This Jane Austen blog brings Jane Austen, her novels, and the Regency Period alive through food, dress, social customs, and other 19th C. historical details related to this topic.
Inquiring readers, Today is one of celebration for those of us who honor Christ’s birth. This is a year of challenge for so many in our communities whose jobs and families have been affected by COVID-19. Inspired by the Georgians in times past, I do what I can in my community and for those in need. Austen describes this community/family/friend caring so well in her novels, a theme that Rachel Dodge covered in a recent post , and Brenda Cox in a post entitled “Thankfulness in Jane Austen’s Novels.”
Charity and the sharing of bounty with the less fortunate was an appropriately pious response to the season.” — Hilary Davidson
One book I purchased this year was written by Hilary Davidson entitled Dress in the Age of Jane Austen: Regency Fashion. Yale Books offers a blog post with information from this book entitled “A Jane Austen Christmas.” Enjoy!
Inquiring readers, I first read Pride and Prejudice when I was fourteen years old. The novel was a Christmas gift from my parents. One of the first Christmas songs this Dutch girl learned in English was “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” a song that was popularized in an arrangement by Frederic Austin in 1909. We all know the tune, but do we know the words as Jane Austen wrote them? After singing the song, please stay to answer a few questions.–Enjoy & Merry Christmas! Vic
[Verse 1]
On the first day of Christmas, Jane Austen sent to me A HERO named Mister Darcy
[Verse 2]
On the second day of Christmas, Jane Austen sent to me Two wise Bennet girls, and A HERO named Mister Darcy
[Verse 3]
On the third day of Christmas, Jane Austen sent to me Three various suitors, Two wise Bennet girls, and A HERO named Mister Darcy
[Verse 4]
On the fourth day of Christmas, Jane Austen sent to me Four Bingley dances, Three various suitors, Two wise Bennet girls, and A HERO named Mister Darcy
[Verse 5]
On the fifth day of Christmas, Jane Austen sent to me FIVE S.I.N.G.L.E GIRLS!
Four Bingley dances, Three various suitors, Two wise Bennet girls, and A HERO named Mister Darcy!
[Verse 6]
On the sixth day of Christmas, Jane Austen sent to me Six accomplished women FIVE S.I.N.G.L.E GIRLS!
Four Bingley dances, Three various suitors, Two wise Bennet girls, and A HERO named Mister Darcy!
[Verse 7]
On the seventh day of Christmas, Jane Austen sent to me Seven days at Hunsford Six accomplished women FIVE S.I.N.G.L.E GIRLS!
Four Bingley dances, Three various suitors, Two wise Bennet girls, and A HERO named Mister Darcy!
[Verse 8]
On the eighth day of Christmas, Jane Austen sent to me Eight charms of Wickham Seven days at Hunsford Six accomplished women FIVE S.I.N.G.L.E GIRLS!
Four Bingley dances, Three various suitors, Two wise Bennet girls, and A HERO named Mister Darcy!
[Verse 9]
On the ninth day of Christmas, Jane Austen sent to me Nine ladies dancing Eight charms of Wickham Seven days at Hunsford Six accomplished women FIVE S.I.N.G.L.E GIRLS!
Four Bingley dances, Three various suitors, Two wise Bennet girls, and A HERO named Mister Darcy!
[Verse 10]
On the tenth day of Christmas, Jane Austen sent to me Lydia eloping Nine ladies dancing Eight charms of Wickham Seven days at Hunsford Six accomplished women FIVE S.I.N.G.L.E GIRLS!
Four Bingley dances, Three various suitors, Two wise Bennet girls, and A HERO named Mister Darcy!
[Verse 11]
On the eleventh day of Christmas, Jane Austen sent to me Lizzy’s eyes a’ opening Lydia eloping Nine ladies dancing Eight charms of Wickham Seven days at Hunsford Six accomplished women FIVE S.I.N.G.L.E GIRLS!
Four Bingley dances, Three various suitors, Two wise Bennet girls, and A HERO named Mister Darcy!
[Verse 12]
On the twelfth day of Christmas, Jane Austen sent to me L C’s condescensions Lizzy’s eyes a’ opening Lydia eloping Nine ladies dancing Eight charms of Wickham Seven days at Hunsford Six accomplished women FIVE S.I.N.G.L.E GIRLS!
Four Bingley dances, Three various suitors, Two wise Bennet girls, and A HERO named Mister Darcy!
________________
Now, Gentle Readers, I shall pose a few questions. How do you respond to Pride and Prejudice? How are you disposed towards a few characters? (Your opinions are most welcome.) As you can see, I favor the 1995 Firth/Ehle film version of P&P! So, don’t be shy in sharing your thoughts.
L C’s condescension: In your estimation, what is the most memorable Lady Catherine de Bourgh’s condescending statement?
Lizzy’s eyes a’ opening: What events changed Elizabeth’s attitude towards Mr. Darcy? Which one stands out in your mind?
Lydia eloping: How old was Lydia when she ran off with Mr. Wickham? What, in her naivete, did she hope her life would have been like with him, away from her family?
Nine ladies dancing: Think of the ladies Austen mentioned in Pride and Prejudice. Which women would have most likely danced at the Netherfield Ball?
Eight charms of Wickham: Can you name Mr. Wickham’s charms, be they true or false, as Austen described them?
Seven days at Hunsford: How did Lizzy spend her days at Hunsford? What memorable scenes occurred during this time?
Six accomplished women: Who first mentioned six accomplished women? How did the conversation come up and where?
Please name all the five single girls and their primary characteristic (in your opinion).
Four Bingley dances: This phrase refers to an event at the beginning of the novel.
Three various suitors: Name all the suitors you can think of in the novel. Who had three? Who are they?
Two wise Bennet girls: Who are they? How would you personally describe them?
A HERO named Mister Darcy! Why are we so mesmerized by Austen’s most memorable hero? What are the characteristics that make him stand out to you?
After this C.E. Brock composite image of Pride and Prejudice, I’ve added my own observations to a few of the questions. Thank you for participating. May you have a lovely holiday season. Please love and take care of each other in your family, your neighbors, and your community.
“I wish you a cheerful and at times even a Merry Christmas.” — Jane Austen
While Christmas festivities were not as commercial as they were during Queen Victoria’s and our time, families in Jane Austen’s era celebrated the holiday with much merriment, many gatherings and parties, and some gift giving. Houses were decorated with evergreens and kissing boughs made of holly, ivy, and mistletoe, although these greens were not brought in until Christmas Eve. On the same night, a large yule log was ceremoniously brought into the house, with the hope that it would last for the rest of the holiday season.
Celebrations lasted from December 6th, St. Nicholas Day, when presents were given, to January 6th , Twelfth Night. On December 25th people attended church service, then ate Christmas dinner. December 26th was known as Boxing Day, when staff and servants were given Christmas boxes and that day off by their benefactors.
The season ended the night of January 5th , the last day of Christmastide, with a Twelfth Night party filled with games and more partying. The revelers ate traditional foods, such as a slice of the elaborately decorated Twelfth Cake, that was topped with enough sugar, sugar figures, and sugar piping to cause a diabetic coma in a horse. (I might have exaggerated slightly.) After the revelers finished partying, superstition dictated that all decorations in the house be taken down and burned, else bad luck would befall the household for the year.
Certain foods marked the season.
“Just at this time these shops are filled with large plum-cakes, which are crusted over with sugar, and ornamented in every possible way. These are for the festival of the kings, it being part of an Englishman’s religion to eat plum-cake on this day, and to have pies at Christmas made of meat and plums.” – p. 63, Mr. Rowlandson’s England, text written by English poet Robert Southey as a fictitious Spanish tourist visiting England.
In “A Miscellany of Christmas Pies, Puddings and Cakes,” Joanne Major describes the typical foods that were served: Christmas pudding, which started out as plum porridge or pottage (and is also known as plum or figgy pudding); sweet and savory mince pies; Christmas cake; and a savory Yorkshire Christmas-Pie. She includes the following quote in her article:
Stamford Mercury, 15th January 1808
At Earl Grosvenor’s second dinner at Chester, as Mayor of that city, on Friday the 1st instant there was a large Christmas pie, which contained three geese, three turkies, seven hares, twelve partridges, a ham, and a leg of veal: the whole, when baked, weighed 154 lbs.!
The following description confirms Robert Southey’s observation that there was no food or protein an Englishman wouldn’t eat, including animals and seafood from all parts of the world—turtles from the West Indies, curry powder from India, hams from Portugal, reindeer’s tongues from Lapland, caviar from Russia; sausages, maccaroni, and oil from Italy, which also provided olives along with France and Spain; cheeses from Switzerland; fish from Scotland; mutton from Wales; and game from France, Norway, or Russia (p 60, Mr. Rowlandson’s England). In his observations, Southey remarked that an Englishman would hunt and shoot anything that could be stuck in a pot.
Gout, a prevalent disease of the well-to-do Georgian, was the painful result of an excessive and repeated ingestion of large quantities of protein and alcohol. The large gout-inducing Christmas pie described by Earl Grosvenor was most likely a version of the Yorkshire Christmas-Pie described by Hannah Glasse in her influential cookery book, The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy.
To Make a Yorkshire Christmas-Pie
“FIRST make a good standing crust, let the wall and bottom be very thick; bone a turkey, a goose, a fowl, a partridge, and a pigeon, Season them all very well, take half an ounce of mace, half an ounce of nutmegs, a quarter of an ounce of cloves, and half an ounce of black-pepper, all beat fine together, two large spoonfuls of salt, and then mix them together. Open the fowls all down the back, and bone them; first the pigeon, then the partridge; cover them; then the fowls then the goose, and then the turkey, which must be large; season them all well first, and lay them in the crust, so as it, will look only like a whole turkey; then have a hare ready cased, and wiped with a clean cloth. Cut it to pieces, that is, joint it; season it, and lay it as close as you can on one side; on the other side woodcocks, moor game, and what sort of wild-fowl you can get. Season them well, and lay them close; put at least four pounds of butter into the pie, then lay on your lid, which must be a very thick one, and let it be well baked. It must have a very hot oven, and will bake at least four hours. This crust will take a bushel of flour. In this chapter you will see how to make it. These pies are often sent to London in a box, as presents; therefore, the walls must be well built.”
A post entitled “Yorkshire Christmas Pye” in Epicurus describes how tough it was in 2014 to recreate an 18th Century pie. Back then, teams of cooks would work for days to accomplish the feat. According to the chef and author, not even modern appliances could compete with those bygone techniques. The modern pie, from assembly (8 ½ hrs), to baking (4 hrs), to its presentation at the table, took 12 ½ hours in total.
Screenshot of the Epicurus blog page. Photos of the exterior and interior of the Pye made by Ivan Day, whose scrumptuous recreation of Georgian recipes are works of art: Food History Jottings
The Master Chef modified Glasse’s recipe and used the boned meat of the following animals: turkey, goose, partridge, pheasant, woodcock, grouse, and hare. With the added lard in the crust and butter in the filling, I imagine the diner would probably have lacked the energy to push off from the table.
So, inquiring reader, if you are interested in recreating this English pye recipe for Christmas, I encourage you to start dieting on water and vegetables, and exercising on the hour every waking hour to make room for this artery clogging, but very tasty specialty!
“Thank you for the Christmas Cake” was written as a poem by Helen Maria Williams (Read by Tom O’Bedlam)
Patient readers: I apologize for the messy look of the resources list sitting below. The new WordPress “blocks” are wreaking havoc with my ability to publish material on this blog nicely. Obviously I have not learned this “improved” design adequately. I spend more hours fixing problems than writing the article. I assure you, neither Rachel nor Brenda are having this problem. I’ll get the hang of things soon…(I hope.) My comment is this: what was wrong with the old design and, why, if one chooses the classic mode do the blocks keep jumping to the new mode? I’m irked. This is irksome!
Resources:
“A Miscellany of Christmas Pies, Puddings, and Cakes,” Joanne Major, December 11, 2014. All Things Georgian: Super Sleuths who blog about anything and everything to do with the Georgian Era. This post is filled with informative quotes!
Some Georgian Christmas Fare!,” December 16, 2011, Julie Day, Countryhousereader Blog. Great information on Christmas food served at an English country house. Includes information from Bills of Fare for Christmas feasting, 1805 and the suggested meal courses.
Christmas: Georgian Style! From Norfolk Tales, Myths & More! This rich source and fascinating blog provides detailed information on a Georgian Christmas in this post.
Twelfth Night Cake, British Food and History, January 5, 2019. Detailed account of recipes used on that final Christmastide night.
The Englishman’s Plum Pudding, History Today, Maggie Black, Volume 31, Issue 12, December 1981. Includes a history of the British Christmas pudding.
Mr. Rowlandson’s England, text from Robert Southey, Illustrations by Thomas Rowlandson. Southey, Robert, ISBN 10: 0907462774, Published by Antique Collectors Club Ltd, 1985. I loved this book so much (I read it online at the Internet Archive) that I ordered my own copy.
Jane Austen’s Christmas Day at Godmersham Park, her brother’s estate in the English countryside of Kent, was a merry one. As described by Claire Tomalin in Jane Austen: A Life , “Christmas was celebrated with carols, card games, blindman’s bluff, battledore, bullet pudding and dancing.”
Austen herself described the gaiety and revelry of Christmas in Persuasion, Chapter 14:
On one side was a table occupied by some chattering girls, cutting up silk and gold paper; and on the other were trestles 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 the noise of the others.”
The games mentioned by Tomalin in her excellent biography of Austen included Hunt the Slipper, which, when played by children, would be fun and boisterous, and when played by adults at a country house gathering could have a naughty connotation, as in the 1802 image in the Hunt the Slipper: A Story, (Peabody Essex Museum).
Hunt the Slipper game directions. (Hunt the Slipper, The American Folk Song Collection, Kodaly Center, Holy Names University.
Francesco Bartolozzi, 1787, Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts (GMII): Image in the public domain. Wikimedia
Hunt the Slipper reminds me of musical chairs, only the slipper is passed secretly to the players until the song ends. This simple but fun song/game is still played today. You can view the “Hunt the Slipper” image by Kate Greenaway, who lived in the last half of the 19th century, then read the 2008 description of the game in The Guardian at this link: click here. The rules over the centuries are remarkably similar.
In her book, Claire Tomalin mentioned a second song and game that the Austen family (and other families of the era) played called “Oranges and Lemons.” References to this traditional song and nursery rhyme appeared as early as the 17th century.
The first published record of Oranges and Lemons dates back to 1744 in Tommy Thumb’s Pretty Song Book, although it’s fair to assume it had been in circulation for some time before then. There is a reference to a square dance with the same name in a 1665 publication…– What is London’s Oranges and Lemons rhyme all about? by Benjamin Till, People Features, London, BBC Home, 13 November, 2014
Till discusses the many meanings of this song. In short, London’s churches, which are located in distinct districts within the city, are identified with certain trades.
References to “pancakes and fritters”, “kettles and pans” and “brick bats and tiles” tell us of bakers, coppersmiths and builders in areas around St Peter Upon Cornhill, St Anne’s and St Giles, Cripplegate respectively.” — Till, BBC Home
A version of the song can be heard on YouTube.
Many versions of this song exist, which makes one wonder which lyrics Jane Austen and her family sang. This is one version:
“Oranges and Lemons”
Two Sticks and Apple,
Ring ye Bells at Whitechapple,
Old Father Bald Pate,
Ring ye Bells Aldgate,
Maids in White Aprons,
Ring ye Bells a St. Catherines,
Oranges and Lemmons,
Ring ye bells at St. Clemens,
When will you pay me,
Ring ye Bells at ye Old Bailey,
When I am Rich,
Ring ye Bells at Fleetditch,
When will that be,
Ring ye Bells at Stepney,
When I am Old,
Ring ye Bells at Pauls
Here is another version, date unknown by me:
Gay go up and gay go down,
To ring the bells of London town.
Oranges and lemons,
Say the bells of St. Clements.
Bull’s eyes and targets,
Say the bells of St. Margret’s.
Brickbats and tiles,
Say the bells of St. Giles’.
Halfpence and farthings,
Say the bells of St. Martin’s.
Pancakes and fritters,
Say the bells of St. Peter’s.
Two sticks and an apple,
Say the bells of Whitechapel.
Pokers and tongs,
Say the bells of St. John’s.
Kettles and pans,
Say the bells of St. Ann’s.
Old Father Baldpate,
Say the slow bells of Aldgate.
You owe me ten shillings,
Say the bells of St. Helen’s.
When will you pay me?
Say the bells of Old Bailey.
When I grow rich,
Say the bells of Shoreditch.
Pray when will that be?
Say the bells of Stepney.
I do not know,
Says the great bell of Bow.
Here comes a candle to light you to bed,
Here comes a chopper to chop off your head.
Chop chop chop chop
The last man’s dead!
This YouTube video of Oranges and Lemons from Gresham College performs the earliest known version of the song by Catherine King. The illustration of the dance for “Oranges and Lemons,” which is copyright free, is by Agnes Rose Bouvier (1842 – 1892).
One can imagine how much fun Aunts Jane and Cassandra must have had singing these popular songs while dancing and playing the games during the Christmas season with their nieces and nephews and the family in general.
As I end this post, Christmas day has nearly come to an end. I wish you all a happy holiday season and New Year’s celebration. May you all find joy, dear readers, in the gifts and love of your family, faith, and friends.
Sources:
Tomalin, Claire, 1999. Jane Austen: A Life. New York, Random House, First Vintage Books Edition.
Once again December has caught me flat footed. It is almost 10 days into the month and I am still researching interesting historical information about Christmas holiday celebrations as Jane Austen would have known them. While many books, articles, bloggers and internet sites cover this topic in detail, I hope to add a few interesting items that might not be widely known. I urge you to read Austenonly’s excellent article, “But Surely Christmas in England Didn’t Exist Until Dickens Invented It? “, which explains how and why this season was suppressed for years by the Puritans in the mid-17th century, when Charles I had been deposed and beheaded, and how our customs managed to survive and flourish.
As many of you know, Christmas celebrations as we know it in modern times (the decorative tree, a German custom, the elaborately wrapped presents, and the many traditional carols we still sing today) are rooted in Victorian times. So how did Jane Austen and her contemporaries celebrate this important Christian holiday? I hope to link to many articles of interest and provide a few insights of my own.
I learned with shock that many of my favorite carols, such as Silent Night and The First Noel, were written after Jane Austen’s death. I chose the following two 17th century carols (which Jane Austen might not have known, but which had been retrieved from obscurity in 1841 by Thomas Wright in Specimens of Old Christmas Carols ) because of the Boar’s Head motif, which has endured to this day. I love the old English spelling in these songs and yet their content speaks to the celebrations we still hold today.
A Carol bringyng in the bores heed.
Caput apm’ dgfero, Reddens laudes Domino.
[From a Collection of Christmas Carols, printed by Wynkyn de Worde, in 1521, from which book it is given by Hearne, in his notes to William of Newbery, iii. p. 17 5.]
The bores heed in hande bring I,
With garlands gay and rosemary;
I praye you all synge merely,
qui estis in convivio.
The bores heed, I understande,
Is the chefe servyce of this lande;
Loke where ever it be fande,
servite cum cantico.
Be gladde, lordes, bothe more and lasse,
For this hath ordeyned owr stewarde,
T o chere you all this Christmasse,
The bores heed with mustarde.
XIX. [The following modernised form of the foregoing carol, is given by Dr. Dibdin, as preserved and used up to a very recent period at Queen’s College, Oxford. Dibdin’s Ames, vol. ii. p. 252.]
For those of us who watched Bridgerton on Netflix, Professor Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina’s BBC 4 Radio discussions on this topic will provide a rich background. The author of Black London has recorded 12 episodes on the topic for BBC 4 radio. Click on this link to view and choose them.
If you’d like the hear one of her talks, here’s a 15-minute discussion on The Invisible Presence.
Jane Austen: Myth, Reality and Global Celebrity–Free Online Course
University of Southampton via Future Learn offers a course described as thus: “Discover the fascinating story of author Jane Austen, from her own life in Hampshire to what she means to a global audience today.”
“My idea of good company…is the company of clever, well-informed people, who have a great deal of conversation.” – Jane Austen, Persuasion
Gentle readers: Please feel free to post your comments and continue the conversation!
Regretfully, due to SPAMMERS, we will no longer accept comments on posts that were published over 30 days ago. In some instances, links will be removed from comments as well.
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Vic Sanborn, founder of this blog, is supported by a team of talented and knowledgeable writers about Jane Austen and the Regency era. They are:
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The Anne of Green Gables Devotional by Rachel Dodge, one of this blog’s writers!
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Hello, my name is Vic and I live in Maryland, USA. I have adored Jane Austen almost all of my life. I am a proud lifetime member of the Jane Austen Society of North America. This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me and my team. We do not accept any form of cash advertising, sponsorship, or paid topic insertions. However, we do accept and keep books and CDs to review.
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nquiring readers, Today is one of celebration for those of us who honor Christ’s birth. This is a year of challenge for so many in our communities whose jobs and families have been affected by COVID-19. Inspired by the Georgians in times past, I do what I can in my community and for those in need. Austen describes this community/family/friend caring so well in her novels, a theme that Rachel Dodge covered in a recent post , and Brenda Cox in a post entitled “Thankfulness in Jane Austen’s Novels.”
[Verse 1]
On the second day of Christmas, Jane Austen sent to me
On the third day of Christmas, Jane Austen sent to me
On the fourth day of Christmas, Jane Austen sent to me
On the fifth day of Christmas, Jane Austen sent to me
On the sixth day of Christmas, Jane Austen sent to me
mas, Jane Austen sent to me
On the eighth day of Christmas, Jane Austen sent to me
On the tenth day of Christmas, Jane Austen sent to me
On the eleventh day of Christmas, Jane Austen sent to me
On the twelfth day of Christmas, Jane Austen sent to me
Once again December has caught me flat footed. It is almost 10 days into the month and I am still researching interesting historical information about Christmas holiday celebrations as Jane Austen would have known them. While many books, articles, bloggers and internet sites cover this topic in detail, I hope to add a few interesting items that might not be widely known. I urge you to read Austenonly’s excellent article, “
