A dinner table was festively decorated to celebrate the Christmas season for tourgoers to enjoy the newly added Christmas tours. (Photo by Larry Launstein Jr.)

MARIETTA — Visitors can go back in time to the Victorian period and get a taste of what Christmas was back then.

The Castle of Marietta is offering Christmas tours for the first time and there were stories to tell.

The Castle was built in 1855 and several prominent residents have lived there.

According to the Castle of Marietta website, the last resident was Jessie (Davis) Lindsay, who died in 1974. The Castle was purchased by Bertlyn and Stewart Bosley (sister and brother) that year, and the castle underwent renovation and restoration. They did not live there.

When they died in 1991, the castle was donated to the Betsey Mills Corporation, who finished the work.

This is a Christmas Tree on display at the Castle. The historic property is offering Christmas tours this season. (Photo by Larry Launstein Jr.)

Also according to the organization’s website, the building became a historical house in 1994.

It was originally furnished with antiques donated by the Bosley family and other historical furniture came from other Marietta families.

The Christmas tours usually take approximately 45 minutes and will take groups throughout many parts of the castle.

One of the guides, Carol Steinhagen, who got her start in 2004, said, “I was on the board at the time, and they needed tour guides, so I trained and have been doing it ever since.”

She was on the Castle Board of Directors at the time of her training.

This is a drawing on the wall at the Castle which is offering Christmas tours for the first time this season. (Photo by Larry Launstein Jr.)

Steinhagen and the other guides told stories about the greenery at the entrance and in other parts of the house. Near the entrance, there is a large arch draped with greenery.

According to Steinhagen, the green meant everlasting life with God. Before that, a pagan ritual using this greenery was used to ward off sicknesses and evil spirits. The holly that comes with it means that the holly king rises at the winter solstice.

There were other tidbits mentioned and artifacts shown, such as early greeting cards. In 1840, a postage act in Great Britain enabled cards to be easier sent. Ultimately, the Hallmark Cards, Inc., became a leader in the development of greeting cards as we know them today.

Another thing shown was the feather tree, which originated in Germany. The real ones were made of feathers. The one at the Castle is not a real one.

A story told at the castle was a Christmas miracle involving Christmas stockings. St. Nicholas comes and drops gold into the stockings, providing the miracle.

From left, sisters Janet Michael and Jody Wright stand in the gift shop at the Castle in Marietta. For the first time, volunteers are giving special Christmas tours for the holiday season. (Photo by Larry Launstein Jr.)

Another story they told was that St. Nicholas was banned in the Reformation in mostly Protestant countries, and an alternative name is Kris Kringle.

There were several tours going on one after the other.

A couple of people touring the castle talked about their experiences during the tour.

Janet Michael, of Lafayette, Ohio, and Jody Wright of Coshocton, Ohio, saw the Castle tours on Facebook and decided to come and visit.They are sisters.

Michael said she came to check the tour out to see, “a lot of history of Christmas traditions today and where they originated from.”

The Castle also has a replica of a feather tree, a style of Christmas tree that originated in Germany.

Wright said, “my favorite story was on the stockings and how the gold fell into them.”

And Michael also said, “we have kind of a tradition where we go to different places, just to see Christmas festivities, lights and Christmas traditions.”

The Castle at Marietta is located at 418 4th Street, and tours are being conducted Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

They can be contacted at (740) 373-4180.

Their website address is mariettacastle.org.

Larry Launstein Jr. can be reached at llaunstein@newsandsentinel.com.