The Victorians are credited with giving us many of the Christmas traditions we know and love today, but in this episode, I look at some with which the majority of us may be less familiar, including the Christmas Pickle, “festive science,” dangerous parlour games, and the infamous wassail bowl.

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BBC. “History of Christmas.” https://www.bbc.co.uk/victorianchristmas/history.shtml

Bradley, Elizabeth L. “Dickens and Irving: A Tale of Two Christmas Tales.” https://hudsonvalley.org/article/dickens-and-irving-a-tale-of-two-christmas-tales/

Cole, Rupert. “Science and Christmas: a forgotten Victorian romance.” https://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2012/dec/14/science-christmas-victorian-romance

Ellis, Danielle. “A Victorian Christmas: Furmenty and Snapdragon.” https://www.severnbites.com/2016/12/21/a-victorian-christmas-furmenty-and-snapdragon/

Irving, Washington. “The Christmas Dinner.” The Sketch-Book of Geoffrey Crayon. Public Domain eBook.

Johnston, Keith. “11 Odd Victorian Christmas Traditions.” https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/652043/victorian-christmas-traditions

Martisiute, Laura. “10 Strange Christmas Traditions From The Victorian Era.” https://listverse.com/2016/12/23/10-strange-christmas-traditions-from-the-victorian-era/

Pendle, George. “Victorians’ Christmas Parlor Games Will Leave You Burned, Bruised, And Puking.” https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/victorians-christmas-parlor-games-will-leave-you-burned-bruised-and-puking

Vincent, Sarah. “What Is the Christmas Pickle? The History Behind This Unique Tradition.” https://www.rd.com/article/christmas-pickle/

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Also, if you missed my look at Victorian-Era holiday cards last year, you can find it here: https://anchor.fm/marisa-d96/episodes/Seasons-Creepings--A-Brief-Discussion-of-Victorian-Era-Holiday-Cards-e1c4ol9

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