Christmas is associated with lots of fun and gaiety. Though there are many ornaments available in the market today, in the Victorian days, most of them were handmade. Victorian Christmas craft explores this aspect of traditional Christmas crafts. Understanding Victorian Christmas crafts needs a trip down history.
A brief description of the Christmas ornaments can be found from the following:
Chimney Sweep
This ornament had its origin in Germany. It was delightful for the children. The chimney sweep had a funny type of broom, wore a peaked white hat and carried a bag filled with goodies.
Raisin and Nut Garland
The raisin and nut garland was a specialty of the Victorian age. The garland was made with a needle and strong thread. One peanut was first pierced then a raisin and in this way, the garland was completed. Usually, the boy or the girl receiving this garland ate the nuts and raisins.
Orange Baskets
The small baskets were filled with candied oranges. This made a very nice and unique decoration.
Gilded English Walnut
The gilded English walnut was one ornament that had to be hung till the New Year's Day. This was made some days in advance and great fun to the young and old alike. Sometimes the empty nut was used to tell the fortunes of the people receiving it (all good fun, nothing serious). There were other fun ideas as well.
The above Victorian Christmas crafts are by no means exhaustive. The variety of things made for Christmas by the people at home continues to stun us even today. For more details, do stay connected to Christmas Carnivals.
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