This story first appeared in the fall 2018 issue of the Arbor Light, the official magazine of Concordia University Ann Arbor.
Concordia hosts a new Ann Arbor tradition. Concordia’s treasured Earhart Manor will once again be gloriously decorated for the season by local designers as the main feature of A Manor Christmas, a three-day celebration on the Concordia University Ann Arbor campus, Nov. 30–Dec. 2.
Hosted by the Concordia Guild, this community event offers unique shopping in a European-styled market, carolers, refreshments, and guided tours of the Manor. All proceeds benefit the Concordia Guild Scholarship Fund.
“Concordia is home to one of the most beloved historic gems in the area, the Earhart Manor,” said Joan Koerschen, chair of the event committee. “This event allows us to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas together with our community while sharing the rich history that is a part of the Earhart Manor.”
For more information, visit cuaa.edu/manorchristmas.
About the Earhart Manor
Once a historic 400-acre dairy farm on Geddes Road along the Huron River, the property, known as “the Meadows,” was purchased by Carrie and Harry Boyd (H.B.) Earhart in 1916. H.B. Earhart made his fortune in the gasoline business in Detroit. They moved their family of four children to Ann Arbor to enjoy the “small town living” that the community offered at the time.
In the early 1960s, The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod purchased the land from the Earhart family to establish Concordia Lutheran Junior College. The institution changed its name to Concordia College when it began offering four-year degree programs in 1976 and ultimately became Concordia University Ann Arbor in 2001.
Boar’s Head Festival
November 30 – December 2
For more than 40 years, Concordia University Ann Arbor students, faculty, and staff have come together to host the Boar’s Head Festival in the Chapel of the Holy Trinity on the university’s campus. 
While the tradition of the Boar’s Head Festival dates back to the 14th century in England, the actual symbol of serving boar can be traced to ancient Roman times when boar was the preferred dish at great feasts. In medieval England, Christians considered the wild boar to be a ferocious beast and a symbol for evil. They adapted the Roman feast custom of serving a boar’s head on a platter to represent the triumph of the Christ child over evil. 
The Boar’s Head Festival of music and drama has had several adaptations throughout the centuries, but remains a treasured Christmastime celebration throughout the world.
For more information about CUAA’s Boar’s Head Festival, please call 734-995-7537.
The fall Arbor Light hits mailboxes the week of October 1, 2018. View a .pdf of the Arbor Light magazine here. If you are not on our mailing list, but are interested in receiving a free copy, call 734-995-7317.
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