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A Victorian Christmas When we celebrate Christmas with family and friends, the customs we cherish most likely can be traced back to the Victorian Age. During Queen Victoria's reign (1819-1901) in England, old traditions, such as caroling, were revived and new ones, including sending Christmas cards, were born.
Celebrating the Day Inspired by the Queen, the Victorians enjoyed a Christmas focused wholeheartedly on family. Christmas Eve became a day for traveling, as relatives scurried across the countryside to meet for the holiday. For the majority of middle class Victorians, the morning church service was the highlight of their celebrations. Only after this duty was served could they turn to the meal and gifts. Among the working class, few could afford such luxury. Many kept business as usual, with bakers' ovens ready to cook the food of local families and the postman delivering the daily mail. Compared to the standards of an ordinary day, when the price of fuel made a hot meal too costly for most, the Victorian Christmas dinner was a feast. The traditional goose was replaced by another favorite — the turkey, newly imported from America. Completing the table were roast beef, mince pies, rich fruitcakes and, of course, the popular pudding, often topped with a festive sprig of holly. After everyone completed the meal, it was time for games. The festivities often began with the introduction of the crackers, cylindrical rolls that popped when pulled apart. The night was rarely complete without the singing of songs and the traditional recitations.
Holiday Decorating The Victorians replaced many traditional decorations, such as mistletoe, holly and the kissing bough (two conjoined hoops decorated with greenery, fruits and mistletoe to make a globe) with a new focal point — the Christmas Tree. Some believe that the tree came to England by way of King George I. Others credit Victoria's German husband, Prince Albert, with acquainting his new country to the longtime German custom. An illustration of Victoria, Albert and their children decorating their own family tree popularized the trend. The Victorian Christmas Tree was decorated elaborately with candles and homemade paper cornucopias filled with sweets, fruit, nuts and popcorn. Wealthy families could purchase glass balls and figurines as well. The tree almost always was topped with an angel or cherub, representing the Victorian ideal of childlike or womanly innocence. The First Christmas Card
In 1843, the same year that Dickens penned his famous holiday tale, Sir Henry Cole, a town aristocrat who was too busy to draft proper letters to his friends at Christmas, commissioned John Calcott Horsley of the Royal Academy of Arts to develop a decorated note that he could distribute in their place. Cole printed one thousand of the cards and had the leftovers sent to a stationer's shop to be sold. It was not until the 1880s, however, that the general production of commercial Christmas cards began in London. Boxing Day Perhaps what separated the Victorians most from their predecessors was their emphasis on social responsibility. As a result, charity for the deserving poor and holiday generosity became essential parts of the Victorian Christmas. The day after Christmas, Boxing Day, became a time for Victorians to throw themselves into community works. On this day, they gave Christmas boxes, filled with food and money, to all of the deserving poor of their parishes. Want to learn more? This information is summarized from the following
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