Caroling

Christmas cards

Homemade gifts

What do all these have in common? They are all Victorian Christmas customs. Much of what we know and love of Christmas comes to us from the Victorians. They either created new traditions or revived old traditions which had almost been forgotten. At one time, the celebration of Christmas was illegal. The Protestant Reformation banned public celebrations of Christmas, considering them pagan and superstitious. It wasn't until the Victorian Era that the holiday once again became popular.

The Christmas tree is the most recognizable of the Victorian Christmas traditions. The custom of a lighted tree began in Germany where the Christmas tradition never disappeared. Prince Albert brought the custom and the first tree to England in 1840. By 1847, the trees at Windsor Castle were full of presents as well wax candles. As people began to follow the royal example, the tradition spread along with the hanging of holly to adorn the mantle, banisters, sideboards and almost any wooden surface.

Most of the carols we know and love were written in the 19th century, though some, such as Silent Night, are much older. The Victorians revived the much older tradition of singing carols to celebrate the season. They went door to door to entertain friends, sang them in their parlors and during candlelit worship services.

For many, the first sign of the Christmas season was the arrival of the Christmas card in the mail. The first card was designed in 1846 by John Calcott Horsley. Designed for Sir Henry Cole, Chairman of the Society of the Arts, 1,000 of the cards were printed. But the invention of a cheaper color lithograph and a reduction in the cost of postage fueled the spread of the custom.

Gifts weren't as important to the Victorians as they are today. There were more homemade presents exchanged. Emma Hopper, editor of Joy to the World in 1890, wrote that a home made gift is more complimentary than one bought. Suggestions included knitted mittens, embroidered bed slippers, stenciled lampshades, hand painted button boxes and hand stitched aprons.

Entertainment and holiday celebrations were held closer to home. Family members and friends would gather to recite poems, read stories, sing carols, and play parlor games. Christmas dinner was a huge affair. Goose, chicken or roast usually took center stage at the feast. Carp, a German delicacy, was also often enjoyed. Christmas pudding, made with beef, raisins and prunes, was mixed on Stir-Up Sunday, the Sunday before Advent, to let the mixture mature. A wooden spoon, in honor of the Christ child's wooden crib, was used to turn the pudding in a clockwise direction. Everyone present in the home took turns stirring the pudding. The plum pudding held charms, each symbolizing something in particular such as a ring for marriage, a coin for wealth, or a silver thimble for a happy single life.