Gather around the hearth (or the central heating), folks!
Today, we’re time-traveling back to Victorian England to uncover seven Victorian xmas traditions that transformed Christmas into the holiday we love—and that might make you grateful for some of our modern tweaks.
Picture a world of bustling city streets under a light snowfall, festive window displays lit by candlelight, and a healthy dose of Dickensian cheer.
Queen Victoria and her beloved Prince Albert Christmas traditions set the stage for an era of grand Christmas celebrations.
So, let’s unwrap what made the Victorian traditions both charming and, occasionally, a little odd.
1- Christmas Trees: The OG Holiday Decor
Victorians didn’t invent the Christmas tree (that honor goes to 16th-century Germans), but they definitely popularized it.
Queen Victoria and her German-born husband, Prince Albert, brought this Christmas tradition to England after an 1848 drawing of their family gathered around a candle-lit tree was published in The Illustrated London News as a Victorian Christmas tree!
This single illustration sparked a craze, and soon every British—and later, American—household wanted a tree adorned with paper roses, fruit, sweets, and candles.
Yes, candles. Forget twinkling LED lights; they had actual fire hazards dripping wax on pine needles. So, at Christmas Victorian era families spent hours carefully lighting their trees, then watching like hawks to make sure they didn’t burn the house down.
Ah, nostalgia.
2- Christmas Cards: The Original “Holidays Are Coming” Announcement
Picture this: it’s 1843, and Sir Henry Cole—a busy, festive-minded Londoner—has too many friends to write individual holiday notes.
Solution? Commission an artist to design a festive card showing a happy family and send it out to everyone. This is how Christmas cards were born!
They quickly became a beloved one of the Victorian traditions at Christmas.
Cards were hand-delivered, which seems quaint today, but Victorians loved them so much that by the 1880s, they were mass-produced.
Some cards even included Victorian advent calendars with quirky illustrations of beetles dressed as Santa or comically mean-spirited messages that would never fly today. So next time you get a glitter-bombed card, remember it’s Victorian ingenuity at work.
3- Mistletoe: The World’s Oldest Excuse for Awkward Kisses
The Victorian Christmas celebration took mistletoe smooching to the next level.
Hanging a mistletoe sprig was practically a mandate, and it was packed with ancient mythology and symbolism about romance, luck, and fertility. The catch? The rule was that each time a couple kissed under the mistletoe, they had to pluck a berry from the sprig.
Once all the berries were gone, the kissing zone was closed. This was one of those strange Victorian Christmas traditions. Also, there’s no doubt mistletoe created many a Victorian scandal and likely embarrassed more than a few starched-collar gentlemen.
Today, we thankfully don’t worry about the berry count, but who can say no to a little holiday flirtation, thanks to our Victorian ancestors?
4- Christmas Crackers: The Victorian Answer to Surprise Party Favors
If you love a good holiday cracker, you have Tom Smith to thank. He is behind the Victorian Christmas crackers history!
In 1847, Smith, a London confectioner, saw a spark (pun intended) in Paris when he came across sweets wrapped in paper twists. Inspired, he decided to add a small “snap!” inside the wrapping and eventually filled the crackers with tiny trinkets, paper hats, and awful puns.
Christmas crackers were an instant hit with Victorian Christmas customs, becoming a must-have on Victorian dinner tables.
They’re still a British holiday staple. And, if you’re planning a Victorian-themed Christmas, you’ve got to include these: the little hats make everyone look absurdly festive, and those corny jokes? They’re just classic.
5- Carols, Carols, and More Carols
The Victorians didn’t invent Christmas carols, but they revived the art with gusto. When Prince Albert brought his German traditions to Britain, he helped popularize Christmas songs, both new and old.
Victorians loved singing, and Victorian Christmas caroling became a way to spread joy and even raise money for charity.
Imagine neighbors going door-to-door in the dead of winter singing their hearts out to “O Come, All Ye Faithful” or “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen.”
At Christmas Victorian era singers could earn hot cider, a few coins, or, on lucky nights, both. So next time you hear Mariah Carey blaring, remember it’s all part of a rich tradition of holiday cheer.
6- The Ghost Story: Bringing a Little Spook to the Season
One of the oddest Victorian Christmas traditions was sharing ghost stories on Christmas Eve.
Dickens’ A Christmas Carol famously features ghosts. Well, for 19th century Christmas traditions, it wasn’t unusual for families to gather around the fire to tell eerie tales, adding a supernatural chill to the winter season.
Victorians loved a good scare, and Christmas was considered a prime time to remember lost loved ones and the past year’s events—sometimes with a ghostly twist.
Think of it as the predecessor to Halloween horror marathons, just with a bit more propriety and a lot more candlelight.
7- Christmas Pudding: The Dessert that Outlived the Empire
Ah, the Christmas pudding… Again, the Victorians didn’t invent it, but they cemented its place at the holiday table.
Traditionally, this pudding, sometimes called “plum pudding,” was one of Victorian Christmas food traditions. It was boozy, fruity concoction made weeks in advance so the flavors could develop.
Families would gather on “Stir-up Sunday” to mix the pudding and make a wish. Often, a coin or small trinket would be hidden in the pudding, supposedly bringing good luck (or possibly a chipped tooth) to whoever found it.
While modern puddings are a little more palatable, Victorian Christmas pudding remains a sturdy reminder that holiday desserts weren’t always about chocolate and candy canes.
Victorian Christmas Traditions – Final Word
The Victorians celebrated Christmas with a charm and pageantry that still influences how we celebrate today.
From the Victorian Christmas tree decorations to the mistletoe and Victorian Christmas crackers and caroling – each tradition carried a little magic and, yes, sometimes a bit of silliness.
So next time you’re caught up in holiday preparations, imagine the Victorians gathering around their flame-lit trees, stirring pudding, and exchanging cards with bugs in festive hats.
And while our candles are electric, and our puddings a bit less perilous, their legacy still brings us together each holiday season. Cheers to Victorian Christmas traditions!
