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Historic Communities
Victorian Christmas
Bobbie Kalman's acclaimed Historic Communities Series provides a close-up view of how people lived more than two hundred years ago. Colorful photos, many taken by Bobbie Kalman herself at restored historic villages across the country, help support the fascinating information. Children will have fun learning about:
-- early homes and the settler community
-- what people wore and the crafts they made
-- how settlers made their living
-- how they spent their leisure time
-- the values, customs, and traditions of the early settlersVictorian Christmas shows how some of our most loved Christmas traditions were first celebrated in North America during the Victorian era. Gorgeous photographs and full-color illustrations highlight:
-- decorating the evergreen tree
-- gift-giving and sending Christmas cards
-- Christmas caroling
-- jolly old St. Nick
-- how to make simple decorations like Victorian children did
-- early homes and the settler community
-- what people wore and the crafts they made
-- how settlers made their living
-- how they spent their leisure time
-- the values, customs, and traditions of the early settlersVictorian Christmas shows how some of our most loved Christmas traditions were first celebrated in North America during the Victorian era. Gorgeous photographs and full-color illustrations highlight:
-- decorating the evergreen tree
-- gift-giving and sending Christmas cards
-- Christmas caroling
-- jolly old St. Nick
-- how to make simple decorations like Victorian children did
Library Binding
First published September 1, 1996
About the author
Bobbie Kalman
861 books32 followersBobbie Kalman is a Hungarian-born children's author and publisher known for educational nonfiction books widely used in schools and libraries. After fleeing Hungary with her family during the 1956 Revolution, she later settled in North America. With backgrounds in English, psychology, and education, she wrote more than 800 books, including “Refugee Child” and several popular curriculum-based series.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 16, 2026
VICTORIAN CHRISTMAS, though a children's book, was still pretty interesting. Besides the colorful illustrations appropriate for the age, simple captions explain the stories behind them.
Queen Victoria and her German husband Prince Albert ruled England from 1837 to 1901. That time period was thus named after the monarch.
"In the early 1800s, people in North America celebrated Christmas by attending Church and sharing a quiet meal with family and a few friends. Gift-giving was not a big part of Christmas celebrations. If a child received a present, it was a piece of fruit, a handmade toy, or an article of clothing." It was a common belief that children would be spoiled if given too much love and attention.
Queen Victoria changed all that. She and her husband loved their children and gave them gifts on Christmas and decorated a tree, like Albert's family did back home in Germany. Seeing pictures in magazines and newspapers, Americans started to imitate the royal family.
Decorations that people put up are described. Evergreen branches were used inside and out to decorate. Wreaths with pine cones, berries and dried fruit were placed on doors to welcome guests. An Advent wreath with candles was placed on the dining room table. Nativity scenes were put on display as well.
Real trees were chopped down, or bought, and brought in to be decorated on Christmas Eve. They were set up on a small table in the parlor. Decorations included fruits, nuts, small homemade toys, mittens, sugar cookies and lit candles. My father confirmed this practice of using lit candles when he was young. Of course a star was placed on the top of the tree to symbolize the star that guided the Three Wise Men to the Christ Child. Christmas ornaments in the form of blown-glass balls and cardboard cutouts that were painted and looked like metal also came into use. The trees were only left up to January 6th, the Twelfth Day of Christmas.
Settlers from different countries bought their own ideas of Santa with them. The Dutch 'Sinter Klaas' rode a white horse, was dressed as a bishop and gave gold to poor children. Swedes imagined their Santa carrying a sheaf of wheat or barley. The British Father Christmas rode a huge goat. Clement Moore wrote 'Twas the Night Before Christmas' in 1823. Based on his description, Thomas Nast created the figure we know today.
During the Victorian era shops started selling toys for Christmas. These toys were left out under the tree.
Not many Christmas cards were sent out during that time. The main reason was that the person receiving the mail had to pay the postage. When the postal system changed this policy people started mailing cards. We have some from around 1913. They are in the form of postcards.
The weeks before Christmas were a festive season with all the decorations. People could travel long distances by rail so lavish parties were held. It was also the wedding season.
Besides setting up the tree on Christmas Eve, people entertained themselves and friends. They went on hay rides, sang carols, told scary stories, and went to Midnight Mass.
On Christmas Day the church bells rang and children emptied their stockings. After breakfast families went to church. When they came home is when the children opened their presents. There was more entertainment that day. One game mentioned was 'Bag and Stick,' which was much like breaking open a pinata.
As I was reading this book I thought that it would have been great to read and post a review in December, but as the pagans have already started putting out the Christmas merchandise in the stores already, a couple weeks before Halloween, I figured, "Why not?"
Queen Victoria and her German husband Prince Albert ruled England from 1837 to 1901. That time period was thus named after the monarch.
"In the early 1800s, people in North America celebrated Christmas by attending Church and sharing a quiet meal with family and a few friends. Gift-giving was not a big part of Christmas celebrations. If a child received a present, it was a piece of fruit, a handmade toy, or an article of clothing." It was a common belief that children would be spoiled if given too much love and attention.
Queen Victoria changed all that. She and her husband loved their children and gave them gifts on Christmas and decorated a tree, like Albert's family did back home in Germany. Seeing pictures in magazines and newspapers, Americans started to imitate the royal family.
Decorations that people put up are described. Evergreen branches were used inside and out to decorate. Wreaths with pine cones, berries and dried fruit were placed on doors to welcome guests. An Advent wreath with candles was placed on the dining room table. Nativity scenes were put on display as well.
Real trees were chopped down, or bought, and brought in to be decorated on Christmas Eve. They were set up on a small table in the parlor. Decorations included fruits, nuts, small homemade toys, mittens, sugar cookies and lit candles. My father confirmed this practice of using lit candles when he was young. Of course a star was placed on the top of the tree to symbolize the star that guided the Three Wise Men to the Christ Child. Christmas ornaments in the form of blown-glass balls and cardboard cutouts that were painted and looked like metal also came into use. The trees were only left up to January 6th, the Twelfth Day of Christmas.
Settlers from different countries bought their own ideas of Santa with them. The Dutch 'Sinter Klaas' rode a white horse, was dressed as a bishop and gave gold to poor children. Swedes imagined their Santa carrying a sheaf of wheat or barley. The British Father Christmas rode a huge goat. Clement Moore wrote 'Twas the Night Before Christmas' in 1823. Based on his description, Thomas Nast created the figure we know today.
During the Victorian era shops started selling toys for Christmas. These toys were left out under the tree.
Not many Christmas cards were sent out during that time. The main reason was that the person receiving the mail had to pay the postage. When the postal system changed this policy people started mailing cards. We have some from around 1913. They are in the form of postcards.
The weeks before Christmas were a festive season with all the decorations. People could travel long distances by rail so lavish parties were held. It was also the wedding season.
Besides setting up the tree on Christmas Eve, people entertained themselves and friends. They went on hay rides, sang carols, told scary stories, and went to Midnight Mass.
On Christmas Day the church bells rang and children emptied their stockings. After breakfast families went to church. When they came home is when the children opened their presents. There was more entertainment that day. One game mentioned was 'Bag and Stick,' which was much like breaking open a pinata.
As I was reading this book I thought that it would have been great to read and post a review in December, but as the pagans have already started putting out the Christmas merchandise in the stores already, a couple weeks before Halloween, I figured, "Why not?"
November 22, 2019
A history book that focuses on various aspects of the holiday season during the Victorian era: how trees were decorated, what games were played, Christmas cards, songs that were song, traditions, etc.
Ages: 6 - 12
Cleanliness: nothing to note.
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Ages: 6 - 12
Cleanliness: nothing to note.
**Like my reviews? Then you should follow me! Because I have hundreds more just like this one. With each review, I provide a Cleanliness Report, mentioning any objectionable content I come across so that parents and/or conscientious readers (like me) can determine beforehand whether they want to read a book or not. Content surprises are super annoying, especially when you’re 100+ pages in, so here’s my attempt to help you avoid that!
So Follow or Friend me here on GoodReads! And be sure to check out my bio page to learn a little about me and the Picture Book/Chapter Book Calendars I sell on Etsy!
December 19, 2019
Nice illustrations, but information didn’t go beyond the obvious.
October 27, 2014
This book explains how many of the Christmas traditions and customs we still have today were started in Victorian times. Bobbie Kalman's informative text is written just right for children and it is enhanced by the bright, wonderful illustrations by Barbara Bedell.
August 8, 2019
I accidentally reserved this at the library along with some other nonfiction I wanted for personal research, but I brought it home anyway because the cover looked colorful. The pages are laid out well and the illustrations are very pretty if not 100% cohesive in style because most look old fashioned but the one under the groaning board explanation looks more modern and there are a few actual photos. There's good information. It's a nice intro to Victorian Christmas traditions, and if I had kids I would be happy to read them this book around the holidays.
I kind of wish there was a "Further Reading" type section or more interactive elements like discussion questions or something and not just a "count how many types of ornament you see on this tree and compare with your friend" type of engagement device in a picture caption on one page, but that's a bit of a nitpick that's probably not really fair.
I kind of wish there was a "Further Reading" type section or more interactive elements like discussion questions or something and not just a "count how many types of ornament you see on this tree and compare with your friend" type of engagement device in a picture caption on one page, but that's a bit of a nitpick that's probably not really fair.
April 22, 2020
We loved reading this book. It’s references are a bit antiquated now as it was written while ago but we learned a lot about how our Christmas celebrations came to be. There are some aspects we may add to our traditions in the coming years!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews