Happy New Year, All – Good Cheer, Health, and Happiness In 2024

After much celebration, Christmas and New Year’s festivities are over. I dare not weigh myself until I’ve dieted for a week. Wine and spirits are banned for the time being. Decorations will eventually be stashed away as life slowly returns to normal. 

We still celebrate these holidays in similar ways to those held in the past. Lesley-Anne McCleod wrote about the similarity of Christmas and New Year’s celebrations in a 2016 post entitled A Regency New Year–“Begin as you mean to go on:

“New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day in the Regency era in England was celebrated, it seems, very much like Christmas with: Parties and celebrations … particularly among the Royals … gifts … and acts of charity…”

Book Cover of Mrs Hurst Dancing

Dancing:

Today as in Austen’s time we still party and dance the night away. In the book cover image above, Diana Sperling painted a private dance party at home, with the rug rolled up and the furniture pulled aside. One of the ladies plays the pianoforte for the dancers. Some – an older woman/chaperone (?), a young girl wearing a cap, and a young woman without a cap – sit on the sidelines.

Pappy and Mum play chess

While the younger crowd danced exuberantly, one imagines that their elders enjoyed a quieter way to spend the time – near a fire, perhaps, while playing a game, much like Mr Woodhouse and Emma or Mr Knightley might have done.

Dining and Feasting:

Dynes Hall, Family at Dinner

Dinners with  guests and family would be intimate, as in this image (see the bird cage at right?), or enormous, as with the Royals and the very wealthy, like Mr Bingley and Mr Darcy. 

Please Note: images might be copyrighted. If enlarged, these will lose clarity.

Transportation:

Returning from a dinner party at night, 1816

Visiting neighbors or friends in nearby villages at night presented logistics. Roads were unlit and often deeply rutted and muddy after heavy rains or melting snow. The preferred days for traveling coincided with the full moon, which at times was obscured by clouds. Lanterns helped to pave the way, yet the going was still rough, as this Sperling image shows.

The threat of snow was enough to put a spoke in plans. In Austen’s Emma, Mr Woodhouse, having been enticed from his cozy chair in front of his fire to attend the Westons’ dinner, hastened before food service hardly began to hie it back home before the snow accumulated. 

Charity: 

Detail, Group portrait at a drawing room table, Maria Spilsbury

Charity played an important part in Regency England. Ladies from the middle classes and upward gave out baskets containing contents distributed to the poor – including knitted and sewn items, and food. When Mrs Austen, Jane’s mother, received visitors in the small parlor in Steventon Rectory, she would work on her latest project. 

A contemporary news item mention the following:

“Tuesday being New Year’s Day, eight girls, who are clothed and put to school by Lady Mill, dined at Mattisfont-house, the seat of Sir Charles Mill, agreeable to the usual custom. – Hampshire Chronicle, Monday 7, January 1805,” McLeod, A Regency New Year

Austen frequently mentioned charitable work in her novels and letters. She was:

“… concerned with the practical needs of her neighbours: ‘Dame Tilbury’s daughter has lain-in – Shall I give her any of your Baby Cloathes?’ she asks Cassandra, October 1798.” 

and

On Christmas Day she wrote: “Of my charities to the poor since I came home you shall have a faithful account. – I have given a p.r of Worsted Stockgs to Mary Hutchins, Dame Kew, Mary Steevens, & Dame Staples; a shift to Hannah Staples, & a shawl to Betty Dawkins; amounting in all to about half a guinea. – Jane Austen’s Microcosm

Twelfth Night on January 5th marks the end of the Christian holiday season. This and many other Western holiday traditions, many harking back to the 5th century, have stood the test of time. Each generation and country have placed their own mark on how these customs are celebrated.

More on the topic:

• The Regency Calendar, Beatrice Knight
• New Year’s Traditions in Jane Austen’s time, Vic Sanborn
• British New Years Traditions, Random Bits of Fascination
• A Regency Primer on Christmastide and New Year’s, Kristen Koster 

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Holiday Drinks for the Ladies in Austen’s Day

Ah, holiday gatherings! December is an historic month to celebrate good cheer and good will towards family, friends, and neighbors – this means inviting guests for food, drink, music, games, and entertainments. During Austen’s time, the hosts at houses or assemblies traditionally provided refreshments for their guests. Centuries later we still follow these wonderful customs. This post concentrates on popular drinks prepared for the ladies in the Regency era.

The Darking Hundred describes the drinks most popular during this time – Food, Part the Third: What People Drank, Darking Hundred

“Cordials were popular for social occasions—ratafia, orgeat, negus, and punch among others. Ratafia used a base of distilled spirits into which aromatics were infused, often almonds or fruit pits, and the brew was then sweetened. Orgeat was a syrup made with sugar, orange flower water, and almond that was added to distilled spirits. Negus used a base of sherry or port, to which were added hot water, sugar, nutmeg, and lemon; it was considered an appropriate drink for men or women.“

Regency Drinks

According to history, the patronesses of Almack’s served watered down drinks of orgeat and ratafia, since both of these refreshments were deemed acceptable for ladies. The drinks remained syrupy sweet. Men in general arrived at this strictly exclusive event already soused from having drunk hard liquor at their clubs or at home. Syrupy sweet, watered down drinks would not have tempted them.

A Ball at Almack’s Assembly Rooms in London, 1821, Version of illustration from the “Tom and Jerry” book (1821) by George CruikshankWikipedia

“There was a balcony at one end where the small orchestra were seated. Refreshments (such as they were) were deliberately (revoltingly) mediocre: weak lemonade or orgeat or ratafia, dry biscuits and day-old brown bread and butter. – Almack’s – it’s not quite what you think…

In no particular order, the drinks served in public assemblies and at festive gatherings were:

Orgeat

This  light, sweet drink was considered appropriate for debutantes. While orgeat was not mentioned by Jane Austen, it was popular in her time.  Pronounced or-zat, readers of Georgette Heyer novels can easily associate this drink with the watered down refreshments described at Almack’s that were considered too syrupy for male tastes. 

Author Sharon Lathan provides a fascinating insight into the history of orgeat, which was once made with barley. The syrup can be purchased today to satisfy a variety of tastes.

“Orgeat syrup, made with almond extract, sugar, and orange flower water, was (and still is) added as a flavoring to punch, coffee, or cocktails. I wouldn’t want to drink this milky liquid by itself, and a little bit goes a long way (we usually only use 1/4 ounce per cocktail). Some drinks were made like orgeat lemonade. Orgeat lemonade would have been orgeat syrup, lemonade and soda water, and might well have been the sort of drink served at Almack’s. and orgeat (distilled from barley or almonds with orange flower water, considered to be a light refreshing drink), Almack’s Assembly Halls – LLWiki

Orgeat was once made with bitter almonds, which in large quantities contained cyanide. The drink could be lethal. Today’s recipes are made with sweet almonds, which reduce the levels of hydrocyanic acid, and are considered safe, except for individuals with allergies. Wikipedia

The Spruce Eats  offers a modern orgeat recipe. Here’s the link: Orgeat Syrup Recipe

Negus

Negus was an English drink popular in the 18th and 19th centuries. It was an “extremely popular party drink throughout Georgian and early Victorian times.” — The Jane Austen Cookbook, Maggie Black & Deirdre Le Faye)” Click on this link. 

Austen mentioned negus in The Watsons:

“As Tom Musgrave was seen no more, we may suppose his plan to have succeeded, and imagine him mortifying with his barrel of oysters in dreary solitude, or gladly assisting the landlady in her bar to make fresh negus for the happy dancers above.” – The Watsons

Interestingly, during the early Regency era negus and white soup were expected to be served near midnight at balls, such as the one at Netherfield Park. Here’s Martha Lloyd’s recipe for the soup. 

One can imagine the aftermath of the dinner in Emma, when the guests, because of Mr Woodhouse’s panic, quickly departed from the Weston’s party due to a smidgen of fallen snow. Did anyone receive a comforting drink of negus before they hastened into their carriages, I wonder?  Mr Elton perhaps?

Negus still figured prominently in Victorian times. Charles Dickens in  “A Christmas Carol” mentioned old Mr Fezziwig:

“There were more dances, and there were forfeits, and more dances, and there was cake, and there was negus, and there was a great piece of cold roast, and there was a great piece of cold boiled, and there were mince pies and plenty of beer.” –  Negus – vintage cookbook shelf

Over time, negus morphed into a children’s drink . Yet it still contained alcohol!!. No longer fashionable, the beverage had become similar to mulled wine, as this recipe in Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management attests, and it was made with a variety of ingredients. 

“Negus does have striking similarities to mulled wine — with interchangeable main ingredients of red wine/port, nutmeg, sugar, and citrus like lemon juice or orange zest. So, it seems, the most striking and significant difference between the two popular warm sips is the addition of hot water to the negus recipe – A Short History of Negus, the Mulled Wine Beverage of Yesteryear | VinePair

Ratafia

Ratafia was another beverage deemed suitable for ladies.  Its preparation began in December, with the concoction ready to drink in mid-February. Abigail Reynolds writes:

“…along with lemonade, orgeat, and punch, so I assumed it was similarly low in alcoholic content. Silly me! It’s a liqueur made of brandy with fruit, spices, and crushed fruit pits steeped in it for 1-2 months, then filtered and sweetened with large amounts of sugar. The sweetness and fruitiness meant that men didn’t touch the stuff, but if you think about that recipe for a minute, you’ll realize it’s nothing more than slightly diluted flavored brandy. – Austen Variation, Abigail Reynolds, – Ratafia is Not for Sissies  

In her excellent blog, Lesley-Anne McLeod wrote: 

“The Professed Cook” has a section titled Des Ratafiats or Of sweet Drams or Cordials. It includes some ten recipes for different versions of ratafia. They all begin with brandy and they all take thirty to forty days to prepare and infuse. The adventurous cook, it seems, can add almost anything to the brandy. Some of the ingredients listed in “The Professed Cook” include walnuts, quinces, orange-flowers, juniper-berries, lemon-peel, anise seeds and apricots. Plenty of sugar is included and three spices in these receipts in particular–coriander, cinnamon and cloves.” – Lesley-Anne McLeod, Ratafia, The Lady’s Choice 

Ratafia, was either distilled or with an infusion of fruits and spices. The drink had an alcoholic base of Marc brandy and grape juice. A liqueur routinely made in December, could be ready to serve two months later on Valentine’s Day. A recipe for dark brown ratafia suggested that it be stored in an oak barrel for at least two years. — Gin Affair Champagne Punch – Bridgerton Cocktail

At the end of an evening:

In Austen’s day, often after a local assembly ball, a neighbor’s party, or a return from the opera or theatre in town, supper was served quite late. People would gather to eat or drink before returning home in the wee hours of the morning. White soup was served, as well as negus, which was prepared a half hour before guests left for home. 

More on the topic:

• Negus – vintage cookbook shelf

• Negus – Jane Austen articles and blog

• A Short History of Negus, the Mulled Wine Beverage of Yesteryear | VinePair

• Don’t Drink the Water: Orgeat – Random Bits of Fascination

• A Splash of Madeira and Some Cordial Water: Popular Drinks During the Regency Era | Jane Austen’s Worldl

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Robin Redbreast: A Festive British Christmas Symbol

When I hosted a read-along of The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett earlier this fall, we spent time discussing the wonderful personality, character, and symbolism of the robin “who showed the way” to the secret garden. After hearing many intriguing tales that members of the group had heard about robins at Christmas time, I decided to read more for myself. I especially wanted to know why the robin features so often on British Christmas cards, tins, and decorations – especially those that have a more vintage feel.

And, of course, I wanted to know if Robin Redbreast was part of the Christmas season during Jane Austen’s lifetime or if that came about later. What I found was fascinating!

Robins as Symbols of Good Will

If you’ve ever seen a robin, you’ll notice that the friendly brown bird’s breast is more of an orange color than a reddish hue. Apparently, the color orange didn’t originally have a name in the UK. Thus, according to tradition, the robin was named for its “red” breast and it stuck.

Robins in art and literature are always associated with good will and friendliness. They are known to be the gardener’s friend. They are intelligent, happy birds who almost seem as though they are communicating. Robins also symbolize spring, good fortune, new beginnings, and rebirth.

Robins are so generally known as happy, cheerful birds that many field guides even say that the robin’s call sounds like this: “Cheer up! Cheerily! Cheer up! Cheerily!”

Wikipedia Commons, European Robin.

Robins as Guides in Literature

Robins feature throughout British folklore, stories, and classic literature. They are usually bright, friendly, happy, cheerful birds. They are often depicted as clever and intelligent birds.

The robin features in The Secret Garden as Mary Lennox’s first friend in England and the one who shows the way to the door of the mysterious garden and to the key to the locked door:

“You showed me where the key was yesterday,” Mary said. “You ought to show me the door today; but I don’t believe you know!”

The robin flew from his swinging spray of ivy on to the top of the wall and he opened his beak and sang a loud, lovely trill, merely to show off. Nothing in the world is quite as adorably lovely as a robin when he shows off—and they are nearly always doing it.

One of the nice little gusts of wind rushed down the walk, and it was a stronger one than the rest. It was strong enough to wave the branches of the trees, and it was more than strong enough to sway the trailing sprays of untrimmed ivy hanging from the wall. Mary had stepped close to the robin, and suddenly the gust of wind swung aside some loose ivy trails, and more suddenly still she jumped toward it and caught it in her hand. This she did because she had seen something under it—a round knob which had been covered by the leaves hanging over it. It was the knob of a door.

The Secret Garden

The Secret Garden Devotional

In C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, a robin is a guide once again, helping the Pevensies find their way:

They were all still, wondering what to do next, when Lucy said, “Look! There’s a robin, with such a red breast. It’s the first bird I’ve seen here. I say!—I wonder can birds talk in Narnia? It almost looks as if it wanted to say something to us.” Then she turned to the Robin and said, “Please, can you tell us where Tumnus the Faun has been taken to?” As she said this she took a step towards the bird. It at once hopped away but only as far as to the next tree. There it perched and looked at them very hard as if it understood all they had been saying. Almost without noticing that they had done so, the four children went a step or two nearer to it. At this the Robin flew away again to the next tree and once more looked at them very hard. (You couldn’t have found a robin with a redder chest or a brighter eye.)

“Do you know,” said Lucy, “I really believe he means us to follow him.”

“I’ve an idea he does,” said Susan, “what do you think, Peter?”

“Well, we might as well try it,” answered Peter.

The Robin appeared to understand the matter thoroughly. It kept going from tree to tree, always a few yards ahead of them but always so near that they could easily follow it. In this way it led them on . . .

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

In fact, robins are so well known as symbols of goodness, when Edmund asks Peter, “How do we know which side that bird is on? Why shouldn’t it be leading us into a trap?” Peter replies, “That’s a nasty idea. Still—a robin you know. They’re good birds in all the stories I’ve ever read. I’m sure a robin wouldn’t be on the wrong side.“

Robins and December

Robins in the UK (European Robins) don’t migrate; they stay in England year-round. They are territorial birds and they do not often leave their homes or nesting areas. It’s common to see them out and about during the winter because that is when they begin to look for mates. This is another reason robins have become synonymous with December and winter time.

In The Nature Notes of an Edwardian Lady (1905) by Edith Holden, a journal of watercolor paintings of flowers, plants, birds and butterflies, along with poems and anecdotes, the author has a section devoted to each month of the year. For December, she includes this watercolor of several birds, including a robin. She also includes a poem about robins.

Robins and Christianity

Several old English fables and folk tales link the robin to Christianity. There are many versions of the tales told, but there are two that are quite popular. The first one explains that the robin used to be a plain, brown bird with no red breast, but it went to sing to Jesus when he was dying on the cross. The blood from Jesus’ wounds are said to have stained the bird’s breast, thereby giving it a red breast.

In another tale, the robin was present at the birth of Jesus. It was a cold night in Bethlehem, and the story goes that a brown bird came near and fanned the flames of a small fire to help keep the baby Jesus warm. His breast was scorched by the flames and turned red thereafter.

There are other similar old fables and tales that link robins with Christmas in the Christian tradition. Perhaps you’ve heard one. (If so, please share it in the comments.) There have been many stories told and written since that feature the robin or other friendly birds at Christmas.

Photo by Rachel Dodge, 2022

Robins and Victorian Christmas Cards

If you’ve seen Christmas cards and decorations featuring a robin redbreast, it most likely came about during the Victorian era.

During the mid-1800s in England, Christmas cards became popular. People even began to send Christmas greetings by post. At the time, Victorian postmen wore red coats. Tradition has it that these “red breasted robins” went from house to house and from street to street, delivering season’s greetings and well-wishes.

Moses James Nobbs: (Last of the Mail Coach Guards), Watercolour by H E Brown. C 1890. Courtesy of The Postal Museum.

Ever since the days of these red-breasted mail carriers, robins have been featured on Christmas cards. Many vintage Christmas cards from that era even have drawings of a robin with a letter in its mouth. Robins delivering the mail – even sometimes dressed as mail carriers – has been part of traditional Christmas culture ever since!

Victorian Christmas Card, Ebay.

Robins and Jane Austen

Would Jane Austen have sent Christmas cards or been familiar with the robin red-breast at Christmas time? No, she would not. She definitely would not have sent cards at Christmas. However, she may have been familiar with some of the old tales about the robin. And of course, I’m sure she met many robins on her rambles through the country lanes of Hampshire.

Yet again, the Victorians introduced another beloved Christian tradition and symbol that we’ve all come to enjoy and recognize.

If you’re feeling blue this Christmas or winter, try some bird-watching. It’s such fun and you just might hear a friendly, “Cheer up! Cheerily! Cheer up! Cheerily!”

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RACHEL DODGE teaches college English classes, gives talks at libraries, teas, and book clubs, and writes for Jane Austen’s World blog. She is the bestselling author of The Little Women Devotional, The Anne of Green Gables Devotional and Praying with Jane: 31 Days Through the Prayers of Jane Austen. Now Available: The Secret Garden Devotional! You can visit Rachel online at www.RachelDodge.com.

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New Winter Themed Jane Austen Box from Regency Marketplace

As promised, I’m back with a reminder and announcement about Regency Marketplace’s brand-new seasonal Jane Austen Box! I’m delighted to share that the theme of this new box is “Christmas In Highbury”! If you missed my review of the lovely Autumn in Chawton Box I received, you can read about it and see photos HERE.

Christmas in Highbury

This Christmas, be transported to the little hamlet of Highbury in County Surrey. Here we find Emma and her friends and family preparing for a delightful country holiday, and you’re invited! Regency Christmastide for the aristocracy was often celebrated at the families’ country estates, and in Emma, we see her sister Isabella and Knightley’s brother John bring all their children to Hartfield for the occasion, enlivening the quiet household with their fun and noise. Mr. Woodhouse would have them stay forever!

The Perfect Gift

The “Christmas In Highbury” Jane Austen Box will be filled to the brim with a cozy and elegant medley of Emma and Regency-inspired Christmas gifts! A perfect gift box to send or receive this holiday season, it also makes a wonderful hostess gift. December 16th is Jane Austen’s birthday, too, so celebrate in style!

At Christmas every body invites their friends about them, and people think little of even the worst weather.

Jane Austen’s Emma

Place Your Order

The “Christmas In Highbury” Jane Austen Box will be available to reserve from Saturday, October 15th-Tuesday, November 15th, 2022. All boxes will ship out the first week of December! These boxes sell out quickly, so do not delay. Place an order for yourself or as a gift for a friend or relative today.

If you are longing to receive a box for Christmas, send this link to a friend or loved one as a big HINT: https://regencymarketplace.com/collections/jane-austen-box.

Order Here

If you want to take it up a notch, you can subscribe to the Quarterly Jane Austen Box and receive a box every 3 months, or purchase as a One-Time Gift option (non-recurring). Free Shipping in the USA! International Flat Rate Shipping available.

Coupon Code

Many thanks to Regency Marketplace for providing me with a discount code that I can share with all my friends and readers this Christmas ordering season. If you would like to receive a discount, you can use my special COUPON CODE for 10% off the Winter Box! *While Supplies Last.*

Previous Winter-Themed Jane Austen Box

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RACHEL DODGE teaches college English classes, gives talks at libraries, teas, and book clubs, and writes for Jane Austen’s World blog. She is the bestselling author of The Little Women Devotional, The Anne of Green Gables Devotional and Praying with Jane: 31 Days Through the Prayers of Jane Austen. Coming soon: The Secret Garden Devotional! You can visit Rachel online at www.RachelDodge.com.

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Christmas Cartoons of Jane Austen’s England

by Brenda S. Cox

“This is quite the season indeed for friendly meetings. At Christmas every body invites their friends about them, and people think little of even the worst weather.”–Mr. Elton, Emma

I hope you are all enjoying the holidays. In Austen’s novels, Christmas is a time for parties and for family and friend to gather, just like today. It was also a day for attending church (see Emma ch. 16 and Mansfield Park ch. 23), after weeks of Advent when prayers focused on the coming of Christ. For more on the prayers and readings that Austen would have prayed and read for Advent and Christmas, see my post Advent with Jane Austen. You can also find many posts at this site (and others) on Christmas customs in Jane Austen’s England.

I recently gave a presentation on “Satirical Cartoons and Jane Austen’s Church of England” at JASNA’s Annual General Meeting (you can read it in this month’s Persuasions On-Line, or, if you are a JASNA member, you can watch it in the AGM on Demand).  Today I’d like to share a few cartoons about Christmas in Austen’s England. (I didn’t find many; perhaps Christmas was not a popular subject for caricatures.)

Triumphal Procession

Let’s start with this wild one.

The Triumphal Procession of Merry Christmas to Hospitality Hall, Richard Newton, 1794.
© Trustees of the British Museum (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

In an earlier post about the Clerical Alphabet cartoon, I wrote about Richard Newton, a prolific young artist of the time. Newton drew the above cartoon in 1794, satirizing the general gluttony and drunkenness associated with Christmas. In The Triumphal Procession of Merry Christmas to Hospitality Hall, men on a carriage feast on large pieces of meat while behind them a naked man sits on a barrel, probably of wine or another alcoholic beverage.

Academics at Christmas

Christmas Academicks, Playing a Rubber of Whist, Thomas Rowlandson, 1803.
Public domain via the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

University professors have a much more restrained celebration, though still not a devout one. Thomas Rowlandson’s The Christmas Academicks Playing a Rubber of Whist (1803) shows four academics playing cards, while a fifth stands nearby and a servant brings drinks. All are clergymen, probably fellows (professors or tutors) at the University of Oxford or Cambridge, who would be single clergymen. (Jane Austen’s father was a fellow at Oxford until he married.) As in many satirical cartoons of the time, the clergymen are pictured as overweight and self-indulgent. They are gambling and drinking, not in church. 

Farmer Giles’s Establishment, Christmas day, 1800, by William Heath, 1830
Courtesy of The Lewis Walpole Library, Yale University

Farmer Giles: Christmas Through the Years

Some years later, in 1830, William Heath drew a series on Christmas as a political satire. It begins with a delightful version of an 1800 country Christmas, such as the Musgroves or Westons might have enjoyed in Austen’s novels.

Farmer Giles was a symbol of the unsophisticated country farmer. Here he feasts with his joyful family at Christmastime. As we see in Austen’s novels, Christmas was a time for parties and feasts. Greenery decorates the fireplace and the wife is slicing plum pudding. Farmer Giles is apparently prosperous and he becomes more so.

Farmer Giles’s Establishment Christmas 1816 by by William Heath, 1830
Courtesy of The Lewis Walpole Library, Yale University

By 1816, the farmer has done well and moved up into fashionable society. This Christmas he and his wife are playing cards (gambling) while guests dance in the ballroom. However, they look much less happy than in the first print. The children are grown now, and looking on. The farmer’s hand appears to be bandaged for the gout, from overeating and excessive drinking.

Farmer Giles’s Establishment!!! Christmas 1829 by by William Heath, 1830
Courtesy of The Lewis Walpole Library, Yale University

Their financial prosperity doesn’t last, though. The agricultural economy crashed.

In the third plate, Farmer Giles’ Establishment!!! Christmas 1829, the farmer is in a debtors’ cell. He holds a paper saying his children have been sent to the work house. His wife is doing laundry in a tub.

So this series becomes political satire, criticizing the government for its policies which led to an agricultural depression. A very sad Christmas.

The Merry Musgroves

But let’s return to Austen’s happier times. 

The Musgroves and children at Christmas
C.E. Brock, Persuasion, Volume 2, chapter 2

As Austen describes Christmas at the Musgroves, in Persuasion:

On one side was a table, occupied by some chattering girls, cutting up silk and gold paper; and on the other were tressels and trays, bending under the weight of brawn and cold pies, where riotous boys were holding high revel; the whole completed by a roaring Christmas fire, which seemed determined to be heard, in spite of all the noise of the others. . . .

Anne, judging from her own temperament, would have deemed such a domestic hurricane a bad restorative of the nerves, which Louisa’s illness must have so greatly shaken; but Mrs. Musgrove, . . . concluded a short recapitulation of what she had suffered herself, by observing, with a happy glance round the room, that after all she had gone through, nothing was so likely to do her good as a little quiet cheerfulness at home. . .

“I hope I shall remember, in future,” said Lady Russell, as soon as they were reseated in the carriage, “not to call at Uppercross in the Christmas holidays.”

Every body has their taste in noises as well as in other matters . . .

I hope this Christmas is just to your taste! Many blessings to you in the New Year.

Brenda S. Cox writes on Faith, Science, Joy, and Jane Austen. She is currently working on a book entitled Fashionable Goodness: Faith in Jane Austen’s England.

 

For more on satirical cartoons in Jane Austen’s England, see:

Satirical Cartoons and Jane Austen’s Church of England

The Stereotype of the Self-Indulgent Clergyman: Rowlandson’s Parsonage 

The Clerical Alphabet: Problems in Austen’s Church of England 

Keeping Within Compass  Mike Rendell also shows and discusses many other fascinating cartoons from Austen’s era on this blog, but be aware that many are risque. I am indebted to Mike for posting on the Newton Clerical Alphabet cartoon that got me started looking at cartoons and the clergy.

 

For more on Christmas in Austen’s England, see:

Party Like the Musgroves, by Rachel Dodge, to have your own party like the Musgroves did in the passage above!

Christmas Georgian Style 

Archive for Regency Christmas Traditions (various posts on this site)

Christmas Traditions (various posts from various sites)

More Regency Christmas Traditions (and scenes and stories, various posts from Maria Grace’s site) 

Joy to the World: Psalms, Hymns, and Christmas Carols in Austen’s England

Regency Christmas Carols

Handel’s Messiah in Jane Austen’s England 

Advent with Jane Austen: Now, and Not Yet 

Georgian Christmas Pie Recipes

Regency Christmas Songs and Games

A Jane Austen Christmas: Regency Christmas Traditions, book by Maria Grace

Christmas in Jane Austen’s Time

Jane Austen’s Christmas

. . . and much more!

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