t2-h-5744-how-was-christmas-celebrated-during-victorian-times-powerpoint_ver_3.pptx

How was Christmas celebrated in Victorian times?

1. Victorian era – The period when Queen Victoria reigned, 1837 – 1901. Many Christmas traditions have their origins in the Victorian era . Christmas Traditions Tell your partner as many Christmas traditions as you can think of in 30 seconds. 30 seconds 30 seconds Stop!

2. No Christmas trees or decorations anywhere? No Christmas cards arriving each day in the post? Well without me, Prince Albert, and other Victorians there wouldn’t be any of these things. A Victorian Christmas Can you imagine everyone working as normal on Christmas Day?

3. In 1644, Oliver Cromwell made it illegal to celebrate Christmas. People weren’t even allowed to go to Christmas church services! Even after this law was repealed in 1660, Christmas celebrations were often quite small. It wasn’t until the Victorian era that Christmas celebrations got bigger again, thanks in part to the novel ‘A Christmas Carol’ by me, Charles Dickens. Let’s find out more about how we Victorians celebrated Christmas. A Victorian Christmas

4. A Day Off At the start of the Victoria era, many businesses operated as usual on Christmas Day. This meant that for many people, Christmas was a normal working day. Talk about it. Today, Christmas Day and Boxing Day are bank holidays, which means that most people don’t go to work. However, some people still work on these days. Talk about the jobs that still need to be done even on bank holidays.

5. A Day Off Did You Know? Because of the importance many Victorians placed on family, Christmas was increasingly seen as a time to spend with family. More workers took Christmas Day off and Boxing Day was declared a bank holiday in 1871. It is believed that Boxing Day gets its name because servants were often given the day off and received a box with gifts from their boss.

6. Christmas Trees Prince Albert married Queen Victoria in 1840 and they had nine children! Prince Albert was from Germany and brought many Christmas customs from Germany with him. In 1848, this picture was published in the  Illustrated London News . It shows Victoria, Albert and their children admiring their Christmas tree, a German Christmas tradition. People wanted to copy the royal family and many homes in Britain had Christmas trees decorated with candles, fruit and homemade decorations. Victorians also decorated their homes using ivy, holly, mistletoe and handmade decorations. Victorian Christmas by Joanne Wright is licensed under CC BY 2.0

7. Christmas Traditions Christmas cards are an important part of modern Christmas celebrations and these too originated in the Victorian era. This is what is believed to be the first ever Christmas card, designed in 1843. The idea came from a man named Henry Cole. In 1840, the ‘Penny Post’ was introduced. A penny stamp meant a letter or card could be sent anywhere in Britain. Sending Christmas cards became extremely popular and even Queen Victoria’s children made their own cards. In 1880, over 11 million cards were produced. Talk about it. How is this Christmas card similar to modern ones? How is it different? Victorian Christmas Cards by Peters Images is licensed under CC BY 2.0

8. Christmas Carols What Christmas songs do you enjoy singing? Talk about it. During the Victorian era, the religious aspect of Christmas was very important. Attending church was a key part of the celebrations and carols were popular. Many of the Christmas carols we still sing today were composed during Victorian times. ‘O Little Town of Bethlehem’, ‘Once in Royal David’s City’ and ‘O Come all ye Faithful’ were all written by Victorians. Did You Know? A ‘carol’ is a Christmas song with religious content, usually about the birth of Jesus.

9. In 1840, a sweet shop owner named Tom Smith visited Paris. While he was there, he saw bonbons (sugared almonds wrapped in twists of brightly coloured paper). He brought the idea back to Britain. Over time, Tom developed the idea of adding a special message, a gift and the special cracking mechanism. Crackers became a popular part of the Victorian Christmas. Crackers

10. Before the Victorians, gifts were often exchanged at New Year. In France, adults still often give each other presents on New Year’s Day. Before the Victorians, the giving of gifts was usually only for the rich. During the Victorian era, the middle classes grew in number. With factory production making toys and gifts cheaper, giving presents became more popular. Presents were sometimes hung on the Christmas tree. However, as Victorians started to spend more money on bigger gifts, they were put under the tree. Christmas Presents Poor Victorians would have given gifts such as nuts, fruits and handmade items. middle classes – The group of professional and business people who are neither poor nor very rich.

11. The Laughing Game – Sit in a circle. Each player takes it in turns to say either ‘ha’, ‘ ho ’ or ‘ hee ’ without laughing. The first person to laugh is out of the game. The winner is the person who manages not to laugh at all. Christmas Games In the days before TV, Victorian families entertained themselves by playing games on Christmas Day. Because they often called their living room a parlour, these games were known as parlour games. The Sculptor – One person is the sculptor. They must arrange all the other players into different positions showing a scene from a famous story for example. The players cannot laugh or move. If they do, they then become the sculptor. Charades – The player thinks of a book, place, person or play. They have to act it out without saying anything. The winner is the person who guesses correctly.

12. Christmas for the Poor Many of the traditions we have looked at only relate to richer people. Christmas for the Victorian poor was often very different. If you were sick or unemployed, you were often forced to go into the workhouse. Husbands were separated from their wives, older children from their parents. The commissioners who ran workhouses made a rule that no one was to be given extra food or drink on Christmas Day. It wasn’t until later in the 19 th century that this rule was relaxed and even then, the money for food and drink had to be donated and not come from workhouse funds. For the poor who managed to avoid the workhouse, Christmas celebrations were very simple. Poor families often had rabbit for their Christmas dinner.

13. How did Christmas celebrations change during Victorian times? What does modern Christmas have in common with that of the Victorian era? How is modern and Victorian Christmas different? Are there any Victorian Christmas traditions that you would like to adopt? How could we find out more about how the Victorians celebrated Christmas? Talk About It