Category: Christmas Traditions

Like the Christmas cake, the Christmas pudding has is origins in plum porridge or pottage. Which was first referenced to in the 16th Century. Some scholars even date the pudding back to the 14th Century. These would have been meat dishes … Continue readingHistory of the Christmas Pudding

The term Pantomime originates from the Greek ‘pantomimes’ meaning to mimic and accompanied by sung narrative and instrumental music. It was only later that the term became associated to the performance. It was popular in Greek and Roman times. In … Continue readingHistory of the Christmas Pantomime

Christmas Lights have their origins in the tradition of leaving a candle in the window, a signal of worship. Then around 1500 Martin Luther is believed to have decorated a Christmas Tree with candles. These were possibly the first form of Xmas … Continue readingHistory of Christmas Lights

Its is feasible that a form of Christmas decorations dates back to the Roman winter festival of Saturnalia. They attached candles to trees for Sol the sun god, and replicas of Bacchus, the fertility god. The ancient Germanic tradition was to … Continue readingHistory of Christmas Decorations

The Christmas cracker is believed to have been invented by a baker, Tom Smith. He specialised in wedding cakes and his bakery was in Clerkenwell, London. Always looking for a new idea to help expand his business he would visit … Continue readingHistory of the Christmas Cracker

The Christmas Carol like many traditions around Christmas time can be traced back to Pagan times. During the Winter Solstice, Europeans before the birth of Jesus danced around stone circles and sang songs. In fact the word carol has its … Continue readingHistory of Christmas Carols

Christmas cards of an early form can be dated back to Medieval Europe, when wood engravers produced religious themes in print. But the modern Christmas card can be dated back to Victorian Britain and in particular one man. Sir Henry … Continue readingHistory of Christmas Cards

The traditional Christmas cake is the merger of two dishes traditionally eaten around the Christmas period. Plum porridge or pottage and the Twelfth Night cake. The plum porridge was first cited in 1573 and was traditionally eaten on Christmas Eve. … Continue readingHistory of the Christmas Cake

The Advent Calendar would appear to be a Christmas tradition that that does not date back to Pagan or Roman times, but is in fact in relatively modern. As with many of the traditions of Christmas, the origins are from … Continue readingHistory of the Advent Calendar