Ten Ages of Christmas

Some of the celebrations we associate with Christmas today began way before Christianity developed, so that by medieval times traditions of mid-winter feasting were long established. Later the Puritans banned some festivities, but other 'holyday' pleasures still survived. It was not until the reign of Queen Victoria that many of today's customs - such as decorating fir trees - really took off.

Medieval	Elizabethan	Restoration	Georgian and Regency
Early Victorian	Mid Victorian	Late Victorian	Early 20th Century
World War Two	Post-War

Find out more