We know Charles Dickens as the author of many well-loved classics of the Victorian age. Dickens also wrote dozens of short stories which were published in the Christmas editions of popular periodicals in the 1840s through to the 1860s, and drew on the idea of Christmas as a time to bring family together.

At the beginning of the 19th century, however, Christmas for many was not even thought of as a holiday, but by the end of the century, it had become the biggest annual celebration in the British calendar.

Most of the traditions of Christmas that we enjoy today are the invention of our Victorian ancestors: the , crackers and cards. Other, well-loved traditions of Christmas that we still keep today are many centuries old: the tradition of the dates back many hundreds of years to the 13th century; many of those plants that we associate with Christmas, such as and , have been used to decorate church and home for centuries past.

This year at Leeds Castle we celebrate the traditional British Christmas in all its forms. Join us now on a journey through the rooms of Leeds Castle to discover the highlights of a traditional Christmas, past and present. Victoria and Albert The Queen’s Bedroom Traditionally, the Christmas Tree, wreathed with garlands and festooned with shiny baubles, is the glittering centrepiece of yuletide decoration in the home.

The idea of bringing a tree indoors and decorating it for Christmas originated in Germany. The concept was introduced to Britain by the publication in the Illustrated London News of 1848, of a drawing of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert with their children, celebrating around a tree bedecked with ornaments.

The popularity of decorated Christmas trees grew quickly, and with it came a market for tree ornaments in bright colours and reflective materials that would shimmer and glitter in the candlelight. As production techniques improved in the later Victorian period, so decorations could be mass-produced at affordable prices to appeal to a broader spectrum of households. Victorians would often combine their sparkly, shop-bought decorations with candles and homemade edible treats, tied to the branches with ribbon. Apart from the introduction of fairy lights in place of candles, little has changed today and we decorate our Christmas trees much as our Victorian ancestors would have in times past. Queen’s Gallery Festive Plants This spectacular display of festive greenery has been created by Louise Roots, Leeds Castle’s own award-winning Head Florist. For her design inspiration, Louise has used a range of traditional Christmas plants and foliage such as Ilex Berry, Cyclamen and Amaryllis, in addition to the five best- known favourites described below:

Mistletoe has been part of Britain’s winter traditions for centuries, while once adopted as a sacred plant by the Druids, today we use it to decorate the home and provide an opportunity for a stolen kiss!

Holly has been associated with winter celebrations since before Christianity, and with its red berries and green foliage is perfect for festive , pictured on cards and even a sprig atop the Christmas pudding.

Ivy has been used to decorate homes and churches, alongside holly, since at least the 15th and 16th centuries. The words of the famous “The Holly and the Ivy” were first published in 1710.

Poinsettia although indigenous to Mexico and Central America, have become a popular plant to have on display in the Christmas period due to their festive red leaves.

Hellebore or Christmas rose, has many legends attached to it. Some say it first sprang from the tears of a young shepherd girl who had no gift to give the Christ child in .

The Chapel The Nativity Scene The earliest Nativity Scenes were made in Italy in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. They would consist of small figurines made in marble, wood or painted terracotta, and were displayed in the church at side altars, or chapels.

One of the oldest scenes in existence is thought to be a marble Nativity Scene made by the Italian sculptor Arnolfo di Cambio, dating to around 1289. Although some of the parts have been broken or lost, this Nativity set can still be seen today in the Basilica of St Mary Major in Rome.

In the 16th century, Nativity scenes were encouraged by religious leaders as an expression of devotion to the birth of Christ. During the 17th century, Nativity scenes became more elaborate, ften decorated with spectacular and imaginative scenery, eflecting contemporary ‘Baroque’ decorative arts. At this time Nativity scenes began to be viewed as an object of luxury interior decoration, to be created anew each year.

By the turn of the 19th century, affordable Nativity scenes in clay or papier-mache were produced to satisfy demand, made by artisans who used moulds to mass produce Nativity sets for sale. Whether you favour a simple, carved wooden nativity scene, or a complex diorama constructed from Lego, the Nativity scene today remains a much-loved part of a traditional Christmas. Christmas Cards Lady Baillie’s Bedroom In early December many of us will settle down to write our Christmas cards, sending more than one billion cards each year in the UK alone. For some, a hastily-scribbled message of festive cheer is enough, whilst for others the provides the opportunity to update friends and family with highlights of the year just gone.

Christmas cards were another Victorian invention. The very first Christmas card was commissioned in 1843 by Henry Cole (1808 – 1882), a prominent civil-servant and the first director of the Victoria & Albert Museum.

Cole had found himself unable to keep up with his correspondence, and with unanswered mail piling up he turned to his friend, the artist John Callcott Horsley (1817-1903) to ask him to design a festive card for him. Cole then arranged for Horsley’s hand-coloured lithograph to be transferred onto cards that could be printed and personalised with a swift hand-written greeting.

Cole also printed cards for sale at a shilling a piece, but the price was too high and the venture was not a commercial success. However, as printing techniques improved, it became possible to mass produce affordable cards, and so the Christmas card business took off.

This giant Christmas card has been designed by Emma Rios, a distinguished Illustrator and Art Director from London. Through her design she wanted to complement Lady Baillie’s luxuriant room and to carry on the theme of blues, golds, creams, and of course include more beautiful cranes. The Calendar Catherine of Aragon Bedroom On the first of December, children everywhere rush to open the first door of their Advent Calendars, eager to see what picture, chocolate or gift is hiding inside. But where did the tradition of the Christmas originate?

The word ‘Advent’ comes from the Latin ‘coming toward.’ The tradition of marking the days of Advent is thought to have begun in late 19th century Germany, when Lutherans counted the days leading up to Christmas by making chalk marks on doors, or lighting candles.

It was a young man called Gerhard Lang (1881-1974) who made the first printed Advent Calendar, in the early 1900s. He was inspired by one that his mother had made for him as a child, with twenty four little sweets glued to a square of cardboard. Lang’s first Advent calendar featured 24 coloured pictures fixed to a piece of cardboard. He improved his design a few years later by adding little doors to each picture to introduce an element of surprise.

Lang’s Advent Calendars were a success, and though the First World War brought a temporary halt to the manufacture of calendars ue to the scarcity of cardboard, he was to continue his business into the 1930s. After the Second World War, a printer named Richard Sellmer reintroduced Advent Calendars to the market, and quickly became a leading producer, as they still are today. This wooden Advent Calendar has been made by Cutlasercut, an award winning cutting and engraving service based in London. Christmas Crackers The Grand Staircase The 19th century was a period of widespread mechanical and industrial innovation in Britain, and a prosperous middle class bringing with it a market for mass-produced toys, decorations, and novelty items such as the .

An East End baker and confectioner called Tom Smith first invented the cracker in the 1840s. It wasn’t until the 1860s, when Smith perfected its explosive ‘bang’ (said to replicate the crackle and pop of a log fire) that the Christmas cracker as we know it today became a popular seasonal staple at the Christmas table.

Along with a joke, and paper hat, gifts inside could range from small trinkets such as whistles and tiny toy dolls, to more substantial items like jewellery. The success of Tom Smith’s crackers enabled the business to expand, employing 2,000 people by the 1890s, including many female workers. The Second World War led to cardboard rationing and a restriction on the manufacture of cracker snaps, but the industry recovered and by the 1960s Tom Smith were making 30,000 crackers a week. Lady Baillie’s Christmas The Yellow Drawing Room Christmas was a very special time of year for Lady Baillie. She loved nothing better than a house traditionally decorated, and so the elegantly-furnished rooms of Leeds Castle were taken over by Christmas wreaths, glass baubles and colourful paper-chains everywhere.

All this provided the perfect festive backdrop to the annual Christmas party which Lady Baillie arranged for the estate staff and their children. The Leeds Castle archive contains some letters and lists which show the care with which Lady Baillie ensured that every child would receive a gift that was just right for their age and interests. Together with her estate manager Mr Money, and her secretary Mrs Hills, she masterminded the selection and buying of the presents - indeed the archive even contains receipts for toys purchased from Harrods!

Each of Lady Baillie’s ‘gift- lists’ were compiled with child’s name, age, gift, and cost of gift, and were kept on file year after year to make sure that no child received the same present two years running. Lady Baillie made notes and amendments to the draft lists and letters, adding a suggestion here and there, and not forgetting ’fancy paper, ribbon, labels’ costing ‘£2-3-6’ - two pounds, three shillings and sixpence.

Note that near the bottom of the list is the name Colin Warnett, who was 4 months old in December 1956. Colin followed in his parent’s footsteps and joined the staff of Leeds Castle and he still works here today!