"Geffrye museum Christmas past expo" Personal Page by jo104

The use of evergreens is a pagan custom but early Christyians adopted them as a symbol of everlasting life. The kissing bough hanging from the ceiling, decorated with apples & oranges, is the precursor of the modern bunch of mistletoe.

The end of the christmas season

This is a middle class Victorian drawing room of the 1850's. The Christmas tree originated from Germany

An English invention in the late 18th centuary children would sometimes give their parents written seasonal greetings in order to show their ability at handwriting. The first commercial Christmas card was devised by Sir Henry Cole in 1843, intended to save Cole, who had numerous business & social contacts, from writing individual letters.

A tradition adopted from America an adaptation of leaving shoes out on St. Nicholas day, a tradition that was taken to America by Dutch settlers.

During the early twentieth centuary artificial decorations gradually began to replace evergreens as it was tidier & less expensive. The paper lanterns reflect the fashion of the time for all things Japanese

A parents worst nightmare how will the children remember who gave which gifts - thank you letters become the ultimate dread