Victorian Christmas Traditions

Setting is used to tell the story of A Christmas Carol, through which we read about Ebenezer Scrooge’s progression from greed to kindness. The story is set in Victorian England, a time that Dickens was critical of throughout his career because of the great inequities between rich and poor.

In Victorian England there was a tradition in which groups of singers traveled from house to house, singing carols or songs, for which they were often rewarded with money, mince pies, or a glass of a warm drink. Often money was collected and given to charity. Earlier Christmas caroling was known as wassailing.

“A Christmas Carol was very influential in demonstrating to the Victorians that they could uphold the generosity of the Georgians’ way of celebrating Christmas, the idea that the wealthy needed to provide for the poor, and move it into the city and into the private home.

Victorians decorated their fresh-cut evergreen trees with beads, tinsel, paper ornaments and jeweled baubles. Despite the Victorians’ affection for live greenery, artificial Christmas trees were also a common element of holiday decor. Beneath the tree, a vignette of miniature houses re-created a cozy winter scene.

• CHRISTMAS TREES. Queen Victoria’s husband Prince Albert was responsible for popularising the tradition of Christmas trees in England.
• COFFIN MINCE PIES.
• CHRISTMAS CRACKERS.
• ICE SKATING ON THE THAMES.
• CHRISTMAS CARDS.
• A CHRISTMAS CAROL.

In northern England roast beef was the traditional fayre for Christmas dinner while in London and the south, goose was favourite. Many poor people made do with rabbit. On the other hand, the Christmas Day menu for Queen Victoria and family in 1840 included both beef and of course a royal roast swan or two.

Some historians have suggested that the portrayal of dead animals on nineteenth century Christmas cards were meant to serve as a reminder of the poor and hungry during the holiday season. Stories of poor children freezing to death were common during the winter in Victorian England.

Christmas Traditions in the Victorian era The “rich folk” would give gifts of money to the servants and working people, otherwise known as middle class people. This tradition started the holiday known as Boxing Day. In the beginning of Queen Victoria’s reign, kid’s toys were hand crafted and expensive.

Gift giving had traditionally been at New Year but moved as Christmas became more important to the Victorians. Initially gifts were rather modest – fruit, nuts, sweets and small handmade trinkets. Previously other forms of roasted meat such as beef and goose were the centrepiece of the Christmas dinner.

The Victorian age placed great importance on family, so it follows that Christmas was celebrated at home. For many, the new railway networks made this possible. Those who had left the countryside to seek work in cities could return home for Christmas and spend their precious days off with loved ones.

There was a big difference between rich and poor in Victorian times. Rich people could afford lots of treats like holidays, fancy clothes, and even telephones when they were invented. Poor people – even children – had to work hard in factories, mines or workhouses. They didn’t get paid very much money.

It made a permanent mark on how Christmas is viewed and celebrated in modern times. Charles Dickens reminded his readers that a joyful Christmas morning does not require money or wealth, but heart, love, and family. Charles Dickens did not create Christmas, but he influenced the spirit of Christmas we know today!

Victorian life could be busy but Victorians liked to make good use of their leisure time by playing games and sports and going on day trips and holidays. The ways in which people could entertain themselves varied depending on whether they were rich or poor, male or female.

Poor families made their own, such as cloth-peg dolls and paper windmills. Children would save their pocket money to buy marbles, a spinning top, skipping ropes, kites or cheap wooden toys. Girls played with dolls and tea sets whilst boys played with toy soldiers and marbles.

Some of the most popular sports in the Victorian Period were Cricket, Golf, Football, Rugby and Tennis. Sports men would become sporting celebrities and bring the sports to the masses with their amazing skills and sportsmanship.

Sporting pastimes, such as cycling, rowing and horseracing were also popular, and large crowds would often attend sailing events like the Henley Regatta and famous horse races such as the Epsom Derby. One of the largest events of the Victorian calendar was the famous Great Exhibition, held in 1851.

baseball

Lacrosse

On the large slave plantations, the popular male sports were wrestling, boxing, racing, hunting, and fishing. The most popular recreations for women were dancing and singing. David Wiggins says the masters typically tolerated the slaves’ pastimes as long as they were ready to work when called upon.

wrestling