Have Yourself a Creepy Little Christmas

By Katelyn McIntyre, Intern Curator

The Victorian Era marked the birth of many Christmas traditions still practiced today. Prior to the 19th century, Christmas trees were largely a German Tradition in Britain. Some members of the nobility had them, but they were the only ones. This changed after 1848, when the London Illustrated News published an illustration of Queen Victoria, her German husband Albert, and their children standing around a Christmas tree. Within ten years, the custom was widespread among the wealthy. Now, Christmas trees are popular around the world. Another tradition that has literally and figuratively spread around the world is the Christmas card.

The world’s first Christmas Card. [Source]

The invention of the Christmas card was made possible by the invention of the Penny Post in 1840. The old, confusing postal system, calculated postage according to distance the letter had to travel and how many sheets of paper were used. The Penny Post, on the other hand, allowed someone to send a letter anywhere in the United Kingdom for only a penny.

One of the early supporters of this new system, Sir Henry Cole, sent the first batch of Christmas Cards in 1843 after letting unanswered correspondence build up over time, causing him great anxiety. Sir Henry had holiday imagery printed on one thousand pieces of stiff cardboard, with the salutation “TO: ____” at the top. This allowed Sir Henry to personalize the cards, and wish the receiver a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. This ingenious holiday hack paved the way for the commercialization of the Christmas card. Now families, friends, and loved ones could send one another all the best wishes of the holiday season without getting carpal tunnel writing out personal letters.

Victorian Children doing Victorian things. [Source]

To modern eyes, the motifs chosen for these cards may be a touch weird or even morbid at times. As these cards were the first of their kind, we see the early experimentation with different scenery and icons which did not survive into the 21st Century. However, there was no shortage of beautiful, classic holiday scenes reminiscent of what may be received today. Scenes such as families gathered around a beautifully prepared supper, Father Christmas giving toys to all the good girls and boys… but those are not as fun.

Below are some of my favourite Victorian Christmas cards for your enjoyment (and puzzlement).

A monkey paints a portrait of a dog with the words “The Compliments of the Season” in the foreground. [Source]

This monkey is painting a portrait of the world’s most patient dog while his monkey friend hangs out behind the border of the card. The only thing really telling us this is indeed a Christmas card is the text at the bottom left, stating ‘The compliments of the Season’. I don’t know about you, but I’m struggling to understand why, of all things, a monkey painting a dog screamed ‘Christmas’ for some cardmaker.

A dead robin lay on its back with the words “May yours be a Joyful Christmas” below. [Source]

Nothing reminds one of the looming ever-present threat of death like the Christmas season. Though this is morbid imagery to us today, dead birds were common in Victorian Christmas cards as symbols for good luck in the coming year. Several theories have been presented for this phenomenon. A dead bird in the snow has been said to be a call to help those less fortunate, as it conjures the image of children in danger of freezing at Christmas. Another involves the Irish St. Stephan’s Day, also known as “Wren Day,” where killing a wren or robin is said to bring good luck.

With that, I leave a few honourable mentions.

Naughty children go in the teapot. [Source]

The beloved Christmas Goblin waiting to whack you with a bat. [Source]

Me and the mates at a vintage Manitoban social. [Source]