An old-fashioned Christmas at Kline Creek

There was a time, hard as it may be to believe, when people celebrated Christmas without massive light displays synchronized to electronic music.

There was a time when people didn't have giant inflatable snowmen in their front yards or apps to locate the best holiday parties.

There was a time, say back in the 1890s, when people gathered in farmhouses to sing a few carols, tip back some hot cider and, if they were lucky, wait for a visit from an old-fashioned Santa.

Visitors this weekend to the DuPage County Forest Preserve District's Kline Creek Farm in West Chicago got a sampling of what that was like during the annual Christmas on the Farm celebration.

The free event, which ran Saturday and Sunday, re-created a Victorian Christmas and gave visitors a brief respite from the rush that for many of us has come to mark the season.