"Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stocking were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes the Saint Nicholas soon would be there."
At the Smith-McDowell House Museum in Asheville currently there is
a Victorian Christmas exhibition.
The mansion and local history museum is authentically decorated with fresh trees, garlands, ornaments and toys from the Victorian Period. Six rooms are decorated with gold, silver and glassware from the museum permanent collections - they presented the time from 1840 to 1890.
Exhibit features four live Christmas trees beautifully adorned.
This year Victorian Christmas in Smith-McDowell House has the theme
of Clement Moore’s classic “A Visit From Saint Nicholas”.
of Clement Moore’s classic “A Visit From Saint Nicholas”.
Clement Moore (1779-1863) was a writer and American Professor of Oriental and Greek literature. He is most known as the author of Christmas poem
"A Visit from Saint Nicholas Before Christmas".
He composed it in 1822 as a gift for his younger daughters. Later this poem became known as "Twas the Night Before Christmas".
This poem has influenced the way how American people celebrate Christmas. The poem tells about the jolly St.Nick with his round belly, white beard
and flying reindeer...
"A Visit from Saint Nicholas Before Christmas".
He composed it in 1822 as a gift for his younger daughters. Later this poem became known as "Twas the Night Before Christmas".
This poem has influenced the way how American people celebrate Christmas. The poem tells about the jolly St.Nick with his round belly, white beard
and flying reindeer...
On the table in dining room stands an artificial Christmas tree created from feathers. This tree was made in 1880s in Germany from the dyed goose or turkey feathers
Christmas crackers are cardboard tubes wrapped in brightly colored paper and twisted at each end that two people pull for a fun surprise. Christmas crackers are often pulled at the start of the meal, and the paper hats found inside are worn throughout the meal. Also inside each cracker is a "banger," which makes a loud pop when the cracker is pulled.
Blue Scottish cup of kindness -
take a cup of kindness for the days of auld lang syne
take a cup of kindness for the days of auld lang syne
Inside this big cup there is a part of lyric from Auld Lang Syne - the Scottish poem written in 1788 by Robert Burns the national poet of Scotland:
take ye coupe o'kinannesse
take ye coupe o'kinannesse
for auld lang syne
The phrase auld lang syne literally translates to "old long since" which means "days gone by".
This song traditionally is singing on the New Year's Eve around the world
and people singing "let's drink to days gone by" -
an appropriate toast for the New Year
and people singing "let's drink to days gone by" -
an appropriate toast for the New Year
Robert Burns' poem with lines "we'll take a cup of kindness yet" and "we'll take a right good-will draught" quickly became a standard for the Scottish New Year celebration of Hogmanay (the Scots word for the last day of the year)
As Scots immigrated around the world, they took this song with them.
The tradition of sending Christmas cards began in England.
During the Christmas season in England in 1843, Sir Henry Cole decided that he wanted a way to send a holiday greeting to his friends without having to write individual letters. He had 1,000 illustrated cards printed with the words,
"A Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year To You"
with space for some personal words.
The tradition of sending Christmas cards began in England.
During the Christmas season in England in 1843, Sir Henry Cole decided that he wanted a way to send a holiday greeting to his friends without having to write individual letters. He had 1,000 illustrated cards printed with the words,
"A Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year To You"
with space for some personal words.
Christmas pudding is a dense fruit cake often made weeks or even months in advance. This time allows the dried fruit to soak up alcohol that's regularly poured onto the cake in the weeks before it's consumed.
On Christmas, the cake is set alight and then topped with a sauce of brandy butter or rum butter, cream, lemon cream, ice cream, custard, or sweetened béchamel. It is also sometimes sprinkled
with caster or powdered sugar.
Christmas pudding traditionally is served for the Christmas dinner in the UK, Ireland and in the countries where it has been brought by Irish and British immigrants.
Christmas pudding is a dense fruit cake often made weeks or even months in advance. This time allows the dried fruit to soak up alcohol that's regularly poured onto the cake in the weeks before it's consumed.
On Christmas, the cake is set alight and then topped with a sauce of brandy butter or rum butter, cream, lemon cream, ice cream, custard, or sweetened béchamel. It is also sometimes sprinkled
with caster or powdered sugar.
Christmas pudding traditionally is served for the Christmas dinner in the UK, Ireland and in the countries where it has been brought by Irish and British immigrants.
Christmas pudding traditionally is served for the Christmas dinner in the UK, Ireland and in the countries where it has been brought by Irish and British immigrants.
The tradition of decorating a Christmas tree can be traced in Germany and Great Britain. The modern Christmas tree dates from the 17th century from German Lutherans, and first appeared in the United States in Pennsylvania in the 1820s (when many Germans emigrated). Queen Victoria and Prince Albert handed over the German tradition of decorating the tree for Christmas.
At the end of the 19th century, Christmas trees became popular in the USA and were often decorated with both home-made ornaments and those imported from Germany.
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Clement Moore’s Christmas poem - “A Visit From Saint Nicholas”
"And then in a twinkling I heard on the roof
The prancing and Pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head and was turning around,
Down the chimney Saint Nicholas came with a bound."
He was dressed all in her from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.
A bundle of toys he had found on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.
He was chubby and plump, right jolly old elf,
And a laughed when I saw him in spite of myself.
A wink of his eye and a twist of this head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.
He sprang to his sleigh, to team have a whistle
And awe they all flew like the down of the thistle.
But I heard him exclaim ere he drove out of sight,
"Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night!"
