'Tis the season for holiday cheer, and what better way to celebrate than with a look at a traditional Victorian Christmas.
Oh Tannenbaum!
The evergreen tree has long been a symbol of life during the long winter months and celebrated long before the Victorian Era, but it was Prince Albert who brought the first Christmas tree to the royal family. A tintype of the royal family's tree set a trend and afterward, to be fashionable, every Victorian home had one.
Christmas trees in the Victorian Era were decorated with simple hand-cut decorations, tinsel and tin cut ornaments like stars and snowflakes. The trees were lighted with tiny tapes - which would sometimes prove extremely hazardous.
Paper cornicopias filled with nuts, candies and fruit were also hung on the tree. Sometimes small gifts were hung on the branches.A Caroling We Will Go
The tradition of carolling began in England before taking hold in America. Carolers would travel from home to home in hopes of being invited inside for something warm to drink. Carols that were most popular were : God Rest ye merry Gentlemen (mentioned in Dicken's A Christmas Carol), Silent Night, The First Noel, Wassail Song, and The Holly and the Ivy.
Christmas Feast
In Victorian times, life was centered around the family, especially at Christmas time. Not just immediate family gathered to celebrate but aunts and uncles, cousins and grandparents. On Christmas morning, the family gathered for Mass and then for the Christmas dinner. Goose was especially popular in England while Turkey was most popular in America. Christmas Pudding was a special treat that even had a day set aside, the Sunday before Advent, for stirring and preparing. It is a combination of raisins, beef, prunes, sugar all packed in a cloth and put into a pot to cook.
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