10 strange Christmas traditions

In our time, many people associate December with the New Year traditions, which is not surprising. For most of the month we are preparing for the holiday: we decorate the Christmas tree, buy gifts for friends and relatives, think through the festive menu, look for the outfit ... But it was not always so. Before the Victorian era, few people in England celebrated Christmas. The tradition to celebrate this holiday was widely introduced by Queen Victoria and her husband King Albert. Thanks to them, people began to give each other gifts, decorate the Christmas tree and arrange feasts. However, some very strange traditions were born then. Some of them, unfortunately or fortunately, have not survived to this day, but we nevertheless decided to tell about how it was.

Meet the top 10 strange Christmas traditions.

10. Scary Greeting Cards

The first Christmas card was created by the English painter John Callcott Horsley. This was asked by his friend Henry Cole. He did not have time to write letters to each of his friends and relatives and thought that it would be a good idea to make a card with a holiday image and a wish to speed up the process. This idea was a tremendous success, and in 1843 was printed the party of the first 1000 Christmas cards. However, later the public decided that pictures, on which people drink alcohol, encourage drunkenness, and the authorities even wanted to ban them. But nevertheless the industry developed, there were many different postcards. And if some were depicted flowers, gifts, Christmas motifs, then others looked very eerie. There were, for example, sinister clowns, pulling hands with red skewers to the police, giant wasp killers chasing children, and gambling monkeys.

9. Glass cucumber

In the Victorian era there was another strange tradition. Dressing up a Christmas tree, one of the adults hid a toy in the form of a salted cucumber in the branches. During the presentation of gifts, children were asked to find this decoration. The one who first discovered the cucumber could receive a special prize, and it was considered that he would be successful all year. This is due to the legend of two Spanish boys who were returning from the trip home for Christmas. Tired along the way, they decided to stay overnight at the hotel. But the master deceived them: he took away all the belongings of the guys, and then threw them into a vat of brine. Suddenly St. Nicholas (Santa Claus) appeared in the hotel to save them. According to another version, there were three boys, and the store owner abducted them, and then chopped them with an ax and salted them. Saint Nicholas long mourned the boys and prayed for their return to life. His faith helped them rise again.

8. Mulled wine

Mulled wine is a popular drink for Christmas. It is prepared on the basis of cider with the addition of fruits and spices. In the Victorian era, it was customary to treat this drink to caroling people who sang holy anthems. After the performance they were invited to the table to pour a mug of hot mulled wine from a common vat. In different families there were various secrets of the recipe of preparation, but the drink must be served warmed up. A casserole pan was put on the fire and the foam was expected, and then roasted apples, lemon slices, cinnamon and nutmeg for spicy taste were added.

7. Christmas Science

At that time the holiday efforts and science were closely interrelated. In the Christmas books and magazines, there were often published experiments for children, interesting scientific facts, newspapers advertised gifts related to the latest achievements in science. New Year's exhibitions opened in the Adelaide Gallery and at the Royal Polytechnic Institute. Scientist John Henry Pepper adorned the Christmas tree at the institute and put gifts from the world of science under it, created optical pantomimes, but his specter enjoyed the greatest demand. The essence of the focus was that the actor in the role of the cast was hiding in a special room behind the curtain, and the mirror system projected its reflection elsewhere. Pepper's ghost was an adapted version of the illusion, which was invented and installed earlier by another scientist - Henry Dirks.

6. Home Games

England - a country in which games are very fond of, and especially - during the holidays. Many entertainments were fun and interesting, and some were extremely dangerous. For example, a competition called "Snapdragon": on the dish they put a few highlights, poured them rum and set them on fire. The task was to eat raisins while it was burning. They played charades, offered a contest for the most compliments to ladies from words, in which, for example, the letter "l" does not occur. For the losers, various fines were imposed. Men, as a rule, were offered to walk around the room, kissing each of the present ladies, which they were unspeakably happy. For a lady, a phantom called "like rabbits" was provided. The lady and the gentleman took teeth at the end of the cotton thread and, gradually biting it gradually, had to approach each other until their lips touched.

5. Oysters

As a rule, the New Year's table tried to make it more diverse, richer. It was important that the menu was present meat. But not everyone could afford pork or turkey, so somebody put out a baked goose. Some families were so poor that for them any meat was expensive and inaccessible, then they began to serve oysters to the festive table. In England there were a lot of them, and they cost very cheaply. Many bars started offering oysters with beer or ale, people salted them for the winter. This dish is also known as "protein for the poor".

4. Christmas decoration

A few weeks before the celebration, merchants with Christmas wreaths gathered on the streets. When they were made, they used a holly or ivy, sometimes pine needles and spruce. The branches were folded and tied into a hoop, decorated with fruits, berries and ribbons. They formed all the bars and pubs, cafes and restaurants, even for serving dishes used decorative edible branches of mistletoe.

A scurvy is considered a symbol of Christmas: according to legend, after the crucifixion, the blood of Jesus fell on this plant, staining its berries in red, and the leaves symbolize the crown of thorns. For this reason, the cost of the plumage was extremely high, it was very difficult to get it - many had to steal and cross the border. Therefore, the prices for this decoration were inflated and it was believed that only the rich can afford such a design.

3. A tree made of goose feathers

Several goose feathers were painted in green, adorned with ornaments. So the first in Germany, and later in England, the artificial Christmas tree appeared. Also used feathers of turkey, swan and ostrich. Due to deforestation at that time it was extremely difficult to find a beautiful lush tree. Often from it there was only a skeleton - the developed trees any more did not give the necessary raw materials, therefore they were adapted for manufacturing of artificial fur-trees. Nevertheless, this tree was also difficult to make. There were a lot of feathers to simulate the fir-trees. They were folded in bundles, then attached to each other. Sometimes feathers glued together so that they resembled pine branches.

2. Football

In the Victorian era there was not so much entertainment, so football was one of the most favorite pastimes. Many people were ready to postpone the Christmas dinner to go see the game. Important matches are often specially appointed for the holidays, because these days it was possible to collect the largest number of fans. In 1888, for example, the match was attended by about 2,000 people. Team "Everton" played a draw (but, on the other hand, football took place during a major hail). The very first match of the Football League was held in 1889 between Preston Nord End and Aston Villa. Both teams were very strong rivals, so the game gathered about 9,000 fans. Sometimes fans of football went to teams in different countries and cities to watch the matches. But with the advent of television, this tradition has become less popular.

1. Membership in the Goose Club

We have already told you that only rich English could afford goose meat for a festive dinner. And poor families who lived in rural areas could at best get a piece of goose as a bonus for the holiday. Therefore, they created the so-called Goose Club for them.

Members of this organization once a month paid a small contribution, for several pence, during the year, to enjoy a traditional family meal by Christmas. A large number of bakeries worked the whole night on the eve of the holiday to cook meat for the poor members of the Goose Club.