In the modern period the Christmas season is as much about being with family, friends and loved ones as it is about the parties and celebrating the end of the year, but what was it like in the Georgian period? Were Christmas traditions and customs vastly different to today, did the people of Georgian England celebrate differently? It may surprise some to find out that a Georgian Christmas wasn't that different to a modern day Christmas.
After a turbulent period in the 17th Century (and the banning of Christmas) King Charles II reinstated Christmas, and by the Georgian period (1714 to 1830) Christmas was again a popular celebration. During the Georgian period - which includes the Regency period - Christmas was about parties, balls and family get togethers.
The Christmas season during Georgian times would usually begin on St Nicholas Day (6 December) and continue until Twelfth Night (6 January). The Georgians would begin by exchanging presents with friends on St Nicholas Day.
This extended Christmas season would be full of parties, balls and social gatherings as Georgians would spend time with family and friends in celebration. This is not too different to the modern day Christmas season as many people attend parties and spend time with family and friends.
Twelfth Night (6 January) would mark the end of the Christmas season and would be celebrated by a Twelfth Night party where the attendees would often play games such as bob apple and snapdragon. After the Twelfth Night was over the decorations were taken down, and the greenery burned, or the house would risk bad luck, this is something that many carry through to today with a lot of people taking down their Christmas Decorations in the first week of January.
But parties and spending time with family are not the only Christmas traditions from the Georgian times that we still see today.
Decorations:
As we do today, the Georgians would decorate their homes for Christmas. Traditional decorations would include evergreens and holly, with a large fire at the centrepiece. A Yule log would be chosen on Christmas Eve, wrapped in hazel twigs and dragged home to burn in the fireplace as long as possible, today however the Yule log is usually a chocolate cake. The decoration of the home was not reserved only for the aristocracy and gentry, but poorer families would also decorate their houses with evergreens. Kissing boughs were another popular decoration by the late 18th Century, and were usually made from holly, ivy, mistletoe and rosemary, though some more religious households would omit the mistletoe.
Whilst today many houses will have a Christmas Tree, this was not something that Georgian households in England had as part of their Christmas decorations. The Christmas Tree was a German custom, and though Queen Charlotte apparently introduced Christmas Trees to court, this is unconfirmed, it was not until an engraving of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert standing around a Christmas Tree with their family was published in London that the population began to adopt the custom themselves.
Christmas Day:
Christmas Day was a national holiday, as it is now in most western countries, and during the Georgian and Regency periods the gentry would usually spend Christmas at their country houses and estates.
The day itself would begin with Church service, after which people would return to a celebratory Christmas dinner. As wit today food was an important part of the Christmas traditions. Christmas Dinner itself would usually be Turkey or Goose, though Venison would also be served. This would be followed by Christmas Pudding which is alleged to have been banned by the Puritans, but reintroduced in 1714 by King George I.
St Stephen's Day:
Today on the day after Christmas (whether called St Stephen's Day, Boxing Day, or the Day after Christmas), many people will head to the stores to shop in the sales. In the Georgian period this was the day when people gave to charity, and the aristocracy, and gentry, would present their servants and staff with their Christmas Boxes, hence it being called Boxing Day in many countries today.
Christmas Cake:
In most countries there is a version of a Christmas Cake, however, in the Georgian period it was not a Christmas Cake that they would serve, but rather a Twelfth Cake. The Twelfth Cake was the centrepiece of the Twelfth Night party, and a slice was given to all members of the household, this is considered the forerunner to the Christmas Cake we have today.
The extended Christmas season seen during the Georgian period disappeared after the Regency period with the onset of the Industrial Revolution, however, as we see many of the traditions are still in place today.
What Christmas traditions do you observe, are any of them descended from the Georgian Christmas?
