Christmas

Father Christmas: A late Victorian mixture of the Norse God Odin, who rode through the winter world, bringing both gifts or punishments as appropriate, and the legendary bishop of Myrna from the 4th century, famous for his kindness to children and generosity to the poor.

Benjamin Zephaniah, Talking Turkeys!!

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According to the Gospel of St. Luke

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Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer

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A Mix of Faith and History

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No Christmas For My Children

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J.R.T.Tolkien, Father Christmas Letters

image of Victoria and Albert and family around their Christmas tree

A print showing the Royal couple (Queen Victoria and Prince Consort Albert) with their children. It was published in the Illustrated London News in 1848. From this time onwards, the popularity of decorated fir trees spread beyond Royal circles and throughout society. Charles Dickens referred to the Christmas tree as that ‘new German toy’.

Stories:

Russell Hoban, Father Crocodile's Christmas High

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The story of the Christmas cracker is really a testament to one man's ingenuity and determination. Tom Smith was a confectioner's apprentice in London in the early 19th century. On a trip to Paris in 1840, Smith saw the French bon-bon, a sugared almond wrapped in coloured tissue paper, and decided to introduce them in London. These bon-bons were popular but not quite as Smith had hoped. For seven years Smith worked to develop the bon-bon into something more exciting but it was not until he sat one evening in front of his fireplace that the idea came to him: watching the logs crackle, he imagined a bon-bon with a pop. He did this by using strips of paper impregnated with chemicals which, when rubbed, created enough friction to produce a noise. Bangs excited children and frightened evil spirits and mottoes and poems found inside amused adults.