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Extract from the December 2008 / January 2009 Magazine
December 2008 / January 2009 Magazine Pages 4-5 THE VICTORIAN FAMILY CHRISTMAS IN ART

by Simon Toll
Many of the traditions of Christmas that we consider to be English and rooted in the distant past are not British and date only from the mid-19th century. It was the Victorians that made popular the Christmas card, the Christmas tree, Christmas crackers, many of the Christmas carols and even Santa Claus himself. The wealth and technology of the 19th century led to a commercialisation of the Yule festival and shaped the enduring image of the winter season. Factory produc-tion expanded the manufacture of toys and novelties, and Christmas gifts therefore became affordable for almost all and no longer the privilege of the upper classes. In 1843 '0 Come all ye Faithful' was written and the first thousand Christmas cards went on sale in a London art shop for a shilling each. In 1846 a London confectioner named Tom Smith invented the first crackers and it was in the same decade that Prince Albert brought the idea of decorating trees from Germany.
December 2008 / January 2009 Magazine P9
Figure 2. Robert Braithwaite Martineau, 'The Christmas Hamper'.

Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol in Prose, Being a Ghost Story for Christmas was a major influence on the Victorian popular conception of Christmas. When it was first published in December 1843 6,000 copies were sold in a week. The story played a critical part in redefining the role of the festivities of Christmas at a time when traditions were in decline. The poet Thomas Hood predicted: 'If Christmas, with its ancient and hospitable customs, its social and charitable observ-ances, were in danger of decay, this is the book that would give them a new lease.' (Hood's Magazine and Comic Review, 1844). John Leech's illustrations to the first edition of A Christmas Carol were as important as Dickens' words in creating an archetype of the family Christmas, from the frugal poverty of the Cratchett household to the more comfortable surroundings of Scrooge's nephew Fred's house.
Artists and illustrators were quick to depict similar contrasts in their own work to appeal to the public's desire to see heart-warming scenes of Christmas cheer. The universal popularity of prints and Christmas cards made Christmas subjects commercially beneficial to artists. The portrait and genre painter Edward Hughes painted two pretty young girls dressed for a party and reading a Christmas card (figure 5), a painting that shows the fashion for sending cards.
Throughout the 19th century artists documented the expanding and changing traditions associated with Christmas. As many of these paintings and illustrations were executed in the detailed style that we associate with 19th century art, they are fascinating social docu-ments showing how the festivities were celebrated by both rich and poor. Robert Braithwaite Martineau's 'The Christmas Hamper' (figure 2) is a particularly fine example, rich in detail and sentiment. It shows a mid-19th century parlour in which are gathered three generations of a prosperous family excitedly examining the contents of a hamper of food and toys that has been delivered. The painting depicts the archetype of the happy Victorian family and also shows the commerciality of Christmas when shop-owners made more money than at any other time as families spent much more than usual on food and gifts. The father of the household proudly holds up the fattened turkey, clearly delighted that he is fulfilling his role as the provider of food for his family, whilst his wife can only look on in delighted appreciation. The children are engrossed with their new toys and even the family dog has been provided for.