The Spooky Side of the Christmas Season
An in-person experience in the Woodland Mosaic Solarium at the Denver Botanic Gardens on Saturday, December 6, 2025, 10AM - 2PM
Evergreens, burning bayberry candles, and donning one’s home with the color red... these are more than just aesthetic holiday decorations. Their origins are much older and filled with symbolism.
In times of old, the home was kept merry and bright to keep in luck and vitality, while warding against spirits of the roaming dead, the fairy folk, and even the old gods. As the nights grew cold and increasingly dark, the Yuletide and Christmas season and into the New Year were also a time to gather round to tell haunting tales, practice divination, and work rituals to carry good fortune into the coming year.
Join medium and folk magician Sterling Moon in the charming Woodland Mosaic Solarium at the Denver Botanic Gardens for a half-day experience, complete with lots of take-home goodies, photo ops, and warm beverages and snacks throughout the day on Saturday, December 6, 2025 from 10AM – 2PM.
Here’s what awaits you.
Guests will enjoy Victorian-era ghost stories and tales such as those of Krampus, St. Nicholas, St. Lucia, and even the Wild Hunt of Odin while creating a keepsake talisman for the entrance of your home.
Discover the haunted history of adjacent Cheesman Park and the garden grounds themselves and consider the presence of the spirits as you explore the winter gardens throughout the day.
Learn to divine using your own black scrying mirror, prepared by your host herself; discover the traditional ritual of burning a bayberry candle at either Christmas or New Year’s Eve to bring good luck; and the significance of the orange in old times. You will leave with your scrying mirror, an authentic bayberry wax candle, and handmade orange ornaments that can be transformed into talismans of friendship.
And because we all love holiday photos, commemorate your experience with a Polaroid (and a few cell phone pictures, if you want them) by our Yuletide tree - festive attire is encouraged!
Warm beverages, water, and light snacks will be provided throughout the day. Please note these will include items containing wheat, dairy, sugar, meat, and various fruits and vegetables.
Please remember this event will be held in a glass solarium in December. It may get chilly, so please dress appropriately for warmth and you are welcome to bring a lap blanket and pillow to sit on.
Schedule of Events
10AM – 11AM: The Merry and Bright Side of the Christmas and Yuletide Season
11AM – 11:30AM: Break to explore the Gardens & Photos
11:30PM – 12:30PM: The Spooky Side of Christmas and the Yuletide Season
12:30PM – 1PM: Break to explore the Gardens & Photos
1PM – 1:45PM: Divination and Prosperity Traditions for the New Year
1:45PM – 2PM: Closing
For those who care…and dare…to explore the spooky side of the Christmas and Yuletide Season, click the button below.
Cost is $222 per person, capped at 40 attendees.
Tickets are non-refundable and non-transferrable. The event will happen rain, snow, or shine. Please click here to see the event policy.
The Denver Botanic Gardens is a living museum. Click here to read the visitor policies for the Denver Botanic Gardens.