Only 151 days until Christmas! What—you’re not thinking about Christmas
right now? The 98 degrees, 200% humidity,* and *melting squirrels* on your
deck aren’t putting you in the Christmas spirit? Well, bah, humbug! I’m all
about Victorian Christmas right now,** and by the end of this post, you
will be, too!
As I’ve talked about the last couple of weeks, much of modern middle-class
culture comes from the Victorian era, and Christmas is no exception! Many
of the elements we consider traditional must-haves in our yuletide
celebrations were born or evolved in the 19th century in England and
America—with a little nudge from Germany.
[image: Christmas Tree at Windsor Castle from Illustrated London News, 1848]
“Christmas Tree at Windsor Castle” from *Illustrated London News*, December
1848
This image of Queen Victoria, her German-born husband Prince Albert, and
their children celebrating Christmas in 1848 was many people’s first
glimpse of a Christmas tree. First published in *Illustrated London News *then
widely reprinted, it immediately popularized the Christmas tree and made
this German novelty seem quintessentially British. Victoria and Albert were
married in 1840, and by Christmas 1841, Albert had installed the Christmas
tree as a family tradition. That year, Victoria wrote in her diary of her
children’s “happy wonder at the German Christmas tree and its radiant
candles.” It did not take long to catch on in Prince Albert’s new country.
*Illustrated London News*, still going strong with Christmas in 1876. By
this point, the Christmas tree was well established. See how the Royal
Family has become the ordinary middle-class British family (complete with
servant watching adoringly from the sidelines)?
We see the same scene again, another thirty years later, with this London
family in 1908
Of course, traditions don’t spring up out of nowhere; they evolve from
other customs. Victorian folklorists were fascinated with tracing the
history of Christmas observances back to their ancient origins. As early as
1836, Scots-born poet and literary critic Thomas Kibble Hervey offered
readers *The Book of Christmas.* Hervey was looking back with a nostalgic
view of Old England, before Christmas’s Victorian renaissance, and speaks
of the “Extinction of the Ancient Festival; [its] Partial Revival; [and]
Summary of the Causes of its Final Decline.”
But sixty-five years later, William F. Dawson was able to capitalize on
decades of renewed enthusiasm for this most Victorian of holidays in 1902’s *Christmas:
Its Origins and Associations *and its prodigious subtitle:
I wish my Christmases had more Brave Deeds and Chivalric Feats
Dawson was fascinated both with early Christianity’s observance of the
Nativity, as well as pagan festivals believed to have been co-opted into
traditional Christmas celebrations.
Naturally, by mid-century, *Mrs. Beeton, our middle-class maven*, was full
of advice for the holiday, too:
What’s more Victorian Christmas than plum pudding? *Mrs. Beeton’s Book of
Household Management* included several recipes, like this kid-friendly
version with no alcohol.
She was especially enthusiastic about the turkey as the centerpiece for
Christmas dinner:
Of course, the figure perhaps most associated with Victorian Christmas is
Charles Dickens. *A Christmas Carol* was published in 1843, right when
Victorians were just beginning to embrace the yuletide spirit with new
zeal. Throughout the 19th century, as daily life became more
industrialized, globalized, commercialized, and modernized, people began to
romanticize what they saw as old-fashioned traditions (even if they were
brand-new). The Victorian era was fertile soil for a holiday reimagined
around hearth and home and ancient customs.
John Leech’s illustration for the frontispiece of the first edition of *A
Christmas Carol, *already showing all the Victorian merriment we’d expect
Dickens, already a master of sentimental prose, recognized this yearning.
And he was prescient, too. We still think of* A Christmas Carol* as that
most Christmassy of Christmas traditions, 177 years later.
Harold Copping’s 1922 painting of Bob Cratchitt and Tiny Tim graced the
cover of the copy of *A Christmas Carol* I bought in fifth grade (which was
*not* in 1922)
Are you ready for Christmas yet? Here are some more period images to get
you in the mood:
Pear’s Soap company produced an annual Christmas magazine full of
stories–including reprints of Dickens’s Christmas tales—and display-worthy
illustrations. This edition featuring Father Christmas (or Father Time) and
Baby New Year is from 1893
Confectioner Tom Smith was the inventor of the Christmas cracker, and the
company’s lavish annual Christmas catalogue was a precursor to the Sears
Wishbook of 20th century American fame | early 20th C.
Late 19th century Swedish New Year’s postcards sent to my great-great
grandparents, showing the influence of traditional Norse folklore (that
appears to be a Valkyrie sending good wishes)
There! Now don’t you wish it was snowing? So haul out your Christmas tree,
sing some carols, whip up a Christmas pudding, and have a happy Christmas
in July!
*slight hyperbole, Dear Reader
**For Top Secret Reasons, to be revealed in Due Time!
The post #MyrtleMondays: Christmas in July! appeared first on Elizabeth C.
Bunce.