News of The Times Christmas Quiz Victorian Era

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Across
  1. 4. Festive novelties invented by Tom Smith, containing snaps, hats, and little gifts.
  2. 7. Although not guaranteed, it became romantically associated with Victorian Christmas imagery.
  3. 11. Large festive timber burned for good fortune, later becoming a chocolate cake version.
  4. 13. A favourite Victorian Christmas pastime — “winter tales” told by firelight.
  5. 17. Evergreen plant hung in parlours; a kiss beneath it was considered good luck.
  6. 18. A wildly popular Victorian Christmas entertainment featuring slapstick, music, and stock characters.
  7. 20. Author whose Christmas stories shaped Victorian festive sentiment and morality.
Down
  1. 1. System governing workhouses, famously criticised in Dickensian fiction.
  2. 2. Popularised in Britain after Prince Albert introduced the German tradition to the royal family.
  3. 3. Door-to-door singing revived during the Victorian era, often done by children for pennies.
  4. 5. Charitable institutions offering education to poor children, reflecting Victorian reform ideals.
  5. 6. The illumination transforming Victorian streets into atmospheric nightscapes.
  6. 8. A traditional Victorian Christmas dinner centrepiece, often bought with a club savings plan.
  7. 9. Monarch whose long reign defined the era and helped shape Christmas customs.
  8. 10. The hardworking but impoverished clerk in A Christmas Carol.
  9. 12. The day after Christmas when servants and tradespeople received gifts or monetary “boxes.”
  10. 14. Rich boiled dessert made weeks in advance, traditionally stirred while making a wish.
  11. 15. Sharp-leaved evergreen symbol of protection and midwinter celebration.
  12. 16. Postal reform that made sending holiday cards affordable for ordinary people.
  13. 19. Became popular in later Victorian years, replacing goose for many families.