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12/24/2006 Archived Entry: "Regency Christmas"

What was Christmas like in my favorite historical period, the Regency? Christmas was actually not celebrated that much, as far as we can tell! When Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol ( in 1843, well after the Regency period), it was part of a revival of old customs that had lapsed. Jo Beverley at Word Wenches describes the actual Regency Christmas, as much as is known about it. "So, what was Christmas like through most of our Regency period? My reading suggests that it was still celebrated in many local, rustic ways, but that among the gentry it was a mostly religious festival marked by a good meal with friends and charity to the poor. In Jane Austen’s Emma, we are told, 'At Christmas every body invites their friends about them, and people think little of even the worst weather.' Many of the traditions we now associate with it had been practiced in the past, but were now considered rustic."

(tags: Christmas, Regency, JoBeverley, WordWenches)