.

Dr. Cangany says, "Most of our ideas about 'traditional' Christmas celebrations are rooted firmly in the nineteenth century. Join us to learn about what Noël actually looked like in New France, from attending sleighing parties and midnight masses, to gifting wax figures of Christ and singing North America's oldest Christmas carol, 'Jesous Ahatonia,' penned by Fr. Jean de Brébeuf in the Wendat language in 1643. This talk will change the way you think about Christmases of yesteryear."

Catherine Cangany, Ph.D. is CEO of Jewish Historical Society of Michigan, serving as the organization's chief historian and curator and overseeing its award-winning exhibits, programs, and publications. In 2024 she directed JHSM's exhibit, "In the Neighborhood: Everyday Life on Hastings Street," about Detroit's first Jewish enclave, which won an AASLH (American Association of State and Local History) Award of Excellence, the field's highest honor. Prior to joining JHSM, she was a tenured associate professor of history at the University of Notre Dame. She received her doctorate in early American history from the University of Michigan and is the author of Frontier Seaport: Detroit's Transformation into an Atlantic Entrepôt (University of Chicago Press, 2014), which has been used and cited nationally and internationally, including by the Smithsonian Institution.

Registration is required; it is free and open to the public, presented by the FCHSM.

You are invited to a Zoom meeting.

When: Nov 21, 2026 11:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Register in advance for this meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/DE-_cPJ9QKm2UEFGvPFwig

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.