Early Modern Christmas Highlights
Elizabethan, Victorian, Edwardian

The mid 1760's created what I call the early modern Christmas. Many firsts which later became traditions happened during this time of Christmas history.

In 1761, Queen Consort Charlotte (German wife of King George III) brought the first Christmas tree to Britain, thus securing her spot in Christmas history. But, it was not until Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were pictured with their children around a Christmas tree that the 'regular' people of Britain began to incorporate this custom.

In 1848, the Illustrated London News printed an engraving of the royal family around their Christmas tree. From then on, in England at least, the early modern Christmas celebration began to move out of the dog-house.

In America, it took even longer for Christmas to come back into popular celebration. Congress was in session in 1789, and Christmas was not declared an official Federal holiday until 1870.

During the 19th century, Americans completely reinvented Christmas. Christmas history, too, would never be the same.

In 1819, Washington Irving wrote a series of short-stories about a wealthy British land-holder called "The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, Gentleman". These stories portrayed the fanciful Christmas celebrations of the English gentry.

They were purely fictional, and meant to show that the upper and lower classes could and should get along peacefully - especially at Christmas.

"An Account of a Visit from Saint Nicholas" by Clement Clarke Moore was published in England in 1823. This poem probably did more to popularize the early modern Christmas celebration style than anything since the Illustrated London News printed their engraving of Queen Victoria. It has a page of its own in Christmas history, and is one of the most beloved and widely read poems about Christmas ever written.

It also introduced the modern version of Santa Claus.

Neither of these did much for the social problems surrounding the holiday, however, and in 1828, New York City instituted the first official police force in response to a Christmas riot.

The United States was as divided during the coming decades about Christmas as it was over the major political and social issues of the day.

Those in Northern States considered the celebration of Christmas sinful, the Thanksgiving holiday being more appropriate.

In the South, however, the early modern Christmas was one of the major highlights of the social calendar, and celebrations flourished with typical southern flair.

Perhaps, then, it is not so surprising to consider that the first three states to officially recognize Christmas as a holiday were: Alabama in 1836, as well as Arkansas and Louisiana, both in 1838.