Once a year during this blogging marathon, I delve into the truly bizarre world of Victorian Christmas cards. These early Yuletide greetings capture a very different Christmas spirit (and world view) than the saccharine Hallmark cards we send today.
This year’s card depicts a fine gentleman, probably returning from a Christmas party in his festive top hat and yellow bow tie, startled to see a smiling malevolent snowman in wait for him armed with a snow club. Appropriately the caption says simply, “A Jolly Christmas.”
Trying to discern the message of this tableau, I’ve come up with three possible explanations. First, the man is obviously drunk and seeing things as he returns from his party. He has clearly had a jolly Christmas. Second, the snow mugger was built as a prank by neighborhood children in the much rougher traditions of early Christmas. Third, it is a card intended for murderous snowmen who would clearly see the scene as jolly.
A Victorian Christmas (even a jolly one) was not for the faint of heart!