The invention of the Christmas card was made possible by the invention of the Penny Post in 1840. To modern eyes, the motifs chosen for these cards may be a touch weird or even morbid at times. As these cards were the first of their kind, we see the early experimentation with different scenery and icons which did not survive into the 21st Century.
Victorian Ghosts for Christmas
Why Ghost Stories at Christmas?
by Arlene Young
December 2nd, 1:30pm
$15 | $12 Members
reserve@dalnavertmuseum.ca | Event page
The three spirits that visited Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens’ famous story are not the only Christmas ghosts of the Victorian period. Victorians gathered to tell stories of the supernatural as part of their Christmas traditions. What fostered the Victorian fascination with ghosts and with exchanging ghost stories around the Christmas tree?
The ghosts of this presentation are not all disembodied Christmas spirits, but include memories, customs, and traces of the past—our personal pasts, our cultural pasts, and our historical pasts, all of which fuse to form the traditions that mean Christmas to each of us. Where do all our holiday customs come from? What is the special contribution of Victorian traditions to the way we celebrate and think about Christmas and the Christmas spirit? How did Charles Dickens celebrate Christmas? How did the highly intellectual George Eliot celebrate? And what about cranky Jane and Thomas Carlyle? Join us to explore answers to some and perhaps all of these questions.
Season's Greetings at Dalnavert!
Welcome the season in Victorian holiday fashion with our December events.
All event tickets can be purchased now at our Showpass site: https://www.showpass.com/o/dalnavert-museum-and-visitors-centre/
OR through our website on the event’s page.
If you are a member, check your inbox for you discount code or give us a call.
Call 204-943-2835 to purchase tickets as well or for more info
