Traditional Victorian Christmas Dishes by Jenna Jaxon

One of my favorite Christmas movies is the 1970 musical Scrooge with Albert Finney. The production values of the film are wonderful—as you watch it you truly feel transported into the Victorian London of Charles Dickens. In one sequence Bob Cratchit is heading home, buying Christmas presents, food and drink for the family’s Christmas celebration the following Christmas Day. 

That journey has always fascinated me and made me think about how and what the Victorians ate at Christmas. Depending on class and location, Christmas food traditions varied quite a bit, although there is also a lot of agreement on what should be eaten

for the holiday feast, generally the most meal extravagant of the year. The centerpiece was usually either a standing rib of beef with Yorkshire pudding in the households of the North, while the roasted goose with sage and onion stuffing graced the tables of the South.

 

Another tradition was to serve a rum punch, apparently a favorite Christmastide ritual for Charles Dickens. The making of the punch was quite a production, and Dickens would explain each step to his guests as they watched the punch being concocted. The drink is made in a large fire-proof punch bowl, where you combine lemon peel and sugar, dark rum and cognac, stir well, then take a spoonful of the mixture and light it on fire and return to the punch bowl to set it alight. Dickens would then lift out fiery lemon peels for the guests to admire. Afterwards, the flames are extinguished by a metal tray placed over the punch bowl. Nutmeg was then grated over the punch and ladled out to the guests. 

And last but not least was the Christmas or Plum pudding. Traditionally, this pudding was begun on the Sunday before the beginning of Advent, called Stir-up Sunday. If the household was to have good luck, the Christmas pudding must be begun on this day and left to ripen until Christmas Day. God’s blessing would only be bestowed on those who started their puddings on this day. For good fortune, the entire household should help with stirring the pudding with a wooden spoon and only clockwise and only East to West to honor the journey of the three kings. Once all the ingredients are assembled—raisins, currants, sultanas, dates, citrus peel, almonds, spices, cake crumb or breadcrumbs, brown sugar, butter, brandy or tum, and stout—the pudding is boiled or steamed for six hours, then removed from the pudding basin and wrapped with foil and a pudding cloth. It is then aged for about two months. On Christmas Day it is boiled for another four hours, then unmolded onto a platter. A ladle of brandy is heated then poured over the pudding and set alight for a dazzling desert.

There are many other traditional foods the Victorians ate at Christmas, but I thought these three would give a good idea of how the Victorian chose to celebrate the Season with fabulous food. 

I sincerely hope everyone has a warm and wonderful holiday season with your own special traditions and food. 

Sources: 

Burns-Booth, Karen. “Stir-Up Sunday, Traditions and My Traditional Victorian Christmas Pudding             Recipe.” Lavender and Lovage: Food and Travel from Home and Abroad, November 24, 2012.

Graham, Colleen. “English Christmas Punch.” The Spruce Eats Newsletter. May 13, 2021. 

Wondrich, David. “Holiday Punch—Plus a Cozy Fire.” Esquire, December 11, 2012.

Traditional Regency Christmas

by Donna Hatch

www.donnahatch.com

There's nothing quite like the glimmer of a Christmas tree, brightly wrapped packages, and a yule log burning in the fire to invoke wonder and excitement. But you may be surprised to know that many Christmas traditions are quite new--at least in England. Many English Christmas customs we think are ancient actually sprang up as early as the Victorian Era.

Regency Christmas traditions varied widely from region to region and even family to family. Generally, the upper classes of Regency England didn't treat Christmas as a special day beyond a church service and the exchange of small, mostly hand-made gifts within the family. Ordinary household items such as pen wipers and fire spills seem to have been common gifts, as well. The middle classes made a bigger event out of Christmas than their so-called "betters." Lucky them!

The reason why Christmas became so understated is largely due to Thomas Cromwell, who served as Chief Minister during the reign of King Henry VIII. Cromwell and his cronies virtually stamped out Christmas celebrations due to their origins—pagan licentious superstitions which often resulted in drunken brawls and even vandalism. Although I seldom approve of the destruction of any holiday, I can’t really blame him for his disapproval of that sort of misbehavior.

Fortunately, the Restoration revived Old Christmas into a new, toned-down version of its former bawdy revelry to one of quiet worship and time together with family. During the Regency, more and more celebratory customs cropped up. I suspect many families had practiced some of those customs all along secretly. Yorkshire is an area that seemed to hold on the most tightly to the Old Christmas traditions and enjoyed them openly when it became acceptable.

While researching English Christmas customs, I found journal entries and letters describing family events at the Big House, many of which I incorporated into my newest novel, Christmas Secrets. I exercised my creative license to have the local tradition include a ball at the Great House, gathering greenery including a mistletoe "kissing ball," the Yule Log, and singing carols, along with other fun aspects of the season on Christmas Eve.

Largely thanks to Queen Victoria's husband bringing his German traditions with him to England, which spread to the United States, Victorian Christmas customs grew into the ‘traditional’ Christmas we all know and love, complete with carolers, a wider variety of gifts and recipients, Yule logs, Christmas puddings, cards, Christmas trees, many of the carols we sing today.

Travel in winter in England during the Regency was extremely hazardous, therefore it was rarely done. By in large, Christmas house parties had to wait until railroads made winter journeys more feasible, which happened after 1840. Of course, I and every other author I have read largely ignore this, although in some of my Christmas stories, I mention people not wishing to travel far due to the weather.

An odd custom that does date back centuries is telling scary ghost stories. This age-old tradition dates so far back that I couldn’t find its true origin. Aside from the traditional Christmas story, A Christmas Carol, I’m happy that telling ghost stories is no longer part of most family Christmas customs. Can you imagine getting a child to bed who is both excited about Santa’s presents and frightened of ghosts? Now that is scary!

In the mood for a little holiday romance? Check out my Christmas novel, Christmas Secrets, which features a ghost, and kiss, and a happily-ever-after.

Sweet Regency Christmas

Christmas Secrets

A stolen Christmas kiss leaves them bewildered and breathless.

A charming rogue-turned-vicar, Will wants to prove he left his rakish days behind him, but an accidental kiss changes all his plans. His secret could bring him together with the girl of his dreams...or divide them forever.

Holly has two Christmas wishes this year; to finally earn her mother's approval by gaining the notice of a handsome earl, and to learn the identity of the stranger who gave her a heart-shattering kiss...even if that stranger is the resident Christmas ghost.

Christmas Secrets is available in both paperback and ebook on Amazon. Better yet, it's FREE on Kindle Unlimited!