I sent my Christmas cards today, so I thought it would be a good day to reflect on weird Victorian Christmas cards. I’ve posted several through the years, but this may be one of the best.
The card portrays an embodiment of Christmas, whether it is St. Nicholas, or just the spirit of Christmas personified, holding court amidst animals often associated with Christmas dinner. However, these animals are clothed, and appear unconcerned as they look on. Even the bottles of alcohol appear to be watching the proceedings. One can tell that they are the feasters, and not the feastee of the evening
The Christmas king appears to be knighting a piece of beef kneeling before him. One would assume that this roast is the feature player of the evening’s feast. In a few short hours, each of these creatures will be gluttonously tearing into the honored guest in order to celebrate the baby Jesus. This is the essence of the Victorian Christmas greeting, weird personifications and bizarre situations, framed with the staid greeting “A Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year.”
This crazy juxtaposition of celebration and horror would have been enough to rank it among my favorites of the genre. However, as I looked through the notes on the card, I found a caption that added another layer of fun, like the joke inside a Christmas cracker. The caption read, “Rise, Sir Loin!”
A dad joke, in the middle of a Victorian Christmas. God bless us, every one!
Be safe, be strong!
I love the weird Victorian stuff you post in FB, too. This is my favorite post so far this year 🙂 But I am your Weird Friend ha ha! My cards might be New Year’s cards at the rate I am going…