The Victorians also transformed the idea of Christmas so that it became centred around the family. The preparation and eating of the feast, decorations and gift giving, entertainments and parlour games – all were essential to the celebration of the festival and were to be shared by the whole family.
What was Christmas like before Queen Victoria?
Before Victoria’s reign started in 1837 nobody in Britain had heard of Santa Claus or Christmas Crackers. No Christmas cards were sent and most people did not have holidays from work.
What was Christmas like in the Victorian era for the poor?
Poor people in Victorian England typically did not celebrate Christmas with much festivity. Often, it was considered another work day for the poor, but some workhouses provided a slightly more elaborate means to the workers that day.
Did you know facts about Victorian Christmas?
The first Victorian Christmas presents were fairly small – gifts such as fruits, nuts, sweets and handmade items were hung from the branches of the Christmas tree. The size and expense of the gifts steadily increased. Victorians started to buy gifts from shops and they were often too big to hang from the tree.
What was a Victorian Age traditional Christmas dinner like?
Most Victorian families had roast goose for their Christmas dinner, wealthy families ate beef, venison and turkey, often served with a chestnut or veal forcemeat stuffing. In the north, spiced roast beef was the most popular dish.
What 2 Christmas traditions did the Victorians introduce?
From Christmas cards to decorated trees and Christmas crackers, many of our best-known Christmas traditions are products of the Victorian era. At the dawn of the 19th century, Christmas was hardly celebrated – at least, not in a way we would recognise today.
What Christmas decorations did the Victorians use?
The custom of burning a yule log on Christmas eve goes back to medieval times, but it was a tradition honoured and enjoyed by Victorians. The mantelpiece above the fire would be decorated with more candles, a swag of berry-laden holly, evergreens, pine cones and perhaps Christmas stockings for the children.
What games did Victorians play Christmas?
Classic Victorian parlor amusements include games with names like Piggy Squeak, Up Jenkins, Throwing the Smile, Find the Thimble, Choose your Punishment, Shadow Buff and Hunt the Ring.
What did Queen Victoria think of Christmas?
“Christmas, I always look upon as a most dear happy time, also for Albert, who enjoyed it naturally still more in his happy home, which mine, certainly, as a child, was not. It is a pleasure to have this blessed festival associated with one’s happiest days.
What did kids get for Christmas in the 1800s?
Preserves, jams, jellies, candies, needlework, plants, and doilies were common gifts in the late 1800s, Winans-Bagnall said. Also new this year is a children’s holiday game popular in 1874 that involves throwing a cloth snowball through a wreath.
What was Santa called in Victorian times?
Father Christmas
But as later Victorian Christmases developed into child-centric family festivals, Father Christmas became a bringer of gifts. The popular American myth of Santa Claus arrived in England in the 1850s and Father Christmas started to take on Santa’s attributes.
Did Victorians put candles on Christmas trees?
During the Victorian era, Christmas trees were lit with burning wax tapers attached to the tree. The tree could be decorated with all green candles or assorted colors; if white candles were used, the tree was sprinkled with artificial snow.
When did Victorians put up Christmas decorations?
Queen Victoria wrote in her journal of having a Christmas tree in her room in 1832 but it wasn’t until the 1840s that it gained wide spread popularity in Britain.
What are two rules for dinner in the Victorian era?
Victorian Dining Etiquette: Common Sense Advice for Eating in…
- 1) Remove Your Gloves.
- 2) Don’t Eat Too Much or Too Little.
- 3) Eat and Drink Quietly.
- 4) Don’t Chew with Your Mouth Open.
- 5) Don’t Abstain from Taking the Last Piece.
- 6) Don’t Blow Your Nose at the Table.
- 7) Don’t Pick Your Teeth.
What food was attached to Christmas cards in Victorian times?
Victorian-era Christmas cards featuring lobsters, dancing dice and leap-frogging bears are VERY different to today’s festive scenes.
What was the Victorians Favourite food?
Popular foods included beef, mutton, port, bacon, cheese, eggs, bread, potatoes, rice, porridge oats, milk, vegetables, flour, sugar, treacle, jam and tea. Breakfast might consist of stoneground bread smeared with dripping or lard, with a large bunch of watercress.
How were gifts wrapped in Victorian era?
In the west, affluent Victorians used thick, decorative paper, along with ribbons and lace, to cover presents as a practice of luxury. During the early 20th century, tissue paper in assortments of red, green and white concealed presents until they were opened.
What was in a Victorian Christmas stocking?
Victorian stockings were very beautiful as they used to be the children’s main present. Santa Claus would fill them with fruit and nuts and a piece of candy or two. There would also be some bright new pennies and a lump of coal for luck.
What does Victorian Christmas smell like?
Bright orange and warm spices combine in this classic holiday blend. Cinnamon and nutmeg are highlighted with a hint of rose to captivate the senses. Vanilla undertones balance the spiced citrus character.
Why did Victorians hang Christmas trees upside down?
Hanging fir trees upside-down in the home harkens back to the Middle Ages when Europeans employed the act in order to represent the Holy Trinity. The first to do this, according to many sources, was Saint Boniface, a Benedictine monk, who used the inverted trees as a theological teaching tool for pagan Germans.
Did Victorians have Christmas wreaths?
Quick Links. The tradition of the wreath pre-dates the Victorians by centuries, but it was a tradition they embraced and made their own. Victorian wreaths were elaborate and made with all types of evergreen foliage, such as holly, ivy and yew. To decorate they would use fruit and pine cones.