#ENGLAND QUEEN VICTORIA FAMILY TREE CRACKER#

It also featured Scrooge sending Bob Cratchitt a large turkey for Christmas - in fact, goose was the more common choice for families at the time. The railway made it easier for people who had moved to the cities away from their families for better work to return return for Christmas.Ī Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, published in 1843, was wildly popular and encapsulated the idea that charitable giving and spending time with family was at the heart of Christmas. However, another reason that families celebrating together became so integral to Christmas was the advancement of the railway. As well as the traditions, it also became a holiday about spending time with family and loved ones.Īs we have seen, this was partly due to the influence of Queen Victoria and Albert, perceived as icons of wholesome family life. Victorian ChristmasĬhristmas drastically changed during the Victorian period.

Traditional gifts for children included skipping ropes, toy soldiers and beer, whilst adults would exchange fruit and books.īefore the 1870s gifts were not wrapped in paper - they were simply placed under the tree and everyone could see what they would be getting.

Increased wealth generated by Victorian industry meanwhile also meant that the middle classes could take days off work for Christmas and New Year. Mass production as a result of the Industrial Revolution meant that items such as children's toys became more affordable for the middle classes. With the increasing popularity of Christmas as a time for family and charity however, giving gifts gradually became a Christmas tradition. Originally seasonal gift giving was reserved for the New Year’s celebrations. They were also sold under the name 'Bangs of expectation.'īy the 1870s they had the jokes and hats in them that we associate with crackers today. Originally Christmas crackers were called ‘cosaques’, as the noise they made was supposedly reminiscent of Russian Cossak horsemen cracking their whips.

#ENGLAND QUEEN VICTORIA FAMILY TREE CRACKER#

Tom Smith crackers are still made, and are the official cracker supplier for the royal family. Smith worked in music hall and so would have been well versed in these silver fulminates. However it is also true that silver fulminate ‘snaps’ had been in existence for a while, so it may well be that Smith simply wanted to use these to his advantage.

The ‘bang’ was added later after Smith was reportedly inspired by the sound of a log crackling on a fire. Originally the cracker just contained a sweet and a small motto. However, the first person to sell crackers may actually have been Italian confectioner Sparagnapane, whose company described itself as 'the oldest makers of Christmas crackers in the United Kingdom.' The ability for anyone to pay half a penny to post cards across the country made sending Christmas cards a popular and affordable tradition.Įarly Victorian Christmas cards often depicted celebration and merriment, as well as acts of charity and helping the less fortunate.įirst Christmas card courtesy of Wikicommons History of Christmas crackersĬonfectioner Tom Smith is widely credited as inventing the Christmas cracker, supposedly after seeing bon-bons wrapped in twisted paper in Paris. The introduction of the halfpenny postage rate in 1870 also contributed to the growing success of Christmas cards. However, Cole's 'first Christmas card' would, along with Prince Albert's palace Christmas tree, set an example that would later become a key part of the Victorian Christmas.Īdvances in printing processes and colour techniques meant that by the 1860s complex designs could be produced on a large scale. At the time this was expensive, and the venture initially failed to take off. When postal service reformer Henry Cole created his own Christmas card in 1843 to send to friends and family, he also put them on sale to the general public for a shilling. Putting a star or angel on top of the Christmas tree is also a tradition that began in Victorian times. This could be seen as an attempt to bring the natural world into their homes in the wake of the Industrial Revolution. Christmas Tree at Windsor Castle - first published in 1848 by the Illustrated London NewsĪs well as trees, the Victorians decorated their house with things such as holly and ivy.

England queen victoria family tree