More on VICTORIAN Christmas
~~The Victorians celebrated Christmas with characteristic enthusiasm and a
deep veneration for custom and tradition. It was a time for families to be
reunited and to enjoy themselves to the full, besides the yule log's
Christmas glow.
~~~The Victorians were passionate in their decoration of the home, and were
just as anxious for their churches to be suitably decorated as well. With
holly, mistletoe and ivy were placed in most Victorian homes.
~~~Prince Albert is credited with the introduction of the Christmas Tree in
England. It quickly became the centre piece of all seasonal decoration.
~~~It was the Victorians who collected, composed and published old and new
carols. On the first night of the Christmas holidays the voices of carol
singers floated in on the night air, and if they were lucky, welcomed indoors
for a glass of punch and a mince pie.
~~~Carol singers were often portrayed struggling through the snow of the
countryside with only the light of their lanterns to guide them.
~~~Christmas Eve in Victorian times was a day for arrivals. Those who were
going to spend Christmas with friends or relatives travelled by train or
coach. The coach would be crowded both inside and out, with passengers who were on
their way to the homes of relations or friends to eat the Christmas Dinner.
~~~~Others were returning home for the holidays, and promising themselves a
world of enjoyment.
