Christmas is a holiday going back 2000 years. To paraphrase the Ghost of Christmas Present from the Muppets Christmas Carol (the best adaptation of a Christmas Carol), ‘over 2000 of my brothers have come before me!’ In that time, 2000 years of merry making has intertwined with the branches of history, and today we will be discussing five festive historical moments.
Number one: The Coronation of William the Conqueror.
Certain historical moments are more prevalent and remembered than others – and as esteemed historian Charlie Hayfield quips: “it doesn’t get better than 1066”. As everyone whose graduated primary school knows, William, Duke of Normandy, invaded England over the disputed ascension of Harold Godwinson, with Norman forces crossing the channel, being met by English forces in Hastings, wherein the English were famously defeated and Harold caught an arrow to the eye – immortalised in the Bayeux Tapestry (alongside the cover of the ‘Your Dead to Me’ podcast). The Normans then marched on London, pillaging as they went (typical French), before taking London in December. William the Conqueror became William I with his coronation in Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day – anointed in both English and French. Funnily, when shouts of praise rang from the abbey, guards outside assumed it was an assassination attempt and began burning nearby houses (again, typical French). Thus began the gallicisation of England with the adoption of French as the official language. William would famously go on to commission the Doomsday Book, a widely recognised publication still referenced today. This is one of England’s most pivotal moments, changing the course of its political history – and it was cemented on Christmas Day, 1066.
Number two: The ‘Banning’ of Christmas under Oliver Cromwell.
With the ascension of Charles III, we now tend to think of English Republicanism as in its contemporary setting of the ‘Not My King’ chants. However, anti-monarchist views have been around for ages – and were most notable with the Republican rule of the English Civil War in the 17th century. Oliver Cromwell became Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Wales (1653-59), and brought around Puritan Protestant laws. Whilst it may seem counterproductive for Christianity, Christmas was deemed un-puritan. Laws ensured Christmas not be celebrated in its now traditional festive manner of eating and drinking: shops were forced to remain open; (and) soldiers in London patrolled the streets and arrested any preparing festive feasts and celebrations. Cromwell’s reasoning for ‘banning Christmas’ was that its state in England was not piously Christian, being more aligned to rowdy merry making – the best bit – a ‘great dishonour to God’ as Puritan Philip Stubbs put it. Republican rule of the Parliamentarians ended in 1660 with the ‘Return of the King’ (which will probably be on ITV over the festive season, if heavily butchered in the daytime TV edit), and the religious purity of Christmas was thankfully dropped so that people could merrily celebrate the bleak season by slowly developing liver failure.
Number three: The Dickensian Roots of the Christmas Image.
1843’s ‘A Christmas Carol’ is an undoubtably enduring tale from author Charles Dickens which cemented many festive ideals, popularising: turkey over goose; snow covered scenery; (and) the phrase ‘Merry Christmas’. Many don’t know that this was the first of a series of festive literature Dickens wrote over the decade. Dickens also wrote 1844’s ‘The Chimes’ (a tale about a man converted from depression to joy at Christmas time), 1845’s ‘The Cricket on the Hearth’ (portraying marital problems, revisiting the theme of conversion), 1846’s ‘A Battle of Life’, (a love story selling 23,000 copies on release) and 1848’s ‘The Haunted Man and the Ghost’s Bargain’ (a terrifying account of a cynical scientist haunted by his own doppelganger, selling 18,000 copies on release). Whilst praised by Victorian audiences, many of these festive works aren’t as remembered today. They also became increasingly criticised over the decade – seen as convoluted, underdeveloped, unrealistic plots with dull characters, abandoning traditional tales relatable to Victorian life, bogged down with political messaging. Dickens never wrote another Christmas novel after ‘the Haunted man,’ perhaps put off by critics – or perhaps he saw Christmas as too jovial a time to be expressing dark politicised sentiments. Dickens was always aware of society around him. He was an avid social critic (alongside being a writer), and his views seeped into his works – such as his criticisms of industrialisation in the coke-towns of 1854’s ‘Hard Times’. His festive writings birthed a ‘Carol Philosophy’ based on philanthropy and goodwill at Christmastime (hidden in traditional Christmas scenes for the highly conservative Victorian reader). Dickens himself said what he wanted to do was to ‘strike a sledgehammer blow’ for the poor, uneducated and repressed, imbedding ideals of charity into the Christmas season to do this, demonstrating a profound vision for the Christmas spirit we see today.
Number four: The Christmas Truces of WW1.
The Christmas of 1914 is best described as ‘the Human Miracle’: the defiance of soldiers to follow their orders, choosing to instead smoke, socialise, gift, and play football with the men they were instructed to shoot. It’s a misconception that such truces were confined to 1914. Ceasefires continued across all frontlines each year, irregardless of the threats of court martials. Richard Schirrmann, a German soldier, wrote on Christmas 1915: “When the Christmas bells sounded in the villages… something fantastically unmilitary occurred. German and French troops spontaneously made peace… [exchanging] wine, cognac and cigarettes… Pumpernickel, biscuits and ham… they remained good friends even after Christmas.” Elsewhere, Welsh troops had a 50 a-side ‘free for all’ football match with German troops – which does admittedly sound quite fun. Other scenes were sombre. Ian Colquhoun of the Scots Guards held a Christmas truce so both sides could bury their dead. He was court martialled but let off after political intervention by Raymond Asquith, son of the Prime Minister – not a title of the same calibre under Boris Johnson tenure. These festive moratoriums steadily declined, but regiments still engaged in merry making and fraternisation with the enemy. It’s a cliched yet powerful testament to human goodwill in the gloom of December, reminding us of the bravery of those soldiers – and the pursuit of peace in the festive season.
Number five: The End of the Soviet Union.
Christmas was banned in Soviet Russia. With the ban of religious festivals in 1929, Christmas was axed. Some festive elements were readopted in 1935 for secular New Year celebrations – the Christmas tree, described as a ‘bourgeois German import,’ became a ‘New Year’s Fir Tree.’ Ironically then, Christmas day would be the day on which the Soviet Union collapsed. Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev had been moving towards reform and the sovereignty of Soviet States. On the 21st of December – the day you get a small model of Emperor Palpatine’s throne on this year’s Lego Star Wars advent calendar – eleven of the former Soviet Republics formed a ‘Commonwealth of Independent States’ (not to be confused with the ‘Confederacy of Independent Systems’ from Star Wars), and on Christmas Day itself, Gorbachev announced his resignation as the Soviet Union’s president – basing it on the recent ‘CIS’ establishment. He was succeeded by Boris Yeltsin, who moved to form a new Russian state. That Christmas saw the last time the Soviet Flag flew, as well as the new tri-colour flag of Russia being raised over the Kremlin for the first time.
Over 2000 years of festive scenes, we’ve seen many moments: the political rise of kings, and fall of unions; the banning of Christmas for being overtly religious, and for not being religious enough; (and) the Christmas spirit epitomised in both charity and bravery. The Christmas period has moulded history over the years and will continue to do so for years to come. It’s good to look back – like Scrooge did – with the Ghost of Christmas Past. But at this festive time of year, we should not pledge ourselves solely to reminiscing or learning about the past, but should also strive to live in the moment of Christmas, 2023. For all those in Upper Sixth, this will be our final school year Christmas – and for some the final Christmas before adulthood. In between moments of revision we should strive to make the most out of this festive season, harbour the festive spirit, enjoy the moment and embrace the call of the Ghost of Christmas Present – “Come in! And know me better, man!”
A big thank you to Ed Hall for his contributions to this article.