For those of you who don’t know, Mr. Fezziwig was a kind man who would have a ball every year for the employees of his warehouse in the world of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.  When Scrooge is visited by the ghost of Christmas past, he is taken to see the warm Christmas party of Mr. Fezziwig.

On Saturday night, I attended Mr. Fezziwig’s ball, but it wasn’t in mid 19th century England.  It was in Salem, Massachusetts.  I’ve never attended a ball.  My prom doesn’t count because that was kind of like purgatory and high school dances don’t count either.

The Fezziwig ball was very different from many dances I’ve attended in the past.  Many people were dressed in Dickens period costumes and there were big group dances.  I’d seen those dances before in the miniseries Pride and Prejudice and wanted to do them myself.  Sometimes you want to put on a gown and dance and walk through the streets of a city wearing a ball gown and sing Christmas carols.

As the readers of this blog know, I love me a good costume.  And there were plenty to choose from at this event:

My favorite part of the evening were the lovely group dances, where you have to pair off, but you dance in a big group.  Everyone could grab a partner and you’d dance these intricate steps.  My favorite was something called the “Gothic Dance” where the gents would raise their arms into arches and the ladies would step through them, turn around, then promenade down the long row of assembled couples.  It was a bit simpler than it sounds, but still fun.  A few group dances: