Charlie Fenton’s Reviews > The Book of Christmas: Everything We Once Knew and Loved About Christmastime > Status Update

‘In 1848, the Illustrated London News published a woodcut of the young Royal Family gathered around their magnificent Christmas tree at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. This is the image (with suitable amendments to make them look like an ordinary family) that crossed the Atlantic in 1850 and appeared in the very popular American magazine Godey’s Lady’s Book.’

‘People who relied on farming for their livelihood always made sure they didn’t forget their animals during the New Year celebrations. In the north of England it was once traditional to feed your Christmas bunch of mistletoe to the first cow that calves after New Year’s Day, to guard against witchcraft. This is because witches were notorious for turning milk sour’

‘In medieval and Tudor times, the Christmas activities at court, universities and in the great houses of the nobility were organised by the Lord of Misrule. He was elected specially for the purpose and he had a host of helpers. The general idea was for the Lord of Misrule to create as much merriment as possible, and often to whip up some enjoyable festive chaos at the same time.’