Quilt Exhibition Showcases Storytelling of Holiday Classic in Cloth

Quilts and holidays are a perfect blend, and the Upcountry History Museum’s exhibition, “Sue Reich’s The Quilter’s Night Before Christmas,” takes visitors on a familiar yet unique journey through the time-honored holiday classic, “The Night Before Christmas.”

This exhibition features 29 hand-crafted story quilts that create a three-dimensional visual of the traditional poem from its first stanza, “‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house” to its last, “But I heard him exclaim as he drove out of sight – ‘Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!’” and all the other memorable recollections in between.

Curated by award-winning quilter, author, historian and lecturer Sue Reich, this reimagined presentation of such an iconic holiday treasure gives new imagery to Clement C. Moore’s poem and his portrayal of St. Nicholas.

Created by quilters from across the United States, Reich was able to collect each quilter’s interpretation of a stanza of their choice as they stitched their vision of the holiday poem. Though retold in print, onstage, over the radio, or onscreen for more than 200 years, this extraordinary combination of colors, themes, stitches and storytelling in cloth invites fans of the beloved holiday poem to experience it anew.

The colorful imagery and rhyming verses have stood the test of time and created a testament to the magic of this cherished poem’s lore. In “The Quilter’s Night Before Christmas,” visitors will not only be able to identify with those traditional aspects but also experience a more robust vision of how special this festive verse can be.

Making its first South Carolina appearance at UHM, this distinctively interpretive exhibition is on display through Jan. 11.

The Museum is open Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday, 1-5 p.m.; closed Monday.