Monday, December 20, 2010

How the Victorians Invented the Traditional Christmas

From Wales Online comes this article on the tradition of Christmas as we know it today:
EBENEZER Scrooge was Welsh. Before moving to London in the late 1830s, he lived in a little village just outside Bangor. The historical evidence for this frankly implausible claim comes in the shape of a letter that appeared in the North Wales Chronicle in December 1835. In the letter, Scrooge – or at least someone very like him – complained bitterly about the festive spirit that had apparently possessed all about him. Everybody the correspondent met, from his servant to strangers in the street, wished him a “Merry Christmas”. What, he wanted to know, was there to be merry about?

1 comment:

Keith said...

I think I know how he felt! Still you have to look for the good things, like being with my wife over the holiday, and giving to others.
Hope you have a good one.
Best wishes.
http://woodsrunnersdiary.blogspot.com/