It seems we have a lot to thank the Victorians for when it comes to the way in which we currently celebrate Christmas. Gift giving, crackers, cards ... are all Victorian inventions. Ironically, all these traditions were well and truly established by the time John Seymour were a lad, I think it's just that we've taken them all a bit overboard in recent years. The good old beeb has a really good page on Christmas traditions which I have stolen much of this info from.
N.B. I've tried to reference my sources, as I truly believe in accountability for sweeping statements made by anyone on t'interwebs. These sources are all web-based, and while my undergrad tutor would cry: "but any old idiot can put stuff on the internet!" (he's right - look at me go!), this is not my area of expertise, so, in lieu of proper academic referencing I have used what I consider reliable sources. If however you ARE an expert in Christmas traditions history then PLEASE get in touch, I would love to pick your brain!
Christmas trees
It seems adorning one's home with greenery at this time of year is a veeeery longstanding tradition. And why wouldn't you want to get some of the limited verdant plant life from around you, and bring it into your home to remind you that while it *may* be cold, and dark, and depressing, and you have very little to do right now, life is in fact still going on outside?
But it was of course the Victorians who formalised this use of plant life in the home, borrowing from what appears to be a Germanic tradition (hmmm, where would Queen Victoria have got Germanic influences...?) - and it's hardly surprising that whole trees were readily available in such a densely forested part of the world!
According to the BBC's guide to a Victorian Christmas [1]:
In 1881 Cassell's Family Magazine gave strict directions to the lady of the house: "To bring about a general feeling of enjoyment, much depends on the surroundings… It is worth while to bestow some little trouble on the decoration of the rooms".
Good old lifestyle magazines, making us want what we don't actually need, since the 1800s ;)
Christmas Cards
In 1843 Sir Henry Cole (apparently aka Old King Cole, who I believe was a merry old soul indeed) commissioned the artist John Calcott Horsley to design a card that could send to his acquaintances. Sceptics will also note that Henry Cole was instrumental in the establishment of the penny post three years previously, and I have certainly heard it said that Christmas cards were introduced as a means of encouraging people to use this new service. Not a bad idea really, however cynical you're feeling! While originally retailed at a shilling each, they were a luxury item well out of the reach of the working classes [2], but the idea caught on, and by 1880 11.5 million cards were sent [1].
 |
| The very first Christmas card, designed by John Calcott Horsley. Credit: V&A museum. |
Turkey For Christmas lunch
This one baffles me. Why you would have turkey for Christmas lunch instead of goose or beef (or indeed just chicken) is beyond me - we are altogether not turkey fans! It's a weird one, as according to the British Poultry Council (I like to think of a group of chickens and turkeys siting around a table), up until the 1950s turkeys were a luxury food. In 1930 it took a week’s wage to buy a turkey. Now it takes 1.7 hours [3].
Other interesting news from the turkey council: Turkeys are believed to have first been brought to Britain in 1526 by Yorkshireman William Strickland - he acquired six birds from American Indian traders on his travels and sold them for tuppence each in Bristol. Also, Israel is the world's largest consumer of turkey.
Gift Giving
While gift giving had long been a tradition at winter celebrations, the gifts exchanged seemed to be very small - foodstuffs and handmade trinkets. It was Queen Victoria who began the trend for sharing larger items, and for their being exchanged on Christmas day as opposed to New Year's day [1, 4].
Christmas Crackers
The invention of the Christmas cracker is attributed to one Thomas Smith, a confectioner who, following a visit to Paris came up with the idea of selling bon bons (sugared almonds) in twists of decorative paper in England in the mid 1800s. Over the years these became more and more elaborate, incorporating mottos, small gifts and, of course, a chemical strip which emitted a loud CRACK when pulled [1, 5].
So there you have it, a brief overview of some of the peculiarities of the English Christmas. By all accounts much of what we now consider "Christmas Traditions" in this country were consolidated by one Mr Charles Dickens in A Christmas Carol. I'm not sure I really have a problem with this - there are worse things to hold to as traditions than a Christmas goose, reflection on your past, present and future, and general generosity.
Plus, plastic tat didn't exist in Dicken's day, and I'm all for more of THAT.
References:
[1]
http://www.bbc.co.uk/victorianchristmas/history.shtml
[2]
http://www.royalmailgroup.com/sending-traditional-christmas-cards-still-more-popular-e-cards-reveals-royal-mail-research
[3]
http://www.britishturkey.co.uk/facts-and-figures/turkey-history-and-other-facts.html
[4]
http://www.livescience.com/25779-christmas-traditions-history-paganism.html
[5]
http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/xmas/crackers.html
No comments:
Post a Comment