WHY IT'S A JOLLY HOLLY-DAY! (From Barry And District News)

WHY IT'S A JOLLY HOLLY-DAY!

IF you travelled back in time two centuries on Christmas Day, you'd hardly recognise the festive season. Because our celebrations today have one vital ingredient our ancestors lacked - Queen Victoria.

The Queen of the British Empire was noted for her lack of humour; yet she invented most of the traditions which make our Christmases so much fun. And what she didn't invent, she stole!

Christmas before Victoria was a wild affair which dated back to pagan times. The fun was presided over by the Lord of Misrule, full of lewd and naughty pranks - and usually strictly for the grown-ups.

Stern Victoria, a family woman through and through, disapproved of this uncontrolled revelry. So she and Prince Albert cooked up a new-style celebration more in keeping with the strict values and morals they wished their society to follow. Out went the boozy Lord of Misrule - but Victoria did borrow some of the best pagan traditions. Greenery, for instance, has been brought into our homes since pagan times. For ancient people, Christmas marked the turning of the year and the hope of spring, and evergreen branches symbolised fertility and the renewal of life.

Victorians adopted them with a vengeance. As well as swags and wreaths, they embraced the idea of Christmas trees with enthusiasm. This was a tradition brought from Albert's homeland of Germany, where trees were once worshipped. When Christianity came along the ancient Germans were still anxious not to offend the tree spirits, and so they brought them into their homes for the celebrations. Candles were added in the 17th century to symbolise the starlit sky on the night of the nativity; before that, they were hung with paper roses and apples to honour Mary. Christmas trees had been popular with British Royal families for a number of years, but Albert brought them to the general population. The tree replaced a more British custom of the Kissing Bough, an enormous garland of greenery which used to be hung in the centre of the main room.

Kissing, of course, was left to the mistletoe by Victorians. But this was a much-watered-down version of the hot old pagan version; ancient people believed it symbolised passion and everlasting love - rather more than the Victorians' chaste peck on the cheek! Victoria always remembered the first Christmas she spent at home with Albert, whom she adored, after their marriage. The young couple spent it at Windsor Castle, where they each had a tree set up in their own rooms, surrounded by gifts "with which each took pleasure in surprising each other." It started another Christmas custom - before this, Christmas presents were unknown in England. By the time Victoria had been on the throne for ten years, the decorated fir was everywhere at the palace. The royal children had one, and so did the ladies in waiting; Victoria wrote a card for each member of the Royal Household to hang on yet another. Victoria, her mother and her husband each had one to themselves, hung with candles, toffees and gingerbread. No baubles, however - they did not come along until 1870 from Bohemia, where they were said to ward off the evil eye.

New fashions in dining made a difference to our Christmas table, too. In the 1850s a trend started for dining a la Russe, with separate dishes brought to the table instead of all the dishes on the table at once.

That left plenty of room for spectacular decorations, with candles, small firs and elegant crystal. And they needed plenty of room. Victoria's family enjoyed a boar's head with an apple between its teeth; rich families at the time had a fat goose while poorer people opted for a capon. Turkeys became popular only towards the end of the Queen's reign - at one time, they were a luxury only the very rich could afford.

The plum pudding we know today also became popular in Victoria's time, replacing an earlier plum porridge which was once served with the meat course. After eating all that lot, the Victorian family needed to relax together, a picture of cosy domesticity which Victoria loved. And one which we still enjoy today!