How Much Do You Know About Victorian Christmas Traditions?

Along with a feast of goose, it was common for Victorians to enjoy some Christmas pudding. This pudding included beef suet, flour, eggs, dried fruits, candied peels and brandy. This pudding was boiled, then aged, then steamed before serving.

Meat was an important part of the Victorian Christmas dinner, and for many families, the centerpiece was a roasted goose. Other popular meat dishes included standing rib or beef, boar's head and oysters.

Christmas carolers were all about the same thing back then as they are today — spreading Christmas joy and cheer to all! TThe tradition merges two older practices — visiting from house to house while offering good cheer and singing traditional songs called carols.

Charles Dickens was an accomplished author who wrote many Christmas stories during the Victorian era. You'll surely recognize one of his most famous works: "A Christmas Carol," featuring Ebenezer Scrooge.

Carolers were admired and appreciated in the Victorian era, and they were often rewarded with delicious hot wassail punch. Some of the ingredients that went into it were apples, cider, nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon sticks.

Prince Albert, who was born in Germany, popularized the German idea of having a Christmas tree in England. He and Queen Victoria personally decorated their tree in the palace, something that became popular around the country and later around the world.

Family is one crucial part of Christmas for most of us today, but we have the Victorians to thank for making it this way. The family took part in many Christmas traditions, such as decorating the tree, exchanging gifts, attending church and feasting.

If you didn't get enough entertainment from reading Christmas stories, a pantomime would have been a great event. Held in theaters, Christmas pantomimes featured music and gesturing performers, acting out stories.

"Father Christmas" was commonly used to refer to the figure we know today as Santa Claus. In fact, many of the names you've heard for Santa Claus around the world are still in use today. The Victorians also called him St. Nicholas.

Boxing Day was extra special for servants, as they were given gifts by their bosses. It was a day for them to kick back and relax without worrying about their duties and obligations. Sometimes the boxes included leftovers from Christmas dinner.

Many kids look forward to their candy-filled Advent calendars today, but it was much different in the past. The Victorians had Advent wreaths with four candles — with one candle lit on each Sunday of Advent before Christmas.

What was known as a kissing bough in Victorian days has evolved into our mistletoe tradition. A kissing bough was usually a round ball made from ash or twigs, with greens and other decorations inserted.

Usually Christmas is filled with cheer and happiness, but the Victorians also enjoyed a little scare! It's a tradition that has carried into modern times as well. Just look at our many modern adaptations of "A Christmas Carol!"

Germans loved to bring Christmas trees into their homes to decorate, although they looked a little different than our decorated trees today. Instead of putting ornaments on like we do today, the trees were often decorated with items like roses or fruit.

Fruit was an important part of Christmas for the less fortunate. It was a great filler for their stockings, often paired with other little items such as nuts. Unfortunately, more elaborate gifts were out of reach for them, but they made the most of what they had.

This gives a new meaning to the story! Victorians didn't give themselves much time to fully prepare, but they must have had their gifts wrapped ahead of time. Then all they had to do was put the gifts on the tree as they decorated to get ready for the next day.

Who needs ornaments when the Christmas tree is decorated with many hanging presents? Of course, hanging presents had to be small — they included such items as fruit, handmade gifts and nuts.

Today we have Christmas trees made of all types of materials, in many different styles and colors. In Victorian days, however, most artificial trees were made of goose feathers. This tradition came from Germany.

Meats such as beef were quite expensive, so only the rich typically had them for Christmas dinner. In fact, beef was a status symbol to show guests that they were able to afford the luxuries of the time.

The less fortunate of the time often visited homes around Christmas, hoping that wealthier families would share some extra food or other items. Such donations would help them to have a Christmas feast or celebration with their own families.

Mass production played a huge role in Victorian Christmas celebrations. Before this time, many people didn't have the disposable income to spend on items for Christmas, but once they did, there was much demand for toys and other holiday items.

After breakfast was a common time for Victorians to open their gifts with family. Gifts would be opened before the family headed off to church, another important part of the day.

One thing that you may not have known about the Victorians and their Christmas traditions is that they loved to hide glass pickles in their trees. Can you guess why they would do this? The first child to find the pickle was given an extra present.

The evergreen tree came to be a symbol of the trinity, being triangular, and it was a symbol of Christ. Germans were the first to bring Christmas trees into their homes, and the people of Victorian England followed suit.

People decorated their trees before this, but commercially produced Christmas ornaments were first advertised in 1853. These ornaments, usually made of glass, were mass-produced as demand increased.

Getting yourself into a pickle was good on Christmas Day! If you found the pickle ornament hidden in the Christmas tree, you usually got a special privilege or good luck for the coming year. If you were in a wealthy family at this time, you might have even received an extra gift. Origins of this tradition are rather murky.

Meat was an important part of the Victorian Christmas dinner, and oysters were an affordable option for the less fortunate. In fact, one Charles Dickens character states, "Poverty and oysters always seem to go together."

The Victorian era was a time of innovation, and one such innovation was the Christmas card. Sir Henry Cole's first mass-produced Christmas card offers a glimpse into the time, showing a family as they enjoy their holiday. Images of charity are also featured. Written on it is "A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you."

The Victorians loved to spend their Christmas Day getting dirty in the game of football, or what Americans call soccer. If the Victorians weren't playing, they were watching and rooting on their favorite teams. Unfortunately, this tradition has been lost over time.

In this age, games were a great way to pass the time, so it's no secret that the Victorians had lots of them to choose from. One parlor game was hoop and hide, in which people would hide and one person would seek, and those who were found got a kiss.

Being a child in a middle-class Victorian family meant having a pretty great Christmas. Presents were more plentiful, and the demand for them went up as people earned more. One of the many popular gifts to give at the time was soap!

"Waits" were groups of singers who sang Christmas songs, visiting house to house, especially on Christmas Eve. Special permission was required in advance, however, as unauthorized singers could be charged with begging.

It wasn't a Victorian Christmas without the Christmas crackers! These were not the flaky baked crackers you're thinking of, though. Victorian crackers were candies wrapped in tissue paper, twisted at each end, with a small firecracker inside.

The Advent wreath is made up of four candles, each representing a theme. The themes are love, good fortune, peace and belief — all things that are very important during the Christmas season as well as in everyday life in Victorian times.

Back in the Victorian days, "Christmasing" meant gathering or purchasing mistletoe and holly. Mistletoe, in particular, was a rare and expensive decoration to have, showing the status of the homeowner. In fact, it was difficult for sellers to find the plants in the first place.