Davenport, IA- The German American Heritage Center will be celebrating its new exhibit,Vintage Vows &Veils, with a mock wedding ceremony in German! Hear the ceremony as nativeGermans or immigrants might have experienced it. Come and learn about traditional Germanceremonies, enjoy wedding cake, and see the beautiful new exhibit. As another feature, we willhave a pastor on hand to bless your family Bible. Make your family heirloom even more specialto pass down to your loved ones. The program begins at 2pm, but stop in starting at noon toenjoy the exhibitions. Admission is $5 Adults, $4 Seniors, and $3 Children 5-17. Members arefree. For more information visit www.gahc.org or call Kelly at 563-322-8844.The German American Heritage Center is located at 712 W 2nd St. Davenport, IA, right off thebase of the Centennial Bridge.

"Stories of Silent Night" or Stille Nacht as it was originally written in German in Austria almost 200 years ago. This is the theme of our annual holiday exhibit opening Saturday, November 10th at the German American Heritage Center.

The lyrics were written by Joseph Mohr in 1816 in a poem form which he took to Franz Gruber to compose music for two voices, a guitar, and a choir for the Christmas eve mass in 1818 in Oberndorf Austria, near Salzburg. There are many stories and suppositions on why the song was written hastily for guitar and not for organ. Some say mice ate away at the organ and other say it was just in disrepair. It was performed for many people at the St. Nicholas church, which later flooded and is now replaced with the Silent Night Memorial Chapel. Here, hundreds gather each year to remember the creation of this song of peace. The song is now translated into over 300 languages and is used to celebrate Christmas all over the world!

The exhibit tells this story in detail, showing images of the key players and places. We have a space to listen to the song in many languages, crafts for kids, and costumes of several different cultures that we feature in our holiday traditions portion of the exhibit. Special thanks to the Silent Night Society, The Swenson Center, Viva Quad Cities, the Putnam Museum, and Dr. Carl Phillip von Maldeghem, Director of the State Theater of Salzburg, Austria.

The exhibit runs through January 6th, Three Kings Day and is located just off of the Centennial Bridge at 712 W 2nd St. Davenport, IA. Admission is $5 Adults, $4 Seniors, and $3 Kids ages 5-17. Free for members. GAHC is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10am till 4pm and Sundays 12pm to 4pm. For more information contact Kelly at 563-322-8844 or kelly.lao@gahc.org.

Davenport, IA- The German American Heritage Center will be hosting Rochelle Pennington as she presents two Christmas themed programs on Saturday, October 27th at 10am and one at 2pm.

Rochelle will start off our two month long holiday celebration at 10am with her talk on the Christmas Truce of WWI. The Christmas Truce was a series of widespread unofficial ceasefires that took place along the Western Front around Christmas 1914, during World War I. Parties of German and British soldiers began to exchange seasonal greetings and sing Silent Night between their trenches. On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, many soldiers from both sides ventured into a "no man's land," where they mingled, exchanging food and souvenirs.

At 2pm Rochelle will return to tell the heartwarming tale of the Christmas Schooner, the famous ship that brought Christmas trees to German immigrant families in Chicago. This year is the 100th anniversary of its last voyage before its mysterious wreck.

Rochelle Pennington is an award winning author; her presentations will be $5 adults, $4 seniors, $3 for children and free for members per session. GAHC is located at the foot of the Centennial Bridge at 712 W 2nd St. Davenport, IA. Call 563-322-8844 for more information or visit www.gahc.org.