Christmas - Victorian Society and the Culture of Christmas

The story of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol is significant not only during the festive period but throughout the year, as any good GCSE English student knows. Published in 1843 by the renowned Victorian novelist and journalist, the novella sold out by Christmas Eve of that same year, cementing its place as a holiday classic. During the Victorian period, Christmas evolved into a grand celebration, influenced by symbolic gestures like introducing the Christmas tree—famously popularized by Prince Albert in 1840—and the growing emphasis on family, charity, and festive traditions. These developments established a Christmas culture that continues to shape how we celebrate today.

By examining Victorian customs and their influence on modern festivities, I argue that Victorian society laid the groundwork for today's Christmas consumerism while promoting the enduring themes of generosity, family, and joy.

1848 colour drawing of Queen Victoria and Family celebrating Christmas

1848 Illustrated London News - engraving of Queen Victoria and her family. (Nspeccoll & Nspeccoll, 1970)

The Christmas Tree:

As mentioned above, the introduction of the Christmas tree is famously tied to Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert. However, it is argued that much earlier, Queen Charlotte—the wife of George III—set up the first Christmas tree at Windsor Lodge in December 1800 (A Short History of Christmas Greenery). Prince Albert popularised the Christmas tree about 40 years after Queen Charlotte introduced it. He likely achieved this through photography or drawings. We know that the first photography techniques were developed in France in the 1820s, and developments began in England in the 1830s. Photography would have ensured the posterity of traditions such as the Christmas tree, and it is due to these developments that photographs of the trees at royal residences can be captured. These photos, while likely to have been for personal memory, may indicate the significance of Christmas as a holiday for those in Victorian England. The furthering of a tradition begun with Charlotte shows the royal family's commitment to making Christmas an enjoyable experience for all. 

Christmas trees became ingrained in popular culture from the 1840s onwards. One of the first visuals released to the public was an engraving of Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and their children around a Christmas tree. This was released in the Illustrated London News for the Christmas period of 1848 (Nspeccoll & Nspeccoll, 1970). The Queen and her family launched their family traditions to the public by releasing such an intimate family moment. Many may not think twice about sharing our festive photographs, but the Victorians are often viewed as private and wish to keep up appearances. The intimacy of the family engraving is seen through the lack of engagement with the viewer. The scene, as such, is not staged. The family members have no interest in presenting themselves to the viewers of the Illustrated London News; instead, they focus on each other. This can be viewed as the season's spirit being tied to family. Something so simple as setting up the tree transforms into a family occasion - something private and intimate for them to share with each other during the season. Furthermore, publishing the nation's royal family and their traditions would have positively impacted the London classes, who may have wished to imitate the fashions put before them. Therefore, through the involvement of the Victorian royal family, the Christmas tree saw its development to become a key symbol of the festive period. 

Charity:

Christmas had been a relatively modest affair before the popularisation of the holiday during the Victorian period, and one such aspect that saw a development was charity. The work of Charles Dickens has played a significant role in commenting on the necessity of charity at Christmas. Whilst I know Dickens' message can be applied year-round, it is essential to note that he uses his work to invoke the idea of 'holiday spirit' and associate the 'feel-good' feeling with giving to those less fortunate than ourselves. 

Charity is a significant theme in Dicken's work, and he uses his work as an allegorical novella. The novel's structure to focus on Scrooge's past, present, and future is key to understanding how it is always possible to change. We meet Scrooge, who is presented as a negative and uncharitable man who sends those collecting charities away with nothing. Meanwhile, his cheery nephew Fred - arguably a mouthpiece for Dickens - gives to the collectors even though he may not be as well off as his uncle. Later that evening, Scrooge is visited by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future. Here, he learns the joy of Christmases of the past with the likes of Fezziwig, who threw Christmas parties for his employers - despite only sometimes having the funds. From here, he learns of the situation of his employee Bob Cratchit's family and their poverty, preventing Tiny Tim from receiving help for his worsening condition. From these experiences, Scrooge learns that he needs to change to escape the peril that otherwise awaits him, like Marley, who is tied to his poor decisions for eternity. The message behind the story is to be kind and give to others. This aligns with the Christian beliefs of being generous and loving thy neighbour as thyself (Leviticus 19:18) and is crucial for noting the generosity that Dickens felt all should show but maybe wasn't always showing. 

Dickens' focus on this message is essential to understanding the changing attitudes of the period. His work was published in 1843 and followed the introduction of the Poor Law of 1834. As part of the act, there was a major overhaul of the provisions for the poor. Inspectors were charged with enforcing the standards of workhouses, and other provisions were up to standards (Poor Law Reform - UK Parliament). This was a change from the previous hostile environment many poor people would otherwise find themselves in. You may be familiar with the idea of poor houses from GCSE History or your wider reading. They were never very nice places and often hard to leave once they had been entered. Whilst Dicken's work was published in the middle of the 1800s, Parliament's understanding of poverty began in the 1880s. Here, the complex economic conditions, including low pay and unemployment, began to be understood, and opinions changed in Parliament for the better (Poor Law Reform - UK Parliament). Dickens's work can be read as a political message to those fortunate enough and encourage them to give to those less fortunate. He wants them to be more like Fred - his mouthpiece - and inspire those around them to embrace the new youth of the period and turn away from the ignorance of the past. 

Cards:

Today, we can't escape Christmas messages, the King's speech on the BBC, and cards from various employers, MPs, family, and friends - the message is everywhere! However, in the 19th century, this was a very different story. The director of the V&A museum, Sir Henry Cole, introduced the first Christmas cards in 1843. (Victorian Christmas traditions · V&A) Sending a card allowed the sender to further 'Christmas cheer' to those around them. In addition, the cards were coincidentally introduced the same year Dickens published A Christmas Carol. It can be summarised that the spread of the Christmas spirit was therefore furthered through symbolic acts like the sending of cards and Dickens' message being spread to his audience. Cole had 1000 cards printed, and he sold them to the public for those he didn't use himself. However, sending cards would have been expensive as mass printing processes weren't as advanced. In addition, Dickens' book sold for around 5 shillings - £31 in today's money. (Douglas-Fairhurst 2006, pp. xix-xx; Standiford 2008, p.132)

Royal Mail has delivered around 150 million Christmas cards this year. (Christmas packaging facts and waste statistics (2024 update)). This is a significant number of cards to be sent throughout a limited period - around two months of the year. The card's legacy is made clear through the uptake of the number of people sending Christmas cards today. Unsurprisingly, the cards have retained popularity amongst people of all ages. Their small size, availability and global postal services have made them a manageable commodity. I have already sent my friends (and a few family members) - all of which have been received with thanks and with much Christmas cheer. I think it is safe to say that the spirit of Christmas becomes so much more accessible with a small message on a card - letting those we love know we are thinking of them during the dark wintery hours. Will you be following in this tradition?

Carols:

Christmas carols existed before the 1800s but were less numerous than those from 1800 onward. Some classic carols include Hark the Herald Angels Sing (first appearing in 1739 in Hymns and Sacred Poems) and Joy to the World! (1719), and O Come All Ye Faithful (1751). With the turn of the 19th century, we saw a growth in written and translated hymns. These included: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (tr.1851), Silent Night (1818), It Came Upon a Midnight Clear (1849), Good King Wenceslas (1853), O Little Town of Bethlehem (1868), and Away in a Manger (1887) (Stapleton, 2016). The growth of Christmas music and carols is aided in some regards by the Victorians. The symbolism of the holiday with the tree and the development of it as a holiday with time off gave people the chance to come together and remember the saviour's birth in a new light. Furthermore, carolling could be an extra way for impoverished people to earn money (Glass, 2023). Going out to the streets could also build into an act of charity, with those of the middling classes going out to sing and try raise money for the poorest in society. Carols, as such, provided opportunities for communities to come together and share the Christmas spirit. 

Carolling was in a moribund state before the 1800s. Under Cromwell's Puritan regime of 1649-1658, Christmas celebrations, including singing, were banned. Whilst there was an attempt to bring these back, they hadn't returned to, as Glass argues, "full vitality" (Glass, 2023). The 19th century did see a growth in the number of carols produced. Still, the production alone would not have led to the vitality we see from the end of the period onwards. Glass highlights that poor sales and circulation of carols in the 17th and 18th centuries had led to carolling ''degenerating'' to a form of begging (Glass, 2023). However, a resurgence was seen through the publication of Dickens' work in 1843 and further carol collections with Christmas Carols, Old and New in 1871 (Glass, 2023). The circulation of works by well-known authors like Dickens would have had a far-reaching audience. Ultimately, this would have helped to further the ideas of carolling and bring them to the attention of the middling classes - something necessary for its survival to the modern day. 

The Legacy:

From the Victorians onwards, we have seen a growth in the celebration of Christmas across society. Everyone, from the royal family to the families around us, has their traditions designed to bring us together and spread joy. The Christmas tree we nestle around and busily decorate in the lead-up to Christmas has become a key holiday symbol. In addition, it has become a focal point of friendship between Britain and Norway, who have sent a tree each year as a thank-you for the help offered between 1940 and 1945. The sending of cards and the idea of coming together has only grown from the 1800s onwards. Christmas is a holiday that continues to focus on the family unit. Still, it has also evolved into a consumer event, with festive foods and goods being sold several months in advance. The Victorians as such can, as demonstrated above, be given much credit for the development of many traditions we celebrate. 

I wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy and healthy 2025!

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Sources: 

A short history of Christmas greenery (no date) English Heritage. Available at: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/learn/histories/christmas-greenery-history/ (Accessed: 05 December 2024). 

Nspeccoll and Nspeccoll (1970) Special collections. Available at: https://blogs.ncl.ac.uk/speccoll/2022/12/23/christmascountdown-christmas-tree-at-windsor-castle/ (Accessed: 05 December 2024).

(No date) Poor law reform - UK parliament. Available at: https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/livinglearning/19thcentury/overview/poorlaw/ (Accessed: 05 December 2024).

Victorian Christmas traditions · V&A (no date) Victoria and Albert Museum. Available at: https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/victorian-christmas-traditions#:~:text=At%20the%20dawn%20of%20the,more%20important%20to%20the%20Victorians. (Accessed: 05 December 2024).

Douglas-Fairhurst, Robert (2006), "Introduction" in Dickens, Charles (ed.), A Christmas Carol and other Christmas Books. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. vii-xxix ISBN 978-0-19-920474-8.

Standiford, Les (2008). The Man Who Invented Christmas: How Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol Rescued His Career and Revived our Holiday Spirits. New York: Crown. ISBN 978-0-307-40578-4

(No date a) Christmas packaging facts and waste statistics (2024 update). Available at: https://www.gwp.co.uk/guides/christmas-packaging-facts/ (Accessed: 05 December 2024).

Stapleton, B. (2016) The Victorians and White Christmas:, CelticMKE. Available at: https://celticmke.com/CelticMKE-Blog/The-Victorians-and-White-Christmas.htm (Accessed: 06 December 2024).

Sally Gass (2023) Christmas carols in the victorian age, Denver Center for the Performing Arts. Available at: https://www.denvercenter.org/news-center/christmas-carols-in-the-victorian-age/#:~:text=By%20the%20Victorian%20age%2C%20caroling,and%20New%2C%20published%20in%201871. (Accessed: 06 December 2024).