Review by C.J. Bunce
If you ever look at a Christmas tree and wonder why it’s such an iconic image of the holidays, or you scratch your head at that dinner table staple or family tradition, a good chronicle of holiday culture may be for you. Author Lucinda Dickens Hawksley reveals the intriguing tales of many Christmas traditions in her book Victorian Christmas, available here at Amazon. In 1843, while the author’s great-grandfather Charles Dickens was inventing the Christmas ghost story, a London civil servant commissioned the first Christmas card and Windsor Castle displayed artificial Christmas trees and served turkeys for Christmas dinner. During the next five years, the first recipe for Christmas pudding appeared, Christmas crackers debuted, and a London newspaper showcased Christmas trees to the world.
Hawksley wrote an account on deadly wallpaper in the Victorian era in the intriguing an immensely enjoyable Bitten by Witch Fever, reviewed here at borg. She brings her ability to whittle down historical facts and pull out the most interesting bits to this book.
Following a section on the history of Christmas as an annual holiday of repeated traditions, Hawksley includes vintage recipes for anyone in need of their own new traditional foods. Maybe Brussels Sprouts on Buttered Toast might not be your your thing, but who wouldn’t try a new Bûche de Noël Chocolate Yule Log Christmas cake recipe?
Nicely designed with holiday goodness, vintage art, all sorts of pasttimes, games, cards, foods, and traditions, it’s a great way to get into the spirit of the season. You don’t know what wassailing is? The history of caroling and more can be found here. What’s a Christmas cracker? (You don’t eat it). And did you know Christmas pudding is more cake to the American crowd than pudding?
The book also includes 40 pages of Christmas carol lyrics, ready to use for your own merrymaking.
It would make a great gift for your favorite jolly old elf (Santa’s history is discussed in in the book, too). Victorian Christmas is available now here at Amazon, from publisher Countryman Press.
