Dickens' Christmas

Christmas was rarely acknowledged in print before "A Christmas Carol" was published in 1843, but all was soon to change. This text traces, through excerpts from Dickens and his contemporaries, the growth of seasonal celebrations during the 19th century.

As the century progressed, Christmas came increasingly to be seen as a family occasion, as well as a time whin the middle and upper classes would remember the needy, but there was also a tendency to look back nostalgically at a mythical golden past. Here are recollections of winter skating, the workhouse, contemporary festive feasts and the exchange of gifts, together with hints on cookery, party games and creating presents that give an insight into the ingenious Victorian mind. A picture of a time when Christmas was as new to adults as to children.

Oh the grocers'!, Charles Dickens
Bracebridge Hall, Washington Irving
kissed by everyone, Charles Dickens
notes for kind hosts, Phillis Browne
bah! humbug!, Charles Dickens
Christmas and new year presents
a market for Christmas
if quite convenient, Sir, Charles Dickens
Plessy's Christmas Eve
no playthings, Charles Dickens
games for everybody, Phillis Browne
good to be children, Charles Dickens
Christmas with the Queen
never such a goose, Charles Dickens
the Christmas goose, William McGonagall
singers from afar, Charles Rose
yo ho, there! Ebenezer!, Charles Dickens
a Christmas crossword, Maggie Lane
the two worthies, Charles Dickens
stopped payment, Elizabeth Gaskell
a fern for every guest
joy and ecstasy, Charles Dickens
chaffed on skates, Francis Kilvert
nothing could be heartier, Charles Dickens
swidgers by the score, Charles Dickens
what Christmas is, as we grow older, Charles Dickens
the song of the shirt, Thomas Hood
some compliments of the season
Christmas at the workhouse, "one who has seen better days"
foul weather for Trotty, Charles Dickens
what Christmas is to a bunch of people
a treat denied
rich fare
the goblins who stole a sexton, Charles Dickens
Christmas in the Navy
old Christmas Day, Charles Rose
Christmas was a little late
Sir Joseph's great dinner, Charles Dickens
answers to crossword.