Those who know U.S. history are no doubt familiar with the infamous Boston Tea Party, the iconic tax protest that was one of the most important events leading up to the American Revolution. It’s one thing to simply know the story, however, and quite another to experience it. Absent of a time machine, colonial history buffs can do just that by participating in the commemoration of the 249th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party at one of the sites where the momentous uprising took place. On December 16, the Old South Meeting House hosts a reenactment of the Meeting of the Body of the People, the gathering of 5,000 citizens that spurred the dumping of the tea in the harbor on that fateful night in 1773. The fun starts at 5 p.m. with a pop-up tea shop at the historic building’s gift shop, with costumed actors dressed as some of the Hub’s famed rebels reciting the fiery debate beginning at 6:30 p.m. Even though the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum is not staging the usual throwing of the tea crates in the Fort Point Channel due to some ongoing renovations, the Old South Meeting House performance is bound to sell out, so get your tickets now before yet another vital moment slips into the past.