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Victorian Christmas in the British Isles

Many Christmas celebrations started during the reign of Queen Victoria around 1837. Hence the title “Victorian Christmas”. Many of our festive customs and traditions date back to Victorian Times. Before this, there was no Santa Claus, Christmas Crackers, Christmas Cards or Christmas Trees. People did not have holidays from work . The Great Industrial revolution provided the driving force which fuelled the wealth to put the celebrations into place.

This wealth allowed the Victorians to take two days off work and thus started the Victorian Christmas. One of these days was named Boxing Day, so called because on that day the servants would open the “boxes” in which they had stored gifts of money from the “rich people” . The Victorian Christmas co-incided with the opening of the railways which enabled people who had moved to the cities to go back to their country homes to celebrate their Victorian Christmas with family and friends.

The Victorian Christmas was a time when there was a huge divide between rich and poor. During the Victorian Christmas era, childrens's toys were handmade and expensive which meant only the wealthier children got toys. However, with the advent of factories and mass production, games, dolls, books and clockwork toys were all much more affordable and so the children of the less wealthier classes could benefit. A poor child's Christmas stocking for a Victorian Christmas would have perhaps only some fruit and nuts.

A typical Victorian Christmas was a time for Victorian family get-togethers. The average Victorian household, unable to afford public entertainment at the theatre or musical concerts, would spend cold winter evenings entertaining themselves at home. The fireside/hearth became a symbol of family unity. It was where families ate, kept warm, conversed and entertained themselves. They sang, played games, and acted. Reading was a favourite occupation. Popular reading material during a Victorian Christmas would be classics such as The Pilgrim's Progress, Robinson Crusoe ,the novels of Walter Scott & Charles Dickens' Christmas Carol.

There is a certain amount of nostalgia in these days of full of plenty for the Victorian Christmas. The most appealing item can be the Victorian Christmas Card as it immediately conjures up the ethos and nostalgia for the age. Many cards were extremely elaborate with gilded, embossed, shaped, pop-up and pierced forms. A reproduction Victorian Christmas Card is a joy to behold – all those beautiful log fires, Victorian crinolines, lavishly decorated tables and sumptuously presented food.

Once the Victorian Christmas took hold, it gained a grip which has never been relinquished. We today could never imagine a time when Christmas was not the main festival of the year.