By Alora Hayward
When we think of Christmas, where does your mind go? Sitting by the fire, curled up with hot chocolate and a book? Or perhaps, decorating the Christmas tree, maybe even watching Christmas movies with your family; all of these are modern traditions but how did people in the nineteenth century celebrate Christmas? In this post, I will be discussing the differences between American vs British Christmas in the Nineteenth-Century.
American Christmas
Would you be surprised that Christmas for Americans actually began in the early nineteenth century? Most of what we consider to be Christmas traditions in society today come from European traditions of the holiday. However, for the Americans, they celebrated Christmas quite early on. Christmas is an old celebration, according to James H. Barnett, the holiday “[dates] from the middle of the fourth century A.D.” Meaning that what we know as Christmas today, was also celebrated long ago as well. Gift exchanges, and feasts, were all ways that people before the Victorian Era – let alone the Nineteenth-Century. However, not all Americans celebrated Christmas, in fact, “Puritans forbade the observance of Christmas” because it was “Anti-Christ Masse”, however, as the Century moved, so did the acceptance of Christmas as a holiday. As the acceptance of Christmas grew, so did their traditions. For example, the beloved Christmas story A Visit from St. Nicholas, otherwise known as The Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore, was published on December 23rd, 1823.
In comparison to Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol (1847), this poem written by Moore is a whimsical poem about St. Nicholas’ journey through the sky on Christmas Eve as he brings presents to all the children throughout the world. This poem has been adapted to a storybook for children in later years and is re-told even in our society today. This is the first literary depiction of St. Nicholas, or Santa Claus. However, Washington Irving was the one who initially wrote about St. Nicholas: “had a wagon he could ride ‘over the tops of trees’ when he brought ‘his yearly presents to children.’” This depiction of St. Nicholas - Santa Claus - showcases how the figure of dear old Santa Claus began. Although the figure of Santa Claus originated from the US, he was inspired by European figures. Furthermore, in 1881, cartoonist Thomas Nast created what we now know to be our modern view of Santa; with his jolly red suit, beard, trimmed white fur, Mrs. Claus, and the Workshop. Penne Restad, “Americans varied old themes and wove new symbols into the received fabric to create something definitively their own” (1). In other words, for Americans during the Nineteenth-Century, they created their own means of tradition for the holiday. How then, does American Christmas differ from a British or even a Victorian one?
British Christmas
Christmas in the Victorian Era compared to American culture was celebrated in the Mid-Victorian era, rather than the beginning of the nineteenth century; much like American Christmas, Victorians celebrated the festive season by doing various activities. Such activities include: decorating the Christmas tree with real candles, and ornaments, writing Christmas cards, and engaging in gift exchanges. Popular presents during the Victorian Era were sweets, homemade toys or “trinkets”, nuts, and even fruit.
Furthermore, the holiday season dove into feasts; people of all classes would enjoy a large feast with foods such turkey, or roast beef. For dessert, they would often have Christmas Pudding. This dish was so elaborate that it would be an entire family affair to make; the pudding took quite a bit to prepare, so it was made days in advance! Other Victorian traditions that were parlour games that brought both joy, amusement, and danger! One example of this is the game Snapdragon.
The object of the game is that family and friends gather around together, there is a bowl filled with raisins and brandy. The raisins and brandy get lit on fire; the objective of the game is to pick up - yes with your fingers - and eat as many raisins as you can without burning yourself. Another game that was played during the holidays was entitled: “Change Seats”. This game is a mix of Simon Says and Musical Chairs. The object of the game is that there are approx. five to about twenty people all sitting in a circle, and one person in the center of the circle. When all players have been seated, the person in the center of the circle will say the phrase “Change Seats! The King’s come!” and all the players must change seats, however, if the person in the center only says “Change seats!” then no one must move, for they didn’t say the original phrase. Think of it like in Simon Says, when the player being Simon, says something like “Simon says lift your right hand” and everyone does it, then they might say “Now lift your left hand”; because the player didn't say “Simon says lift your left hand” those who lifted their left hand would automatically forfeit. The same goes for ‘Change Seats’. If the person who says “Change seats, the King’s come!” gets someone else’s seat, the person who lost their seat is the new person in the middle. A final Victorian parlour game that was popular during the era is one called Pass the Slipper. Think of it like the game hot potato, but with a smaller object that won’t burn your hands. The objective of this game is similar to “Change Seats” where everyone is in a circle, and there is someone in the middle, however, this person has their eyes closed. Next, everyone passes the slipper (or a smaller object) around while the center person keeps their eyes closed, as soon as the center person opens their eyes, the other players stop passing the item and the center person must guess who has the slipper. Should the person in the center guess correctly, they take the place of the person who had the slipper and the game resumes
While both Nineteenth-Century America and Victorian England celebrated Christmas differently, one thing remains the same, the way both parties came together as one and celebrated with family, friends, and loved ones.