Merry Christmas - 1806

The Christmas Plum Pudding from an old print-Published in the book

Christmas: Its Origin and Associations, by William Francis Dawson 

          As last year at this time we looked at Christmas in 1805, I thought that this year we might look at 1806.  Christmas Day was a Thursday, and it was an unusually warm December.

 Bury and Norwich Post Wednesday December 24, 1806

 The retailers were prepared for the season, and the advertisements were tempting:

Morning Chronicle - Friday 19 December 1806

Stamford Mercury - Friday 19 December 1806

The festivities of the season were well described by the newspapers:

Oxford Journal - Saturday 18 January 1806

Bury and Norwich Post - Wednesday 31 December 1806

from Christmas: Its Origin and Associations, by William Francis Dawson

There were sad occurrences as well, in the Christmas season. It never seems quite right to me that sadness or evil should occur at that joyous time, but life of course goes on with its good and bad events.

Hereford Journal - Wednesday 31 December 1806

Norfolk Chronicle - Saturday 27 December 1806

After Christmas, New Year's loomed large, and this advertisement below offered a lottery 'share' as gift and, as we are still lottery lovers, the emotions it engenders are ones we understand very well.

Morning Advertiser - Monday 29 December 1806

 But parties, then as now, were the main focus of New Year celebrations, and 1806 was no different:

Evening Mail - Friday 03 January 1806

Finally I leave you with a delightful contemporary imagining of a Regency Christmas.

Mrs. Hurst's Christmas by Pauline Baynes  1996  AllPosters.com

If you repost this picture, please keep the credits with it--the artist deserves the recognition.

Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year to you all!

'Til next time,

Lesley-Anne

Source: https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/