Christmas in the country

Nothing says Christmas quite like church, music and decorations.

Add history, and it's both a celebration and a learning experience for the whole family. A two-day event in Southeast Missouri will include each of these festivities. The Tenth Annual Christmas Country Church Tour will take place from 3 to 9 p.m. Dec. 18 and 19.

The Christmas tour launched in 2005 and has grown each year. And according to the website of Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna, Missouri, "Only 'country churches' have been accepted to join the organized tour, making this a unique and special event in Southeast Missouri."

This year, joining the tour for the first time is the Log Cabin College at the Lutheran Heritage Center and Museum in Altenburg, Missouri. While the museum has been involved from the beginning, the historic college is just getting in on the tour. The Old College, as it is called, was established Dec. 9, 1839, and with the Lutheran churches of East Perry County is commemorating the 175th anniversary of the 1839 immigration of about 700 Lutherans from Saxony in Germany to the area; that group became the nucleus of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.

During previous tours, "People would go over [to the cabin], but we never really decorated it before," said Gerard Fiehler, assistant curator at the Lutheran Heritage Center and Museum. Before seeing the interior of the Old College, "the old feather tree," which is more than 100 years old, will greet tourists in College Park, Fiehler said. While it will not be wrapped in Christmas lights, the tree will be decorated with old ornaments. Inside the log cabin at different stations, captions will tell their stories, allowing people to take in the history of the 175-year-old edifice.

The sanctuary of St. Maurus Catholic Church in Biehle, Missouri, decorated for Christmas in 2013. (Fred Lynch)

Also new to the tour this year is St. Mary's of the Barrens Church and the Shrine of the Miraculous Medal in Perryville.

Each participating church will be decorated for Christmas. Some will provide music and refreshments, as well. During the tour, at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, the 18th, the Concordia Lutheran Choir will be rehearsing for its Christmas services. The Perry County Lutheran Chorale will be in concert at Concordia during the tour on Friday evening, beginning about 5 p.m.

A week before Christmas, area churches are opening their doors to spread Christmas cheer, each in its unique way.

Visitors may begin their tour at any of the participating churches, where complete lists and detailed maps will be available.

Churches on the tour include the following:

• St. Mary's of the Barrens Catholic/Association of the Miraculous Medal in Perryville
• Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg
• Zion Lutheran Church in Longtown
• Grace Lutheran Church in Uniontown
• St. Joseph Catholic Church in Apple Creek
• St. Maurus Catholic Church in Biehle
• Trinity Lutheran Church in Friedheim
• New Salem Methodist Church in Daisy
• First Baptist Church in Oak Ridge
• Sargent's Chapel Lutheran Church in Sedgewickville
• Caney Fork Baptist Church near Millersville
• St. John's United Church of Christ in Fruitand, Friday only
• Pleasant Hil Presbyterian in Fruitland
• Apple Creek Presbyterian in Pocahontas, Friday only
• St. John's Lutheran Church in Pocahontas
• Zion Lutheran Church in Pocahontas
• Trinity Lutheran Church in Shawneetown
• Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells
• Lutheran Heritage Center and Log Cabin College in Altenburg
• Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg
• Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg
• Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna
• Brazeau Presbyterian Church in Brazeau
• Salem Lutheran Church in Farrar
• Bethlehem Baptist Church in Crosstown
• Zion United Methodist Church near Old Appleton.