Christmas in Old York! 1833 (RETURN FOR 2026)
About the event
**The Toronto History Walks Yearly Pass is available. Get it now for $125.00 for 1 year of unlimited tours, email torontohistorywalks@gmail.com for more information or for signing up!**
** Please note: Please e-transfer the ticket amount when booking your space for this tour! You can e-transfer to the following email at: torontohistorywalks@gmail.com
If you plan on attending, please get your tickets for this event early as this tour has run for the last 3 years, and does sell out rather quickly.
So what was it like in York in 1833 at Christmas time?
The prices of various food items and gifts on display, the gas lights creating a glow as the snow begins, places to gather, places to get a drink, like the Steamboat Hotel on Front Street, or maybe one might decide to take their best girl or guy on a stagecoach trip to High Park to watch kids speed down the hills on their skids.
What were the traditions in old York? Maybe the residents went down to the lake and watched the nighttime fishermen spear fish for Christmas dinner. Let's take a trip around old York and see what it was like back in 1833, three months before we changed our name to Toronto in 1834.
Or take a holiday trip to Kingston or Montreal to buy gifts directly from New York or London stores, fancy hats for the ladies and cigars for the men. Books and wooden toys for the kids. What about that goose in the little grocery store on King Street West of Jarvis? Candies from Britain, real home made gingerbread in the store windows.
On Christmas Eve everyone walked to St. James Cathedral for the ringing of the bells, singing, and skating over the frozen Toronto Bay to the Peninsula.
This tour explores old York. This walking tour is for all walking levels. The tour begins and ends at St. James Cathedral on King Street East at Church Street. A great way to kick off the season.
This tour has a ticketed price of $15.00.
** Please note: Please e-transfer the ticket amount when booking your space for this tour! You can e-transfer to the following email at: torontohistorywalks@gmail.com
