The kitchen will be filled with aromas of favorite recipes cooking, and the traditional Christmas roasting of a hog's head will be presented with other activities at the Bennett Place State Historic Site Saturday, Dec. 12, and Sunday, Dec. 13.

The free programs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, will share Christmas customs from the Civil War era.

The Bennett Home will be decorated in 1860s holiday finery. Letters from soldiers will be read, and stories will be told around the fire. Ladies will prepare packages to send to soldiers fighting in the Civil War. The roasting of the hog's head in the front yard will be a unique holiday experience. Visitors can participate in making ornaments and writing letters, and also enjoy a warm cup of cider and ginger snap cookies.

Live 19th-century musical entertainment from Morrison and Boggs will make the activities especially merry.

The Visitor Center will be open, showing artifacts and exhibits interpreting the life of the Bennett family. James and Nancy Bennitt (or Bennett) were yeoman farmers whose farm became the site of the largest troop surrender of the Civil War. Exhibits in the museum gallery interpret the lives of the family, soldiers and events pertaining to the surrender. Admission is free and donations are accepted.

Bennett Place is in the western part of Durham and can be reached by taking U.S. 15-501 North, the Durham Freeway (147), or I-85. Follow the brown historic sites signs.

For more information, call (919) 383-4345, visit the Web site www.bennettplace.nchistoricsites.org, or e-mail Bennett@ncdcr.gov.