Visualizing the Victorian Christmas: Evolving Iconography and Symbolism in the Wake of Nineteenth-Century Commercialism

Abstract

This essay traces the enduring aesthetic of the Victorian Christmas back to nineteenth-century England and explores the emergence of the ostensibly “traditional” Christmas celebration. The expansion of commercial opportunities in the nineteenth century gave rise to new symbolism within the celebrations of Christmas in England that had, previously, been primarily influenced by religious observances and imported German traditions. By looking at a range of different sources, including literature, diaries, and advertisements, this essay highlights shifting interpretations of Christmas, especially after the 1830s and towards the end of the nineteenth century, caused and accelerated by rising consumerism. Ultimately, material culture became a crucial component of the English celebration of Christmas, from attractive advertisements in newspapers to the seasonal decoration of shopping centres to the consumption of sumptuous fare, through which the Victorians produced new symbolic and iconographical values for Christmas within the secular domain.