The Nineteenth Century

Abstract

While Christmas was already a popular feast day at the start of the nineteenth century, the holiday was transformed and greatly expanded over the course of the Victorian age. One reason for this was that many Reformed and Dissenting Protestants went from opposing Christmas to celebrating it. Christians in the United States from Episcopalians to the Salvation Army also promoted the rise of Santa Claus as a surreptitious gift bearer. The holiday experienced a significant domestication: for many people Christmas was no longer primarily an open-air event, nor an ecclesial one, but one focused on home and family, especially children. The Christmas tree was a German Protestant tradition that become popular in numerous countries. The British gave the world the Christmas card. Finally, new forms of charity rose side-by-side with new forms of commercialism, as well as new forms of devotion such as the Lessons and Carols service.