CHRISTMAS Archives - AGE OF VICTORIA PODCAST

CHRISTMAS SPECIAL 2024 SANTA CLAUS IS COMING

2024-12-23 age-of-victoria 1:02:45 0 Comments

Get ready for a holly-jolly dive into Christmas history! In this special episode, I unwrap how the Victorians shaped the modern holiday, turning it into a celebration of family, charity, and festive cheer. From Prince Albert’s Christmas trees to the rise of Santa Claus, discover the origins of the traditions we know and love today. Plus, enjoy a classic Victorian ghost story to complete the holiday magic!

Episode Highlights:
🎄 How the industrial revolution made Christmas possible.
📜 The Victorian invention of “ancient traditions” (like Christmas cards).
🎅 The birth of Santa Claus and his merger with Father Christmas.
📚 Victorian holiday pastimes: poems, ghost stories, and more.
👻 A chilling Victorian ghost story to end the episode.

Key Takeaways:

Christmas, as we know it, is a product of Victorian modernization and commercialization.
Cultural evolution transformed Christmas into a global phenomenon of joy, family, and charity.
Traditions like Santa Claus, the Christmas tree, and holiday cards have complex and fascinating histories.

Stay tuned for more historical deep dives in the new year. Thank you for a wonderful season of learning and laughter!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all our listeners! Thank you for your support through a challenging year. We’re excited to bring you even more content in 2025. Cheers to the journey ahead!

CHRISTMAS SPECIAL 2023 “The phantom rickshaw”

2023-12-23 age-of-victoria 1:10:04 1 Comment

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In this year’s festive episode, dive into the enchanting world of Victorian curiosities and captivating storytelling.

First, join me for a mesmerising 10-minute journey through intriguing Victorian trivia, unraveling captivating tales from an era of innovation and eccentricity. From lesser-known facts to enthralling historical anecdotes, this brief exploration sheds light on the unique essence of the Victorian age. Discover the astonishing details behind events like the Sonning cutting railway disaster, providing a glimpse into the quirks and tragedies of the time.

Following this insightful introduction, the episode unfolds into a spellbinding narrative as I take listeners on a literary adventure. Prepare to be transported to the ethereal realm of Rudyard Kipling’s “The Phantom Rickshaw.” Through my evocative reading, experience the haunting and gripping tale set against the backdrop of colonial India, where love, tragedy, and the supernatural intertwine in a captivating narrative.

I invite you to immerse yourself in the essence of the Victorian era, uncovering its mysteries and indulging in the timeless allure of storytelling.

Join me for a delightful holiday treat as to celebrate the spirit of Christmas in the grandeur of Victorian storytelling, painting vivid landscapes and evoking emotions that transcend time.

If you want to get in touch, I’d love to hear from you. You can email me at ageofvictoriapodcast@gmail.com, follow me on twitter @ageofvictoria, visit the website at www.ageofvictoriapodcast.com. The show also has a facebook page and group. Just search for Age of Victoria. Don’t forget to leave a review on Apple Podcasts, it takes less time than making a coffee. You can also subscribe for free on most major podcast apps. To support the show on Patreon, either CLICK HERE or you can go to Patreon and search for Age of Victoria podcast or my name. Take care and bye for now.

CHRISTMAS SPECIAL 2022 – WHAT TO WATCH

2022-12-24 age-of-victoria 00:58:33 0 Comments

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Christmas is here, so we really need to watch Charles Dickens “A Christmas Carol” but how to choose the best version? Sentimental? Accurate? Musical? This episode has got you covered;

Intro, thank you’s and reviews.
A little reminder of the essentials
Honourable mentions
Pick a film, any film
A traditional ghost story.

CHRISTMAS SPECIAL 2021 – TICKLING THE CHRISTMAS IVORY

2021-12-22 age-of-victoria 00:57:56 0 Comments

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What could be more of a traditional Victorian Christmas than carols by candlelight with an orchestra, piano and harp? Quite a bit actually. Victorian piano’s were a late addition and the carols were a really new thing. Find out how carols and piano’s go together like new age German synth and wannabe edgy 20 somethings.

This episode covers.

Intro & reviews.
The Victorian carols hitlist.
Good King thingy and the famous Reverend Doctor Neale.
Queen Victoria’s rather gaudy piano.
The Victorian piano market.
A quick note about the class system.
Industrialisation & piano’s.
So what should I use for a Victorian Carol Concert?
A nice little story.

Golden C18th Style Grand Piano, made by French firm S & P Erard, it was gilded and painted by the miniature painter François Théodore Rochard.

If you want to get in touch, I’d love to hear from you. You can email me at ageofvictoriapodcast@gmail.com, follow me on twitter @ageofvictoria, visit the website at www.ageofvictoriapodcast.com. The show also has a facebook page and group. Just search for Age of Victoria. Don’t forget to leave a review on Apple Podcasts, it takes less time than making a coffee. You can also subscribe for free on most major podcast apps. To support the show on Patreon, either CLICK HERE you can go to Patreon and search for Age of Victoria podcast or my name. Take care and bye for now.

MRS BEETON’S EXCELLENT MINCE PIES

2021-01-15 age-of-victoria 0 Comments

MRS BEETONS EXCELLENT MINCE PIES

The upmarket version of Mrs Beetons classic

Print Recipe

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 30

Course Dessert

Cuisine Victorian British

Equipment

Mixing bowl
wooden spoon
muffin tin
knife
table spoon
rolling pin
Chopping
Sauce pan
chopping board

Ingredients

3 Large lemons
3 Large apples
1 lb Stoned raisins
1 lb Currents
1 lb Suet
2 lbs Moist sugar
1 oz Sliced candied citron
1 oz Sliced candied orange peel
1 oz Sliced candied lemon peel
1 teacup Brandy
2 tbsp Orange marmalade
Butter (soft) for baking

Instructions

Grate the lemons, set rind aside. Then squeeze the juice into bowl.
Boil the lemons in water in the saucepan till soft and then chop them finely.
Skin and core the apples. Bake until soft then chop them finely.
Mix lemon choppings and apples
Now add all the ingredients to the bowl, and mix thoroughly.
Store in a clean jar in the fridge for 1 week till ready to bake.
Get your pastry (either home made or shop bought), and roll to desired thickness (suggested 4 cm)
Grease the muffin trays with butter
Cut the pastry into circles and add to muffin tray
⅓ or ¾ fill subject to your taste. Put light pastry lid on top.
Bake in oven for 20 mins (or till golden). Sprinkle with ice sugar if desired.

Notes

Keyword Christmas, Mince Pies, Traditional, Victorian

AOV CHRISTMAS SPECIAL 2020

2020-12-24 age-of-victoria 01:06:22 0 Comments

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Merry Christmas everyone. What a year, so lets round it off in comfort. This special episode features.

Thank you’s.
Quick chat about Victorian Christmas Cards
Introducing Mrs Beeton, and the standardisation of recipes.
Why running a household really was difficult.
A valet or a butler?
Hints of gender conflicts and the danger of left over Turkey.
Order above all – Spit Spot.
Mince pies, and extraordinary mince pies
What would the neighbours say?
The birth of sweets
Dying for a humbug
Pass the arsenic.
A Christmas Ghost story.

You can find the full mince pie recipe here

Thanks for your listening. I hope you enjoy. If you want to get in touch, I’d love to hear from you. You can email me at ageofvictoriapodcast@gmail.com, follow me on twitter @ageofvictoria, visit the website at www.ageofvictoriapodcast.com. The show also has a facebook page and group. Just search for Age of Victoria. Don’t forget to leave a review on iTunes, it takes less time than making a coffee. If you want to support the show on patreon, just click here, or you can go to Patreon and search for age of victoria podcast or my name.

MRS BEETONS ORDINARY MINCE PIES

2020-12-24 age-of-victoria 3 Comments

Mrs Beetons ordinary mince pies

The classic recipe from Mrs Beetons original Household Management

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 30

Course Dessert

Cuisine Victorian British

Equipment

bowl
wooden spoon
muffin tin
rolling pin
knife
table spoon
chopping board

Ingredients

2 lbs raisins
3 lbs currants
1 ½ lbs lean beef
2 oz citron
2 oz candied lemon peel
2 oz candied orange peel
rind of 2 lemons
juice of 1 lemon
½ pint brandy
1 nutmeg
Puff pastry (shop bought or home made), or filo pastry or sweet crust pastry.
Butter
icing sugar to decorate
suet

Instructions

Stone and cut the raisins once or twice across, but do not chop them; wash, dry, and pick the currants free from stalks and grit. Set aside
mince the beef and suet, taking care that the latter is chopped very fine. Set aside.
slice the citron and candied peel
grate the nutmeg
pare, core, and mince the apples
mince the lemon-peel, strain the juice
when all the ingredients are thus prepared, mix them well together, adding the brandy when the other things are well blended
press the whole into a jar, carefully exclude the air, and the mincemeat will be ready for use in a fortnight. (I'd recommend that you store it in a refrigerator for no more than 5 days as it has meat in it, or you properly seal it in a sterilised preserve jar).
Roll out the pastry to desired thickeness, allowign for it to expand during cooking.
Cut circles from the pastry.
Grease the muffin trays, then insert the circles, being sure to make sure the sides come to the top of the muffin holes.
Find willing street urchin to fill the muffin holes with your mince meat. Have them stoke the coals of the oven.
Put a layer of pastry on top of the mince pies.
Place in the oven and have the urchin watch them to ensure they are not over cooked.
After 30 mins remove from the oven and show them to the urchin.
Cool and serve with sprinkled icing sugar.

Notes

The key to Mrs Beetons ordinary mince pies is the home made mince meat including the beef. You can get fresh beef suet at the butchers, or shop bought pre-packed. She would have made her own pastry of course, and cook would doubtless siphon off a little more brandy than was strictly needed. What sets this recipe apart from modern mince pies is the use of beef.

Be careful with the storage as this recipe contains raw meat; you probably want to be a bit more careful with it than the Victorians were!

If you marinate it over night in the fridge and cook the next day then it is fine. If you want it to last longer, keep in fridge overnight. The next day sterilise one or two air tight preserving jars. Preheat the oven to 110°C. Wash the jars and lids well in hot clean water and place on a baking tray (do not put any plastic or rubber seals in the oven). Put the jars and lids in the hot oven for 10 minutes. After leaving the jars to cool, divide the mincemeat between the jars, seal and label. You can store the mincemeat in a sterilised jar in the fridge for up to two weeks.

Or try her Extraordinary Mince Pies that don't contain meat.

Keyword Christmas, Mince Pies, Traditional, Victorian

CHRISTMAS SPECIAL 2019

2019-12-24 age-of-victoria 01:13:27 0 Comments

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Victorian Christmas Time! Mistletoe and Wine; listening to Podcast time.

This is a special episode for Christmas 2019. Learn about the hustle & bustle of the Victorian Christmas, with a focus on the games and entertainments. Find out how much effort people went to, then enjoy the bonus story on a special subject.

This show has

Victorian celebrations.
The postal service.
Games.
Music & the penny gaff.
Pretending to be respectable.
A big bonus.

Follow the show on Facebook on our Facebook Page or in the Facebook group for Victorian trivia or the latest news.

You can listen on iTunes and subscribe for free to get all the latest episodes, or even leave me a review. The show is also on Spotify, Stitcher, Podbean and you can also listen via the website at ageofvictoriapodcast.com. Don’t forget to tell your friends.

Support the show on Patreon, and get an exclusive patrons only episodes plus other goodies.

AOV CHRISTMAS SPECIAL 2018 “Of traditions and ghosts”

2018-12-25 age-of-victoria 01:38:55 0 Comments

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Merry Christmas, join your host Chris Fernandez-Packham in learning about Victorian Traditions of the Earthly and Ghostly kind. Let me take you on a trip through history, busting myths about Christmas Trees, explaining how traditions came to be, some great events at Christmas, and of course a fireside story…..if you are brave enough.

Love to hear from you either at ageofvictoriapodcast@gmail.com or via Twitter @ageofvictoria, or on the Age of Victoria Facebook group. Subscribe for free on iTunes. Don’t forget to leave a review on iTunes and tell your friends to tune in.

You can listen on iTunes, via the website, or on Google, or your favourite podcast app.

Tag: CHRISTMAS

MRS BEETONS EXCELLENT MINCE PIES

Equipment

Ingredients

Instructions

Notes

Mrs Beetons ordinary mince pies

Equipment

Ingredients

Instructions

Notes