Category Archives: ~Celebrations/Ceremonies

Victorian Chrstmas Greeting Card History

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Children in Victorian England had the task of writing greetings to their parents in their very best handwriting. Sometimes adults wrote Christmas letters to each other, but this could take up a great deal of time. The printed Christmas card solved the problem. The custom of sending printed cards was started in England by Henry Cole, who did not have time to write letters to each of his relatives. He asked an artist, John Calcott Horsley, to design a card for him. About 1,000 of these cards were printed, and those not used by Sir Henry were sold by the printer for one shilling. This was not cheap, which may be why they did not sell very well. With the introduction of the “penny post” in 1840, it became cheaper to send mail, and as a result of color printing and the invention of printing machines, cards could be printed faster and cheaper. The first company to print and sell Christmas cards on a large scale was Charles Goodall & Sons of London in 1862. The first charity card was produced in 1949 by UNICEF. Richard H. Pease, a printer from Albany, New York, is credited with sending the first specially printed Christmas card in America, in 1851. It managed to make the first mistake in Christmas card history. The card showed a building on which was hung a banner proclaiming “Pease’s Great Variety Store.”

A Brief History Victorian “Cracker”

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The first illustration of a Christmas cracker appeared in The Illustrated London News in 1847, but there is some argument as to who invented them. Two London sweet makers, Tom Smith, and James Hovell, both claim to have invented the cracker. In 1840s Paris, sweets called “bon-bons” were wrapped in twists of brightly colored paper. Tom Smith (or James Hovell) brought back the idea but added a little slip of paper with a message on it, called “kiss mottoes.” Later, other attractions were added, such as little paper hats, tokens and small toys, plus the “crack.” It is said that Tom (or James) was sitting in front of his Christmas fire where the yule logs were crackling, which gave him the idea of putting a cracker strip inside his bon-bons. The crackers were also made to look like tiny yule logs, as they still do today.

Victorian Christmas “Cracker” How To

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Christmas Cracker

Materials:

  • 1 toilet tissue roll
  • snapper (available at craft stores)
  • any small favours you wish to add
  • an 8 x 10″ piece of crepe paper
  • 2 pieces of 8 x 5″ crepe paper
  • decorative trimmings
  • glue
  • transparent tape
  • decorative string
  1. Centre the toilet tissue roll lengthwise along the 10″ side of the 8 x 10″ piece of crepe paper. Wrap the crepe paper around the roll, securing it with 1 or 2 pieces of transparent tape. (The tape can be attached to the underside of the crepe paper so that it does not show.)
  2. Insert snapper and favours (e.g. paper party hats, candies, nuts, riddles, trinkets, etc.) into the roll. The ends of the snapper should extend beyond the ends of the cracker.
  3. Tie each end of cracker with string.
  4. To make fringe, take an 8 x 5″ piece of crepe paper and fold in half lengthwise. Cut 1″ deep slashes about _” apart along unfolded edges. Repeat with second piece of 8 x 5″ crepe paper. cc5.jpg (5342 bytes)
  5. Take about 12″ of decorative string (gold, silver, etc.) and place along inside fold of fringe. Gather and tie around end of cracker, over first tie. Repeat with other end, using second fringe. Ends of fringes may be curled gently.
  6. Decorative trims, lace, ribbons, glitter, etc. may be used to decorate the body of the cracker.

Victorian Christmas Decorating

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The Victorians decorated their homes in bold wallpaper, ornate furnishings, lace, and richly-colored draperies, and this love for decorating carried right over into the way they decorated for the holidays, as well. Although many of the Victorians had very little money to spend on extravagant decorations, they were enthusiastic in their celebration of the Christmas season. They turned to nature for inspiration and found fresh, rich greenery, flowers, pinecones, berries, and fruit which were all used to create colorful displays. Early in December the Victorian household began to decorate, covering every available inch of the house with greenery. Spruce, balsam, laurel, cedar, ivy, mistletoe, and holly graced tables, banniesters, chandeliers, archways, columns, and woodwork. Mistletoe dangled from the ceiling of the entry hall. Even picture frames and mirrors were wrapped with evergreen rope. Wreaths could be found hung on doors or behind windowpanes.

The Victorian parlor played an important role for the holiday season. The parlor was transformed into an enchanted winter wonderland filled with decorations such as garlands of cranberries and popcorn, tinsel and paper chains, paper and lace ornaments, tissue-paper snowflakes, glittering glass balls, angels, fairies and Santas. The candles on a glittering tree adorned with an angel or star on the treetop became the centerpiece of the room. Under the Christmas tree sat the tempting gifts, wrapped in colorful paper and tied with taffeta ribbons. Some were lavishly garnished with the addition of fine flowers and greenery. Colored glass lamps and candles throughout the room cast a festive glow. The fire blazed merrily, and stockings dangled from the fireplace filled to bulging with gifts and treats. An army of toy soldiers marched on the mantel above. The fragrance of cedar boughs drifted throughout the house, and arrangements of holly and ivy brought the peace of the winter woods indoors.

A Victorian Christmas Tree History

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Behind the double doors of the Victorian parlor stood the Christmas tree, an old German custom the Victorians enlarged upon both in style and decoration. This tradition had come to England by way of Queen Victoria’s great-great-grandfather King George I.

When she was Queen, Victoria had a Christmas tree at Windsor Castle. In 1848, an etching of Victoria, Albert, and their children gathered acround their decorated tree was published in The Illustrated London News. At about the same time, Charles Minnegerode, a German professor at the College of William and Mary, trimmed a small evergreen to delight the children at the St. George Tucker House. Martha Vandergrift, aged 95, recalled the grand occasion, and her story appeared in the Richmond News Leader on December 25, 1928. Presumably Mrs. Vandergrift remembered the tree and who decorated it more clearly than she did the date. The newspaper gave 1845 as the time, three years after Minnegerode’s arrival in Williamsburg. Perhaps the first Christmas tree cheered the Tucker household as early as 1842.

As a result, Christmas trees became the popular fashion in England and the central feature of the Victorian family Christmas. German settlers had brought the custom to America, but when the same illustration of Victoria and her family appeared in Goody’s Lady’s Book in 1850, Christmas trees became even more popular in American then in England.

What made the Victorian Christmas tree so special was its elaborate decoration. Decorations included gingerbread men, marzipan candies, hard candies, cookies, fruit, cotton-batting Santas, paper fans, tin soldiers, whistles, wind-up toys, pine cones, dried fruits, nuts, berries, and trinkets of all kinds. Paper cornucopias filled with nuts, candies, and other treats were the Victorian favorite. It was not uncommon to find some small homemade gifts, such as tiny hand-stitched dolls or children’s mittens, and freshly baked treats like sugar cookies. Hand-dipped candles were placed carefully on each of the branches. A Christmas doll or angel could usually be found adorning the top of the tree.

Children often helped to make the tree decorations. They would string garlands of popcorn or cranberries, or make chains of paper flowers. Some families set up a Nativity or outdoor scene under the tree, using moss for grass and mirrors for ponds.

Later in the century imported ornaments from Germany began to replace the homemade ones. First came glass icicles and hand-blown glass globes called kugels. Dresdens, which were embossed silver and gold cardboard ornaments, took exotic shapes–moons, butterflies, fish, birds, ships, animals, flowers, trolley cars, and even automobiles.

A Victorian family’s most prized ornament was the Nuremberg angel atop the tree. It had wings of spun glass, a crinkled gold skirt, and a wax or bisque face. Angles or cherubs represented the Victorian ideal of childlike or womanly innocence.