Our Dec ’25 talk by Dr Bob France gave us an interesting tour around the Georgian and Victorian Christmas customs. Dr. France Is a guide and at Uppark and Petworth houses.
He gave a brief historical introduction to mid-winter feasts in Rome, (Saturnalia ) featuring dolls, candles, and the reversal of master/slave roles, and the 12 day holiday of Henry V111’s time. Gift giving used to be on Ist January. The Puritans banned Christmas altogether. Christmas was revived in the Georgian period but there were no presents, no Santa and no cards. The aristocracy may have had trees. The rich had balls and feasts for one month, often lasting until the early morning hours when carriages were called. The butler’s job was to serve drinks. Birds were stuffed within other birds and dressed for the table ( known as engastration). Georgians had no forks and put food on their knives to eat and wiped themselves with the edge of tablecloth (no napkins after forks appeared).Turkeys were walked from Norfolk to London in Georgian times and were very expensive. Only the rich could afford them and scraps were given to the poor “ to eat as humble pie”. There was a tradition of travelling Mummers in Tudor/Georgian times, performing silly plays in costume and masks for money – they mumbled hence the name. They first appeared in England on the shortest day – St Thomas’s day.
Boxing Day was an old custom of giving to the poor and is mentioned in The Pickwick Papers. The butler would take presents for the poor into town. Churches had poor boxes, chained, which were opened on Boxing Day and ‘doled out to the poor” – the origin of ‘dole money’. Tradesmen would go round with Christmas Greetings expecting to get money. Servants and footmen would get tips (To insure prompt service) before a meal. Piggy banks were smashed on Christmas Day (clay made from Pyg.) In Georgian times shops were open on Christmas Day and it was not a Bank Holiday.
After the Napoleonic wars ended, followed by depression and the industrial era the old Christmas traditions faded. Walter Scot mentions Christmas in his Marmion book (1809) and Washington Irving writes of the 1820’s American Christmas and Dickens’ Christmas Carol appeared in1843.
The early Father Christmas was decorated in greenery, not red,. In Europe St. Nicholas was a gift giver and gold was dropped down the chimney into ladies stockings. The Dutch had St Claus, a gift giver on Dec 6th. The Clement Moore poem Night Before Christmas dates to 1823.
In the late Victorian period mass produced gifts appeared which all could afford. In 1931 Father Christmas appears in department stores and in Coco Cola adverts (Coco Cola contained cocaine until 1904).
Christmas Eve harks back to Adam and Eve and the loss of paradise, regained on Dec 25 with the birth of Jesus. The illustrated London News featured news of Queen Victoria’s Christmas Tree (1848) and a Christmas Tree at Windsor is reported in 1850. The rich had their own trees and table with gifts. It was considered bad luck to decorate the tree before Christmas Eve. Holly was considered male (prickly) and Ivy female (entwining, warm). Mistletoe (dates from 18th century) was associated with reconciliation, good luck and kissing. Some customs which grew up around mistletoe.
- Only married people could be kissed
- If kissed one would get husband before the end of year
- A berry was removed before each kiss & when the berries ran out there was no more kissing!
Wassail – the custom of wishing each other good health with beers, cream, toast and bowl of spiced ale passed around to drink a measure marked on the bowl – the origin of “taken down a peg or two”. There is a Hogarth painting of Christmas celebrations. Maids would go round houses expecting presents and demanding figgy pudding as in the carol “We Wish you a Merry Christmas”. Carol singing originated as rough country songs toned down for use in church. The first Christmas card appeared in 1843 by Henry Cole. Early cards were hand done and expensive – 5 shillings ea, but they became cheaper as time went on and they were mass produced.
This was a very enjoyable presentation with illuminating slides and many interesting anecdotes about Christmas celebrations in days gone by.
Lois Coulthart