One of the many delights of “The Holly and The Ivy,” an hour-long tour through some of the historic buildings of New London with actors staging period reenactments in each one, is that you get to experience the growth of the Christmas holiday as it’s celebrated today in America today.

“Most people are surprised to learn that four hundred years ago, you could be put in jail for celebrating Christmas,” says Michael Langlois of the Flock Theatre company, the stage director of “The Holly and the Ivy.”

“In our first scene at the Hempstead House,” Langlois says, “the audience experiences the Christmas season as it was in the early 18th-century, when Christmas really wasn’t celebrated here in the Colonies. This was a holdover from the days of the Puritans, when you’d be put in the stocks for such a thing. And in Joshua Hempstead’s diaries, you’ll find that he was conducting business as usual on Christmas Day.”

Joshua Hempstead’s home, a treasure preserved in the heart of New London, is the first of four stops on this time-traveling tour, which steps off from the Atrium at 165 Harris Place in New London. Up to 18 tour-goers mount a horse-drawn carriage where they meet a certain Professor Frost, who gives a bit of New London history and explains his unique method of time travel. A sprig of holly is everyone’s ticket to Christmas past.

“We see the Hempstead home in 1730, with Joshua and his family pretty much just going about their usual winter business,” says Langlois. “There is one unusual element that we introduce, when Joshua talks about something he went to, a Christmas celebration at the Anglican church. But it’s more of a curiosity than a regular thing.”

From the Hempstead House, Professor Frost will lead his flock to the Shaw Mansion for a look at Christmas in 1781.

“In this scene we start to see that there’s a growing acceptance to Christmas,” says Langlois, “though it still doesn’t look much like you would find it in Dickens, or today. And the really important and interesting thing about this scene is that the Shaw family is actually dealing with a number of tragedies that came on them in a very short amount of time.

“This was during the American Revolution,” Langlois continues, “and just a few months ago New London had been burned to the ground by Benedict Arnold. One of the few houses that hadn’t been affected was the Shaw Mansion, and it’s ironic, because Nathaniel Shaw, whom we meet, was one of the privateers that the British were trying to punish by burning the city. New London was a base for the privateers who were helping the American colonists and rebels.”

Along with Nathaniel, the audience will meet his two nieces, who have recently lost some of their family while witnessing the effects of war going on all around them, so Christmas in 1781 in New London takes on a somber tone.

“So, after this bit of sadness, Professor Frost whisks us off to 1901, for Christmas at the Jibboom Club,” says Langlois. The Jibboom Club was a unique New London institution made up of whaling captains and others who thrived on the seafaring industry of 19th-century New London.

This jolly scene takes place in the Custom House Museum near New London’s waterfront, and “at this point the audience really gets to see that Christmas is a firmly established holiday,” Langlois says. “And we also get to watch a piece of history that is very uniquely a part of New London.

“The Jibboom Club is entirely specific to New London, and we show them celebrating their Christmas in their own way, and also getting ready for their big celebration on George Washington’s Birthday. So you see what went on at these Jibboom Club meetings — it was very raucous and lively. There was no drinking, but they loved their cigars, they loved their cribbage, and they knew how to have a good time.”

The final stop for Professor Frost and friends will be 1945, with American soldiers just returning from World War II.

“This is a really fun scene,” says Langlois. “As everyone is making their way along the street to City News, where the scene will take place, they’ll actually be overtaken by the actors who are rushing along. There are three sailors who have just returned from the war, they’ve just arrived at the train station. One of them is going to be meeting his wife, and the other two are looking for a place to stay with a USO family. Then at City News they meet a couple of young ladies who work for the USO, and we end with a wonderful version of ‘White Christmas’ that makes a nice cap to the entire play.”

For Langlois and his crew of 27 actors, “The Holly and the Ivy” is a unique theatrical experience.

“One actress had a woman come up to her after her scene and tell her ‘I used to wear my hair exactly like you do.’ That kind of thing makes it real for us. Especially in the final scene from World War II, on any given night we might have people who lived that history, who are encountering it again. It’s that kind of thing that makes us want to do real justice to New London history.”

“The Holly and the Ivy” was written by Charles Traeger, who used a good deal of historical materials to put together his saga of happiness and grief at Christmas in New London over the years. The “traveling play” has been developed by the Flock Theatre of New London, and it is sponsored by New London Main Street.

“We have a big new carriage this year,” says Tracy Bergenn, promotions coordinator for New London Main Street, “so we can take up to 18 people on a tour. We’ve had people calling since August to ask about tickets. People are really making this part of their holiday tradition.”

“The Holly and the Ivy” is presented Dec. 5-7 and 12-14, from 5-7 p.m. on Fridays, 2-7 p.m. on Saturdays and 2-6 p.m. on Sundays. Tours step off from the Atrium at 165 Harris Place, New London, every 20 minutes. Tickets are $15 for adults and $7.50 for children (until Dec. 4; after that the prices will rise). Click here to purchase tickets online at www.newlondonmainstreet.org.