Helpful Christmas Resources
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A Game of Letters
Written by: Elizabeth J. Rook

For fourteen little ones. Each has a large card, his letter printed on it in bright colors. As he recites, he holds it up in plain view, but drops it to his side at the close of his recitation. S takes his place to the Right, the others following in the order here given until a straight line is formed.

S:
We have a game of letters
Which we're going to show to you,
And each will name his letter
As he holds it up to view.
I have an S, a crooked S,
It stands for sugar sweet.

A:
 And here's an A for apple pie.

M:
 And M for good mince meat.

T:
 T stands for turkey, fat and brown,
We have on Christmas day.

S:
 And here is S for Santa Claus,
And also for his sleigh.

I:
 I stands for icicles and ice,

R:
 And R for reindeer gay.

H:
 H stands for home and happiness,

C:
 And C for Christmas day.

Y:
 And next in line comes letter Y;
It stands for youth and you;
We couldn't do without it,
It's in the New Year, too.

R:
 I have an R, it stands for Right,
And I will hold it high;

R:
 And mine I'll place beside it,
For R also have I.

E:
 I like the letter E the best,
For what is Earth without it?
And Everything begins with E
Does anybody doubt it?

M:
 I hold in hand a great big M,
It suits me to a T;
M stands for mother, money, too,
And, yes, it stands for me.


(All now stand close together and hold their letters at the same height. Then the following lines may be given in concert or spoken by the leader [S] alone.)

Now if you read our letters down
From left hand to the right,
You'll find a Christmas greeting
For one and all to-night.


Then beginning at the the left, each child may name his letter

M-E-R-R-Y C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S.

(Exit.)

Spell a word before throwing the dice. Odd numbers - move one, even number, move two.

www.helpingdyslexia.co.uk

A Victorian Christmas

For thousands of years people around the world have enjoyed midwinter festivals. With the arrival of Christianity, pagan festivals became mixed with Christmas celebrations. One of the leftovers from these pagan days is the custom of bedecking houses and churches with evergreen plants like mistletoe, holly and ivy. Apparently, as well as their magical connection in protecting us from evil spirits, they also encourage the return of spring.

No era in history however, has influenced the way in which we celebrate Christmas, quite as much as the Victorians.

Before Victoria's reign started in 1837 nobody in Britain had heard of Santa Claus or Christmas Crackers. No Christmas cards were sent and most people did not have holidays from work. The wealth and technologies generated by the industrial revolution of the Victorian era changed the face of Christmas forever. Sentimental do-gooders like Charles Dickens wrote books like "Christmas Carol", published in 1843, which actually encouraged rich Victorians to redistribute their wealth by giving money and gifts to the poor - Humbug! These radical middle class ideals eventually spread to the not-quite-so-poor as well.

The holidays - The wealth generated by the new factories and industries of the Victorian age allowed middle class families in England and Wales to take time off work and celebrate over two days, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Boxing Day, December 26th, earned its name as the day servants and working people opened the boxes in which they had collected gifts of money from the "rich folk". Those new fangled inventions, the railways allowed the country folk who had moved into the towns and cities in search of work to return home for a family Christmas.

The Scots have always preferred to postpone the celebrations for a few days to welcome in the New Year, in the style that is Hogmanay. Christmas Day itself did not become a holiday in Scotland until many years after Victoria's reign and it has only been within the last 20-30 years that this has been extended to include Boxing Day.

The Gifts -At the start of Victoria's reign, children's toys tended to be handmade and hence expensive, generally restricting availability to those "rich folk" again. With factories however came mass production, which brought with it games, dolls, books and clockwork toys all at a more affordable price. Affordable that is to "middle class" children. In a "poor child's" Christmas stocking, which first became popular from around 1870, only an apple, orange and a few nuts could be found.

Father Christmas / Santa Claus - Normally associated with the bringer of the above gifts, is Father Christmas or Santa Claus. The two are in fact two entirely separate stories. Father Christmas was originally part of an old English midwinter festival, normally dressed in green, a sign of the returning spring. The stories of St. Nicholas (Sinter Klaas in Holland) came via Dutch settlers to America in the 17th Century. From the 1870's Sinter Klass became known in Britain as Santa Claus and with him came his unique gift and toy distribution system - reindeer and sleigh.

Christmas Cards - The "Penny Post" was first introduced in Britain in 1840 by Rowland Hill. The idea was simple, a penny stamp paid for the postage of a letter or card to anywhere in Britain. This simple idea paved the way for the sending of the first Christmas cards. Sir Henry Cole tested the water in 1843 by printing a thousand cards for sale in his art shop in London at one shilling each. The popularity of sending cards was helped along when in 1870 a halfpenny postage rate was introduced as a result of the efficiencies brought about by those new fangled railways.

Turkey Time - Turkeys had been brought to Britain from America hundreds of years before Victorian times. When Victoria first came to the throne however, both chicken and turkey were too expensive for most people to enjoy. In northern England roast beef was the traditional fayre for Christmas dinner while in London and the south, goose was favourite. Many poor people made do with rabbit. On the other hand, the Christmas Day menu for Queen Victoria and family in 1840 included both beef and of course a royal roast swan or two. By the end of the century most people feasted on turkey for their Christmas dinner. The great journey to London started for the turkey sometime in October. Feet clad in fashionable but hardwearing leather the unsuspecting birds would have set out on the 80-mile hike from the Norfolk farms. Arriving obviously a little tired and on the scrawny side they must have thought London hospitality unbeatable as they feasted and fattened on the last few weeks before Christmas!

The Tree - Queen Victoria's German husband Prince Albert helped to make the Christmas tree as popular in Britain as they where in his native Germany, when he brought one to Windsor Castle in the 1840's.

The Crackers - Invented by Tom Smith, a London sweet maker in 1846. The original idea was to wrap his sweets in a twist of fancy coloured paper, but this developed and sold much better when he added love notes (motto's), paper hats, small toys and made them go off BANG!

Carol Singers - Carol Singers and Musicians "The Waits" visited houses singing and playing the new popular carols;

1843 - O Come all ye Faithful

1848 - Once in Royal David's City

1851 - See Amid the Winters Snow

1868 - O Little Town of Bethlehem

1883 - Away in a Manger

Victorian Christmas Questions

1. Complete the sentences

1. Charles Dickens wrote ‘The Christmas Carol’ in _________.
2. The invention of the _________ allowed poor people to return to the country for Christmas to be with their families.
3. At the start of the Victorian era, toys were handmade which made them ________.
4. Father Christmas originally dressed in ______ coloured clothes.
5. In a poor child’s stocking only an ________, ________ and some ______ could be found.
6. Turkeys had been brought to Britain from _________ years before the Victorian era.
7. Rowland Hill introduced the _____   ______ to Britain in 1840.
8. Prince Albert introduced the first Christmas ______ in Britain in 1840 from his native Germany.
9. The Christmas Cracker was invented by _____  ______ who worked as a _______ -______.
10. The first carol singers were called ‘The _____’.

1.  Answer the questions with full sentences

1. How was Christmas different before the Victorian era?
2. How did Boxing Day get its name?
3. What made Christmas gifts available to middle-class families?
4. Where did the story of Saint Nicholas originally come from and what did they call him?
5. What food was traditionally eaten in the North and South of Britain at Christmas?
6. What food did poor people generally eat?
7. How did the building of the railways help Christmas cards?
8. How was the Christmas tree introduced to Britain?
9. What was the first Christmas crackers made up of?

2. Imagine you are a child living in Manchester in 1880. Your father works in a bank and you have just moved to a new house. Write a diary extract from Christmas Day. Remember to think about:

1. What class your family are
2. What food you would be eating
3. What you would be getting for Christmas
4. What else would be happening
5. Has anything changed over the recent years as to how Christmas is celebrated?