Category Archives: Regency Christmas Traditions

Kissing Boughs and Mistletoe

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Did Jane Austen hang mistletoe for the Yuletide season?  On Christmas Eve, decorations and greenery were put up throughout the house—not before as that was bad luck. Traditional greenery included holly, ivy, rosemary, evergreen, hawthorn and, bay leaf, laurel, and hellebore (Christmas rose). Boughs, garlands and sprigs decorated windows, tables, mantles and stairways with the scents and colors of the season. For those who could not go out and cut their own, greenery could be … Continue reading →

Regency era Holiday Gift Giving

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Gift giving in Jane Austen’s Day. What might she have given or received for Christmas? Though gift giving was not the primary focus of the Christmastide season, gifts were commonly exchanged. St. Nicholas Day, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and Twelfth Night were the most likely days for gift exchange. Old traditions called for gifts to be exchanged on New Year’s Day. Many gifts exchanged were gifts of obligation between unequal parties. Landowners and the well-off … Continue reading →

Christmas References

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“First Footing and Hogmanay, a Truly Scottish New Year!” HubPages. January 1, 2011. Web.  October 28, 2014. http://diffugerenives.hubpages.com/hub/First-footing-and-Hogmanay-a-truly-Scottish-New-Year. “Hogmanay / Old Years Night / New Years Day.” Walkabout Crafts’ Web. October 28, 2014. http://www.walkaboutcrafts.com/worldtour/scotland/festivals/hogmanay.htm. “Jane Austen and Christmas : Decorating the Georgian Home.” Austenonly. “Kissing bough.”  Christmas Celebrations and New Year’s Celebrations March 17, 2010.  Accessed October 28, 2018. http://christmas-celebrations.org/137-kissing-bough.html “Mistletoe.”  Christmas Celebrations and New Year’s Celebrations..  March 17, 2010.  Accessed October 28, 2018. http://christmas-celebrations.org/166-mistletoe.html “Regency … Continue reading →

The Origins of Boxing Day

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Some suggest that the origins of Boxing Day can be found during the Victorian Era, but it appears to have begun much earlier.. “Good King Wenceslas Looked Out On The Feast Of Stephen” The traditional Christmas carol “Good King Wenceslas” points us to a 10th century start to the Boxing Day tradition. Wenceslas, a 10th century Bohemian Duke, surveyed his land on St. Stephen’s Day (Dec. 26)  and saw a peasant gathering wood in the … Continue reading →