Christmas Traditions and Where They Come From
- Tinsel – No self-respecting Christmas tree would be right without its sparkling tinsel, which was also created in Germany and made from thin strips of beaten silver. The tale behind tinsel is that there was a poor family who couldn’t afford to decorate their Christmas tree. When they went to sleep on Christmas Eve a spider came and covered the tree in cobwebs. In the morning, the tree glistened with silver and gold strands. Some say it was the light of the sun reflecting off the web and others say Father Christmas weaved his magic on the tree. In parts of Poland, Germany and the Ukraine it is said to be good luck if you find a spider on your Christmas tree. So, go ahead decorate your tree with as much tinsel as you like and perhaps even the odd spider or two!
- Christmas Crackers – What Christmas table would be complete without the BANG of a Christmas cracker filled with its crown, small gift and best of all a cheesy joke! The origin of the cracker dates to 1845-1850 London and a sweet maker called Tom Smith. Tom had visited France and discovered the ‘bon-bon’ (almonds wrapped in pretty paper). He liked the idea of the wrapped confectionery and decided to bring it back to England. He put a motto in with the almonds and started selling them. But they were not successful. One night sitting by the fire Tom Smith was mesmerised by the cracks and sparks of the fire. He decided that it would be a wonderful idea to incorporate this into his sweets so that when they were pulled in half there would be a ‘crack’, hence the cracker was invented. Thankfully for Tom these proved a success. The hats were introduced later by his three sons when they took over the business. Tom Smith crackers are still on sale today.
- Christmas Cards – The Christmas card was invented in 1843 by another enterprising man called Sir Henry Cole. He had helped set up the ‘Public Record Office’ (now known as the Post Office) and introduced the first ‘Penny Post’, and was looking for a way of making it more accessible to the masses. He asked his artist friend John Horsley to help him design the first Christmas card. They produced about 1000 which sold for 1 shilling each. As postage prices dropped and printing methods improved around 1870 the fashion for sending Christmas cards took off.
- Christmas Pudding – The Christmas pudding started life as a 14th century porridge made from beef or mutton with currants, raisins, prunes, spices and wine known as ‘frumenty’. The recipe evolved with the addition of eggs, breadcrumbs and beer which thickened the porridge and by 1595 it became known as plum pudding. There are many superstitions over the Christmas pudding. Christians believe that it should contain 13 ingredients representing Jesus and his disciples, each member of the family should stir the mix from east to west in honour of the Wise Men and a sprig of holly used to decorate the Christmas pudding to represent Jesus’ Crown of Thorns. The pouring and lighting of the Brandy over the Christmas Pudding at the table, besides offering a dramatic end to a wonderful feast, is said to represent Jesus’ love and power. Another tradition is to place a silver coin in the Christmas pudding to bring luck to the person that finds it. The tradition seems to date back to the Twelfth Night Cake which contained a dried bean or pea in it. Whoever got it was considered king or queen for the night.