Christmas in Nineteenth-Century England

Traces the history of Christmas in Britain from the mid-nineteenth century into the early twentieth century including the rise of consumerism and the introduction of some familiar festive traditions

The first study to examine both the experience and representation of Christmas during the formative period of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Whether for reasons of family, food, shopping or religion, it's hard to imagine a British winter without Christmas, or to think of a more traditional national festival. But how and when did Christmas cards, pantomimes and advertising become part of that tradition?

This book looks at how people in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries experienced Christmas and how today's priorities and rituals began and endured. It explores the origins of our deeply held notions around Christmas traditions and demonstrates how those ideas were in fact shaped by the fast-paced modernisation of English life. A fascinating account of the development of many things we now take for granted, the book touches on the history of childhood and the family, philanthropy and work, and the beginnings of consumerism that shaped the Christmas we know today.