Collection: Christmas

We’ve had crackers as gifts or surprises since the mid-18th century. They were invented by a confectioner to sell bonbons with love poems alongside.

The bang was added for a touch of surprise and the sweet soon replaced with a small gift. His sons added the classic paper hat in the early 1900’s in reflection of Twelfth Night celebrations over the festive period, and they made the motto’s funny instead of lovey. Thus, the festive Cracker was born.

Historically, Xmas comes from the Greek letter Chi – represented as X and used as an abbreviation of Christ. And ‘Mas’ is an old English word for the church service. So, Xmas means ‘Christ Mass’ and originally could have referred to Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve.

Wreaths and garlands are typically made using evergreen plants and foliage to symbolise everlasting life. And wreaths are made in a circle to reinforce the idea of no end and no beginning.

The idea of bringing a tree inside and decorating it over the festive season originated in the UK in the 1700’s with the German-born Queen Charlotte. She decorated an evergreen fir tree to celebrate her Christian religion, just as her forefathers did. The practise was made popular with the wider UK population with Queen Victoria and Albert.