article by Aileen from Lanark

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What Christmas is like in 1820.

 Christmas in 1820

Back in 1820 in Annie McLeod’s times the men and women would work on Christmas Day so the granny and granddad would look after the children.  The children would get up early in the morning to see what Father Christmas had left them.   If you were poor, you would get apples, oranges or knitted clothes, like hats, scarves, gloves or mitts.   If you were rich, you would get wooden toys like a doll’s house or a rocking horse.  When it was dinner time you would have mince and potatoes and homemade soup or, if you were rich, you would have game e.g. pheasant or rabbit.

Both rich and poor would have a Christmas tree.   They would make their own decorations out of papers, or small wooden decorations, and have a star or an angel, but some of the rich might have a crib. Both the rich and poor would sing carols around the Christmas tree and at your door some of rich might play instruments like the organ, squeeze box or penny whistle. 

If you were upper or middle-class and owned a big house of some kind, you would have at least two maids, one butler and one chauffeur (car driver) and they would work on Christmas day.   However, schools would have two weeks holiday.   At New Year they would have dinner and it would be the same as at Christmas, but nowadays it is all different - we have parties from the beginning of December right through to the first week in January.

Aileen Stewart, Lanark.

Webmaster replies

Thanks for that Aileen.  

I like the way you categorised the different things that happened by social class.

I suppose that there isn't so much of a difference in what happens between the social classes nowadays.

Do you think that the middle class celebrate differently from the poor?

Contact us and let us know.