This December, visitors to the Museum can enjoy our special display 'A Georgian Christmas'. In this month's blog post, Museum Attendant and display organiser Laura Bell explores festive customs in Johnson's century.
In his Dictionary of the English Language, Johnson's entry for Christmas is: 'the day on which the nativity of our blessed saviour is celebrated, by the particular service of the church.' In Georgian England, Christmas day was celebrated by attending church in the morning, then back home or to someone else's house for a hearty feast and entertainment in the evening. The Georgians loved a celebration, so let's take a look at how they enjoyed Christmas…
Johnson at Christmas
We don't have much information about what Samuel Johnson got up to at Christmas. But there are a number of letters in which he mentions the holiday season, such as this excerpt from a letter to Boswell on 27 December 1777: 'This is the time of year in which all express their good wishes to their friends, and I send mine to you and your family. May your lives be long, happy, and good …'. At the Birthplace Museum we have a special object which is possibly associated with the Johnson's Christmas: A copy of The Book of Common Prayer, which was once owned by Elizabeth 'Tetty' Johnson, Samuel's wife. Inscribed on the fly leaf, in the top right corner are the words: 'Eliz. Johnson Dec 25, 1740' Perhaps this was a Christmas gift from her husband?
Elizabeth Johnson's copy of The Book of Common Prayer. The Samuel Johnson Birthplace Museum.
Food
At Christmas the affluent would show off their wealth by eating over-the-top, rich food. They would enjoy roast meat or fowl, mince pies, Christmas pie, hams, Christmas pudding and there would be a wassail bowl of punch. There is a recipe for Yorkshire Christmas Pie in a cooking book by Mrs. Frazer, published in 1795, which required a turkey, goose, a fowl, and a partridge, as well as a pigeon. Once seasoned, a hare, woodcock and moor-game would be added. Then, as if all this wasn't quite heavy enough, four pounds of butter was combined and the lid of the pie 'which must be quite thick' sealed everything inside. This would then be cooked in 'a very hot oven' for four hours. In the same book there is a recipe for Christmas Minced Pies. The recipe required 'the largest tongue you can get' to this, three pounds of beef suet, and three pounds of raisins, currants, apples, citron, and orange peel were added. These were seasoned, and white wine was added, then it was all fashioned into pies.
Socialising
The Georgians enjoyed socialising all year round and Christmas was no exception, with festive parties, balls, dinners, gambling and plays to attend. These were often announced in the newspaper, such as in the Reading Mercury – 26 December 1796 'Wm. Grave respectfully informs the nobility and gentry, that his annual Christmas Ball will be on Monday the 9th of January 1797.' And on Christmas Eve 1798, Jane Austen wrote to her sister to describe a seasonal ball that she had attended 'There were twenty dances, and I danced them all without any fatigue.'[1] James Boswell wrote in his journal on Christmas Day 1762, about having dinner with friends and how Christmas 'has always inspired me with most agreeable feelings…' He attended a sermon at St. Paul's Church and then dined with two friends, with whom he discussed geniuses and poetry with. He wrote 'how hearty I eat and how comfortable I felt myself after it.'[2]
Gift giving
The niece of Jane Austen, Emma Austen Leigh, kept a record of all her Christmas gifts from 1813 to 1821. It gives us an insight into presents exchanged in the later Georgian and Regency Period. In 1813 she was gifted: A tambourine, a compass case, a straw box, and a parallel ruler.[3] A child's gift was advertised in the London Courier and Evening Gazette, December 1805, – a book priced at half-a-crown called 'Mince Pies for Christmas' for children of all ages. It contained a selection of 'Riddles, charades, rebuses and has been compiled with a view at once to improve … interest and amusement.' During the festive period the wealthy would give small gifts to their servants, in the Newcastle Chronicle December 1765 'A very proper Christmas-box for servant-maids' was mentioned. For the price of 1s.6d this book promised to be '…every young woman's companion, in useful and universal knowledge…' it taught the servant-maid how to spell, read and write, as well as arithmetic, all taught without the help of a master. It also taught the reader how to cook and carve fish and meat. Ultimately, the servant's employer would also benefit from these newly acquired skills. The church and wealthy usually gave gifts and alms to the poor at Christmas, in a letter to her sister in 1798, Jane Austen wrote about the gifts she gave to charities and the poor for Christmas '…of my charities to the poor since I came home, I have given a pair of worsted stockings … a shift … and a shawl … amounting in all to about half a guinea.' [4]
Entertainment
Families created their own Christmas entertainment by playing Charades, Snap Dragon, and cards. They also played instruments, danced, recited songs and poetry, told each other stories, and re-enacted short plays. Carols were sung during Christmas time, and people would also go door-to-door wassailing. Many of these carols would be recognisable to us today, such as: Hark the Herald Angels sing, Silent Night, and While Shepard's Watched. Johnson's friend David Garrick put on a number of Christmas plays at Drury Lane, which Johnson possibly went to watch: Harlequin's Invasion - 1759, The Enchanter; or, Love and Magic – 1760, and A Christmas Tale – 1773. Harlequin's Invasion was Garrick's only pantomime and it featured a talking Harlequin, who was usually mute. Garrick didn't enjoy pantomimes, however he had to give the people what they wanted, and he is said to have wearily exclaimed "If you won't come for Lear or Hamlet, then I must give you Harlequin."
'Mr Palmer in the Character of Christmas' Portrait of John Palmer, in character in the prologue to Garrick's 'Christmas Tale' 1779. © The Trustees of the British Museum.
Decorations
Although Christmas trees didn't become a tradition until the Victorian period, Queen Charlotte is said to have had Christmas trees at the royal palace in 1800.[5] People decorated their homes with seasonal greenery such as evergreens, holly and ivy, garlands, herbs and of course mistletoe, which would be hung at parties and enjoyed by courting couples. Mistletoe is depicted in many Christmas artworks of the time.
The Mistletoe or Christmas Gambols; 1796. © The Trustees of the British Museum.
Twelfth Night
The festive period ended on the twelfth day after Christmas, with yet more celebration. Twelfth night balls were often thrown, such as the one mentioned in the morning post, 8 January 1814 'The countess of Orkney gave a splendid Ball and supper at her apartments at Hampton-Court, on Twelfth Night. The dancing commenced at nine o'clock; and it was a late hour when the party broke up.' On 6 January 1763, James Boswell wrote in his journal 'This was Twelfth-day; on which a great deal of jollity goes on in England; at the eating of the twelfth cake all sugar'd over.'[6] The twelfth cake was a big, sugared cake 'made of flour, honey, ginger, and pepper'[7] which took pride of place on the table at feasts and parties, it was often baked with a bean or coin inside it and the person who found it would become Queen or King for the day. Boswell goes on to describe his enjoyment of twelfth cake 'I took a whim that between St. Paul's and the Exchange and back again, taking the different sides of the street, I would eat a penny twelfth cake at every shop where I could get it. This I performed most faithfully.' [8]
Nowadays, people tend to think Christmas didn't become popular until the Victorian period, but as you can see it was very much celebrated and enjoyed in the Georgian Era. Hopefully this blog post will give you some idea of how Johnson and his friends might have enjoyed their Christmases. To conclude I would like to share what Ian Mortimer wrote of Georgian Christmases in his book The Time Traveller's Guide to Regency Britain: 'The ways in which people express their goodwill might alter down the ages, but that general mood remains the same. As a result, you are most likely to feel at home in Regency Britain on 25 December than perhaps on any other day in the year.'
Resources:
[1] [3] [4] Jane Austen's Christmas: The Festive Season in Georgian England. Compiled by Maria Hubert.
[5] The Time Traveller's Guide to Regency Britain by Ian Mortimer.
[2] [6] [8] London Journal 1762 – 1763 by James Boswell.
[7] Cumberland Pacquet, and Ware's Whitehaven Advertiser - Wednesday 26 January 1791
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