Wishing you a wonderful holiday this season

Laurel Ann and Vic extend to you a safe and happy holiday. We thank you for being our loyal readers and look forward to writing about Jane in the New Year.

This Christmas, Why Not Make Bowl of Hot Smoking Bishop?

At the end of A Christmas Carol, Scrooge offers Bob Crachit a raise and to discuss "his affairs over a bowl of Hot Smoking Bishop."

• Click on this NPR link to learn more about this red spiced wine spiked with port, and for a recipe.

• Click here to see beautiful illustrations from A Christmas Carol

• And here to see an animated Christmas Carol
  

Have a happy, merry day today, and God Bless Us Everyone!

Would Jane Austen Approve of These Gifts ...?

Cruickshank Regency Deck Art: Scroll down to the second selection on this InterCol London site. All the court cards are reproductions of the Classical caricatures by the great artists including Gilray, Heath, Hogarth and others. Originals hang in the Brighton Pavilion permanent exhibition. Reverse image of the Pavilion in the 19th century.

Scents and fragrances from Floris on Jermyn Street.
Fragrances have been sold on Floris' premises on Jermyn Street since the 18th century. Past Floris customers include:

• Mary Shelley, who whilst abroad sent friends clear instructions on where to purchase her favourite combs: Floris.

• Beau Brummell, the dandy of his day in the early 19th century, would discuss his current fragrances at length with Mr.Floris.

New Year's Eve Traditions: Some Old, Some New

What did a New Year’s Eve Celebration look and feel like during the time of Jane Austen? This English Country House site gives you a good idea. You can still celebrate New Year’s Eve at Hunstrete House in Somerset (click on bold words) much as they did in the 18th & 19th Centuries.

One can imagine great logs burning in enormous fireplaces and a fabulous meal consisting of a variety of courses that stretched for hours on end. The evening would then culminate with the ringing in of the New Year and a festive group singing the Robert Burns version of Auld Lange Syne. (Listen to it on this site.)

In England, "If the family prefer to bring in the New Year at home there is such a custom: the members of the household sat themselves round the hearth, and when the hands of the clock approach the hour, the head of the family rises, goes to the front door, opens it wide, and holds it thus until the last stroke of midnight has died away. Having let the Old Year out and the New Year in, he shuts the door quietly and returns to the family circle. " (From this site)

The song, "Auld Lang Syne," is traditionally sung at the stroke of midnight in almost every English-speaking country in the world to bring in the new year. The custom of singing this song on New Years Eve goes back to the British Isles from the 18th century when guests ended a party standing in a circle and singing this song. The custom first was rooted in Scotland, because the lyrics were written in 1788 by Robert Burns, their favorite folk poet of the time. But most musicologists feel that Auld Lang Syne came from a traditional Scottish folk melody. The entire song's message merely means to just forget about the past and look ahead to the new year with hope. (From Study English Today)

More About Auld Lang Syne
The most commonly sung song for English-speakers on New Year's eve, "Auld Lang Syne" is an old Scottish song that was first published by the poet Robert Burns in the 1796 edition of the book, Scots Musical Museum. Burns transcribed it (and made some refinements to the lyrics) after he heard it sung by an old man from the Ayrshire area of Scotland, Burns's homeland," Borgna Brunner .

Boxing Day

The day after Christmas is called Boxing Day in England. December 26th was also known as St. Stephen's Day, after the first Christian martyr. Money was collected in alms-boxes placed in churches during the festive season. This money was then distributed to the poor and needy after Christmas.

Boxing Day was first observed during the Middle Ages. In Jane Austen's time the upper classes presented gifts in boxes to their servants on December 26 for good service the day before and during the previous year. The servants were often given the day off, and if December 26 fell on a Saturday or Sunday, Boxing Day took place on the following Monday. Boxing Day was also a traditional day for fox hunting.

Learn more about Boxing Day on the All About Christmas website.

This Snopes article about Boxing Day and its origins provides a more extensive overview as well: Click here.

To help you understand the Christian Calendar of that era, here is a listing:

Twelfth Night January 5
Epiphany January 6
Plough Monday First Monday after Epiphany
Hilary Term (law courts) Begins in January
Hilary Term (Cambridge) Begins in January
Hilary Term (Oxford) Begins in January
Candlemas February 2
Lady Day (a quarter day) March 25
Easter Term (Oxford)
Easter Term (Cambridge)
Easter In March or April
Easter Term (law courts) Begins after Easter
Ascension 40 days after Easter
Whitsunday (Pentecost) 50 days after Easter
May Day May 1
Midsummer (a quarter day) June 24
Trinity Term (law term) Begins after Whitsunday
Trinity Term (Oxford) Begins in June
Laminas (Loaf Mass) August 1
Michaelmas (a quarter day) September 29
Michaelmas Term Begins in OctoberMichaelmas Term Begins in October
Michaelmas Term Begins in November
All Hallows, All Saints November 1
All Souls November 2
Guy Fawkes Day November 5
Martinmas November 11
Christmas (a quarter day) December 25
Boxing Day Generally, first weekday after Christmas

Click on The Book of Days and then the Calendar of Days to learn more details about these yearly events and how and why they are celebrated.