Christmas Stories

The Story of the origin of sending Christmas Cards
The origin of sending Christmas cards started in the UK in 1840. This was when the 'Penny Post' postal deliveries began. The Postal deliveries were a great success as they were aided by the new railway systems.
This public postal service was a great boon to 19th century communications. It was in the nature of a revolution, comparable to what email is for us today.
As printing equipment and methods improved, Christmas cards were produced in large quantities from about 1860. They became even more popular in Britain when a card could be posted in an unsealed envelope for a half-penny . This was half the price of sending an ordinary letter.

The Story of the Christmas Cake
The Christmas Cake as we know it today comes from two customs which merged together around 1870 in Victorian England. Originally there was a porridge, the origins of which go back to the beginnings of Christianity. Then there was a fine cake made with the finest milled wheatflour, this was baked only in the Great Houses, as not many people had ovens back in the 14th century.

Originally people used to eat a sort of porridge on Christmas Eve. Around the 16th century, it became popular to add butter, replace the oatmeal with wheatflour and add eggs to hold it together better.
In the more affluent houses with proper ovens, a cake was baked for the Christmas festivities, with dried fruits in season and spices. These represented the exotic spices of the East, and the gifts of the Wise Men . Such things were first brought to Europe and Britain particularly, by the Crusaders coming back from the wars in the Holy Land in the 12th century.

However, it was still not the Christmas Cake as we know it. Twelfth night is on the 5th January, and has been for centuries the traditional last day of the Christmas season.. It was a time for having a great feast, and the cake was an essential part of the festivities.
In smaller homes, the cake was a simple fruitcake, with a bean in it, which was given to guests during the twelve days of Christmas. Whoever got the bean was supposed to be a kind of guardian angel for that family for the year, so it was an important task, and usually, it was arranged that a senior member of the family would get the bean! This was observed until recently in Poland in fact.
In Britain the cake was baked as part of the refreshments offered to the priest and his entourage who would visit on the feast of the Epiphany, January 6th, to bless each house in the parish. The cake at this stage would have many figurines and models on it. This custom died in the late 16th century after the Reformation when these customs and Twelfth Night Feasting were banned by the Puritans.

The confectioners who made the cakes were left with boxes full of figurines and models for Twelfth Cakes so they began to bake a fruitcake and decorate it with snowy scenes. Firstly they were sold for Christmas Parties and then they developed into the Christmas Cake as we know it today.

The Story of the origins of Father Christmas
Father Christmas otherwise known as Santa Claus, has become the symbol of Christmas. Pictures will be seen everywhere of the old man with long white beard, red coat, and bag of toys. Children are taught that he brings them presents the night before . His place of residence is the North Pole, and he drives through the sky on a sledge pulled by reindeer. He comes into houses down the chimney at midnight and places presents for GOOD and WELL BEHAVED children in socks or bags by their beds or in front of the family Christmas tree.

In large retails outlets and at children's parties, a person will dress up as Father Christmas and children will queue up to have a chat with him. He usually gives them small presents and asks them what gifts they would like for Christmas. It is no wonder that Christmas can be a time of magic and excitement for children

Father Christmas is based on a real person, St. Nicholas. This is how his second name “Santa Claus” originated. Nicholas was a Christian leader from Turkey in the 4th century AD. He was very shy, and wanted to give money to poor people without them knowing about it. It is said that one day, he climbed the roof of a house and dropped a purse of money down the chimney. It landed in the stocking which a girl had put to dry by the fire! Thus the belief that Father Christmas comes down the chimney and places gifts in children's stockings.
It is said that Father Christmas is for children, BUT if ordinary people are kind to each other is this not a form of Father Christmas for adults!