Story From our Friends at the Blue Ridge Music Trails
In the Blue Ridge, the Christmas season was celebrated for days on end, with gatherings of family and friends, good food, and lots of music. This was especially true in the area known as Round Peak, around Mount Airy, North Carolina, and Galax, Virginia. The tradition was called Breaking up Christmas, and December 25th was just the beginning. Starting on Christmas and continuing for 12 days,people in the mountains would go from house to house viisiting neighbors, dancing and playing music.
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On January 4, the Surry Arts Council will present Breaking Up Christmas ft. The New Smokey Valley Boys, at the Historic Earle Theatre in Mt. Airy, N.C. The evening of music pays homage to the community's Breaking Up Christmas tradition, celebrated in a classic song by Mt. Airy fiddler Tommy Jarrell below.