Ace History Desk – How has Christmas changed over the past 200 years?

By the 1820s, Christmas was poised to become more like the holiday we know today. In less than 20 years, Queen Victoria would be on the throne, and customs such as Christmas cards and crackers would become more commonplace.

However, the 1820s weren’t a festive-free zone. In the Georgian era, kissing boughs were a popular way to make homes look more special for 25 December.

These were a pair of hoops, crossed to make a spherical shape, then decorated with items such as holly, ivy, paper roses and fruit. If a gentleman picked a berry from the bough, he could ask to kiss a lady on the cheek. The tradition of kissing beneath the mistletoe also originated in Georgian times.

By the 1920s, the Christmas tree was a firm December favourite. Its popularity soared after Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and their children featured in a magazine illustration in 1848 enjoying the decorated tree imported from the Prince’s German homeland, although they had been around in wealthy homes since the beginning of the 19th Century.

The first artificial tree was set to hit the market in 1930. It was also around the 1920s that mass-produced advent calendars – with opening doors – became available.

Today, electric lights are more plentiful and complex, but trees, mistletoe and advent calendars are all traditions which have firmly stuck.

Traditional Christmas toys: Wooden worlds – and back again

Kids have dreamed about gifts in the run up to Christmas for centuries, although not all would wake up to toys on 25 December. For many, fruit was the typical treat.

Historian Debby Brown notes that in the 1820s, if a child did receive toys, it wasn’t in huge quantities. She told Bitesize: “A child would not expect to have more than one, or a very few, items as presents.”Dolls’ houses, or model rooms for dolls, were popular in this era. At the time, they had an educational purpose, preparing girls for a life running a household.

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