To celebrate the festive season and the birth of Jesus, the museum held an open day and invited the people of the town to come for an introductory guided tour given by Trudie Venter. Pellissier House Museum is the oldest house north of the Orange River and was built by Jean-Pierre Pellissier in 1833. He was a French missionary who came to South Africa to spread the message of Christianity to the native population.
Visitors were given a glass of sherry or cold drink as a welcome when they arrived and then they were taken through the museum where Trudie explained the significance of all the displays.
Ansie, the owner of “Die Plaaskombuis” coffee shop played the antique free reed pump organ to entertain the guests. She also plays the organ and the local NG church.
This type of organ was popular in the 19th century. It was a portable and affordable organ that was used in homes and small churches. The free reed mechanism was invented by Christian Gottlieb Kratzenstein In 1780. The use of this system to create sound originated in Russia where a similar Chinese instrument was introduced before.
The guests enjoyed the performance in the ambiance of the old fashioned surroundings.
After the performance there was the screening of a movie to celebrate Christmas. The same movie was screened the day before in the township of Cloetespark for the local rural community.
In the spirit of Christmas, the museum entered the Christmas tree competition that was organized by the Bethulie Residents and Ratepayers Association.
Most of the decorations that were used were natural materials to match the unique Christmas tree made from wooden logs.
The committee of the Bethuile Heritage Foundation decorated the tree in a team effort. Old Christmas cards were laminated to use as decoration and pine cones were spray painted silver.
Pine cones that look like roses were picked up in the streets of Bethulie under the numerous Cedar trees. These flower like pine cones are called Cedar roses. They are the unraveled tips of the cones from a Deodar Cedar tree. They were also spray painted silver to match the theme of the tree.
The name Bethulie was given to this settlement by its founder, Jean-Pierre Pellissier. The name of the town means “Place of worship”. The BHF committee used this theme for the tree of the museum.
Winners of the competition will be announced on Christmas Eve.