Visualizing the Victorian Christmas: Evolving Iconography and Symbolism in the Wake of Nineteenth-Century Commercialism
Article Sidebar
Published:
Apr 17, 2017
Main Article Content
Abstract
This essay traces the enduring aesthetic of the Victorian Christmas back to nineteenth-century England and explores the emergence of the ostensibly “traditional” Christmas celebration. The expansion of commercial opportunities in the nineteenth century gave rise to new symbolism within the celebrations of Christmas in England that had, previously, been primarily influenced by religious observances and imported German traditions. By looking at a range of different sources, including literature, diaries, and advertisements, this essay highlights shifting interpretations of Christmas, especially after the 1830s and towards the end of the nineteenth century, caused and accelerated by rising consumerism. Ultimately, material culture became a crucial component of the English celebration of Christmas, from attractive advertisements in newspapers to the seasonal decoration of shopping centres to the consumption of sumptuous fare, through which the Victorians produced new symbolic and iconographical values for Christmas within the secular domain.
Article Details
Issue
Section
Articles
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
References
Asala, Joanne. Celtic Folklore Cooking. St. Paul, Minnesota: Llewellyn Publications, 2004.
Armstrong, Neil. Christmas in Nineteenth-Century England. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 2010.
Beeton, Isabella. Mrs. Beeton’s Household Management. Ware, Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions, 2006.
Bell, Bethan. “Frog Murder and Boiled Children: ‘Merry Christmas’ Victorian Style.” BBC News, 21 December, 2015. http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-34988154 (accessed January 4, 2016).
Broomfield, Andrea. Food and Cooking in Victorian England: A History. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 2007.
Christie, Christopher. The British Country House in the Eighteenth Century. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2000.
Dickens, Charles. “A Christmas Tree.” In Household Words 11, no. 39 (December 21, 1850): 289-295. http://www.djo.org.uk/ (accessed December 3, 2015).
Fabricant, Florence. “Victorian Era: Holiday Images for all Times.” New York Times, November 29, 1989, Regional Business News. EBSCOhost (accessed November 6, 2015).
Green, Jonathan. Christmas Miscellany: Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Christmas. New York: Skyhorse Publishing, 2009.
Illustrated London News, The. Volume V, July to December 1844. London: William Little, 1845.
Illustrated London News, The. Volume LXXI, July to December 1877. London: George Leighton, 1878.
Illustrated London News, The. Volume XCIII, July to December 1888. London: Ingram Brothers, 1889.
Krausman Ben-Amos, Ilana. The Culture of Giving: Informal Support and Gift-Exchange in Early Modern England. New York: University of Cambridge Press, 2008.
Lady’s Newspaper and Pictorial Times. Volume XIV, no. 364, December 17, 1853. Center for Research Libraries. http://catalog.crl.edu/record=b2854645~S1 (accessed February 29, 2016).
Pepys, Samuel. Diary of Samuel Pepys (1633-1703). Edited by Mynors Bright, Baron Richard Griffin Braybrooke, and Henry Benjamin Wheatly. London, NY: G. Bell, 1893. https://archive.org/details/cu31924070674977 (accessed November 10th, 2015).
Rappaport, Erika Diane. Shopping for Pleasure: Women in the Making of London’s West End. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2000.
Richards, Thomas. The Commodity Culture of Victorian England: Advertising and Spectacle, 1851-1914. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1990.
Smith, Charles Edward. From the Deep of the Sea; Being the Diary of the Late Charles Edward Smith, M.R.C.s, Surgeon of the Whale-ship Diana, of Hull. London: A. & C. Black, 1922.
Walker, Harlan. Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery, 1990: Feasting and Fasting. London: Prospect Books, 1991.
Armstrong, Neil. Christmas in Nineteenth-Century England. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 2010.
Beeton, Isabella. Mrs. Beeton’s Household Management. Ware, Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions, 2006.
Bell, Bethan. “Frog Murder and Boiled Children: ‘Merry Christmas’ Victorian Style.” BBC News, 21 December, 2015. http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-34988154 (accessed January 4, 2016).
Broomfield, Andrea. Food and Cooking in Victorian England: A History. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 2007.
Christie, Christopher. The British Country House in the Eighteenth Century. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2000.
Dickens, Charles. “A Christmas Tree.” In Household Words 11, no. 39 (December 21, 1850): 289-295. http://www.djo.org.uk/ (accessed December 3, 2015).
Fabricant, Florence. “Victorian Era: Holiday Images for all Times.” New York Times, November 29, 1989, Regional Business News. EBSCOhost (accessed November 6, 2015).
Green, Jonathan. Christmas Miscellany: Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Christmas. New York: Skyhorse Publishing, 2009.
Illustrated London News, The. Volume V, July to December 1844. London: William Little, 1845.
Illustrated London News, The. Volume LXXI, July to December 1877. London: George Leighton, 1878.
Illustrated London News, The. Volume XCIII, July to December 1888. London: Ingram Brothers, 1889.
Krausman Ben-Amos, Ilana. The Culture of Giving: Informal Support and Gift-Exchange in Early Modern England. New York: University of Cambridge Press, 2008.
Lady’s Newspaper and Pictorial Times. Volume XIV, no. 364, December 17, 1853. Center for Research Libraries. http://catalog.crl.edu/record=b2854645~S1 (accessed February 29, 2016).
Pepys, Samuel. Diary of Samuel Pepys (1633-1703). Edited by Mynors Bright, Baron Richard Griffin Braybrooke, and Henry Benjamin Wheatly. London, NY: G. Bell, 1893. https://archive.org/details/cu31924070674977 (accessed November 10th, 2015).
Rappaport, Erika Diane. Shopping for Pleasure: Women in the Making of London’s West End. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2000.
Richards, Thomas. The Commodity Culture of Victorian England: Advertising and Spectacle, 1851-1914. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1990.
Smith, Charles Edward. From the Deep of the Sea; Being the Diary of the Late Charles Edward Smith, M.R.C.s, Surgeon of the Whale-ship Diana, of Hull. London: A. & C. Black, 1922.
Walker, Harlan. Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery, 1990: Feasting and Fasting. London: Prospect Books, 1991.