If you’re celebrating Christmas, chances are you’ve got an annual tradition or two associated with the season and its festivities. From picking out a tree, to the choice of decorations and even the trip to the store to buy presents, many of the things we do to mark the holiday can trace their roots back not to a manger in the Middle East but to a queen in England.
Many of our quirky Christmas traditions can be traced back to Victorian England, and in fact to the old Monarch herself. Likewise, images of Christmas often reflect an idealized 19th century version depicted by Charles Dickens, whose A Christmas Carol is one of the most recognizable and iconic stories of the season.
Karen Richardson, curator at the Haldimand County Museum and Archives, explains that we owe quite a lot our current merriment to the time period, in particular to Queen Victoria and her consort, Prince Albert of Germany. After their marriage in 1840, the Prince brought his traditions with him to Buckingham Palace, including the iconic Christmas tree.
“They were the first to actually put one up in the palace, and it was a tabletop tree at the time, not a full length tree like we’re used to today,” says Richardson. Far from being the prudish type we often associate them as, the Victorians were actually a very sentimental and even romantic people, and decorated their trees with handmade ornaments of deep personal value, she says.
“Sometimes they would put perhaps a dried bouquet of flowers that they may have got from a special boyfriend,” she says. Or they might decorate their trees with pictures of loved ones who had passed away or Christmas cards that were dear to them.
They also loved anything gilded in gold, says Richardson. “So sometimes they would actually gather acorns and gild them, and put them on the tree because the acorn means you have a very strong foundation in the home.” Butterfly ornaments, meanwhile, were the symbol for good luck, and many Victorians took their superstitions seriously.
One of the interesting practices to fall into obscurity was the German custom of hiding a glass pickle in the tree, that children had to find in order to win a prize. Richardson explains that because parents put a lot of work into the trees, they used the game to get their kids to fully appreciate the tree itself. Instead of just going straight for the gifts and candies, the kids would be forced to look at – and assumedly admire – the decorated tree while they searched for the hidden pickle ornament.
Sentiment and symbolism aside, Richardson notes that the yearly consumerism associated with the season is not a modern trend, but actually has its roots in Victorian England as well.
“In the early stages of Victorian era, it was all homemade. But by the time we got to about the 1870s, it became a real marketing ploy to get Victorians to buy dolls and buy toys and buy presents for each other” says Richardson.
“At Christmas time, oh yes! They were the ones that started the big storefront windows with all the dolls and magical toys that the kids would want, and special perfumes and all that kind of stuff because it was all about ‘oh, let’s get them in here to shop.’ And so the 1870s really opened up the door for shopping and marketing [on] Christmas.”
Of course it’s not all presents and ornaments. Christmas is also seen as a time of giving back and helping those in need. If there is one person in Victorian England we would associate the most with the era and Christmas, it might very well be Charles Dickens. And indeed, says Richardson, the author certainly made his mark on the Victorian social conscience with his portrayals of poverty and injustice in the country, sparking a charitable spirit in the people.
“It was because of Charles Dickens and his writings that the Victorians felt the need to give back. So at Christmas time, especially, was the time that they gave presents to homeless children, and did all the charity work, and wanted to make sure everybody had a proper meal and their proper working conditions for children … and that was because of Charles Dickens. He had a huge influence on the society and wanting them to be charitable,” says Richardson.
So when you’re sitting the living room, basking under the shiny bejeweled Christmas tree, eyeing the presents and drinking some eggnog, it’s a good a time as any to reflect on the long and strange traditions we’ve adopted from our Victorian predecessors.
