There’s more to the Freedom Trail Foundation’s Freedom Trail Players (refer to listing, page 46) than telling tales of Boston’s famed Colonial era-sites. During the yuletide season, visitors can also learn about the evolution of Christmas traditions in the Hub from costumed guides in Dickensian garb on a Historic Holiday Stroll. Running through January, this unique tour begins at Faneuil Hall and follows along the famed Freedom Trail, not only giving the history of the birth of our nation, but also revealing the inside scoop on the days, 75 years later, when Charles Dickens himself brought his iconic ghost story A Christmas Carol to Beantown for its American premiere. When all is said and done, warm up with coffee, tea or wine and Boston cream pie at the place where the dessert was invented, the Omni Parker House Hotel—one of Dickens’ favorite “haunts” when he was in town. For tickets, visit thefreedomtrail.org.