A Georgian House Christmas

Why evergreens? Evergreen plants flourished over winter, making them symbols of continuing life and a promise that vegetation would return in the spring. Holly, ivy and mistletoe had the strongest life symbol as they also bore fruit in winter.

The centre of the Lamont family’s festivities would have been a ‘kissing bough’, very popular in the late 18th century, which they probably hung in the parlour or drawing room. Kissing boughs had a wooden frame which was shaped into a sphere and wrapped with ivy, holly and, most importantly, a bunch of mistletoe. They were adorned with red apples, oranges, spices, ribbons and candles.

Under the bough, the family and their guests would sing carols, play games like hunt the thimble and charades, and exchange many a kiss! We like to imagine the family gathered round the square piano in the drawing room, played by Georgina, and singing carols such as The Holly and the Ivy, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, In Dulci Jubilo, Joy to the World, or Adeste Fideles, all of which are still popular today.

Kissing boughs were gradually replaced by Christmas trees in the latter half of the 19th century. The German custom for trees was popularised by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, when pictures and accounts of the royal trees at Windsor appeared in newspapers and journals from the 1840s.

Fire and light

Bringing fire in the form of a Yule candle or a Yule log into the house was another ancient tradition which the Lamont family most likely observed. Fire was regarded as a substitute for the sun, bringing light into the home and banishing darkness. The Yule candle was also a symbol of Christian belief – Christ as the ‘light of the world’.

The Yule candle was a large ornamental white candle, sometimes decorated with sprigs of holly and other evergreens. The candle would be given as a gift to the family from a close friend and would take pride of place on the dining table. Mr Lamont, with the family beside him, would light it at sunset on Christmas Eve and not extinguish it until dawn on Christmas Day. Burning the candle was believed to confer a blessing on the household. If the candle went out before morning it was an omen of misfortune or death in the coming year!

Yule log burning, dating back to the 8th century, was widely practised in Scotland in Georgian times. Mr Lamont probably went out, with his sons John and Norman, on Christmas Eve to find a hardwood log – oak, willow or birch – for their Yule log. Once home, they would wrap it in hazel twigs and place it in the fireplace. The log would then be ceremonially lit by Mr Lamont using a piece of the previous year’s log. Those sitting round the fire while the log burned would hope to enjoy prosperity and protection over the following year.

The remnants of the candle and log were not thrown away – the Lamonts would keep them in the house to ensure good luck and protection from evil in the year to come.

The Lamont’s festive menu

Food and drink was an essential part of the Lamont family’s celebrations. They attended lavish parties and, naturally, hosted one or two themselves. We would love an invitation! To maintain their reputation as excellent hosts, the food and drink had to be of the highest quality. Their butler would ensure that the finest French wines, claret, port and brandy were served, while for parties the cook would prepare lots of food in advance, including soups such as powsowdie (sheepheid broth), Scotch broth or St Cuthbert’s (creamy chicken soup), as well as a variety of cold dishes, cheeses and sweet confections.

How would you like to try plum porridge? Walter Scott mentioned this popular dish in his poem ‘Old Christmastide’ and it may well have been served to the Lamont’s guests. It came in jelly form and was made from a boiled leg and shin of beef, stock thickened with bread, spices, dried fruit, sugar and wine.

On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, the Lamont family would have enjoyed a fine variety of food. Soup to start, followed by roast goose, prime mutton or beef (perhaps from the Lamont estate in Argyllshire), game pies filled with venison and pheasant, mincemeat pies (meat mixed with fruit and spices), goose fat roast potatoes, carrots, cabbage and braised leeks. To finish there would be delicious desserts – Christmas pudding, cranachan and Pitcaithly bannock – a large, round festive shortbread decorated with almonds and crystallised fruit.

Spare a thought for the servants!

The servants – butler, housemaids, cook and kitchen maid – worked hard, 16 hours a day or more, to make the celebrations and festivities possible. This was recognised by the Lamont family and, as was traditional in the Georgian period, they would give their servants the day off on 26 December, when the servants would go home to celebrate Christmas with their families. Mr Lamont would give each servant a ‘Christmas box’ to take with them, containing gifts, clothes and leftover food. This practice goes back to the 17th century, giving us ‘Boxing Day’. The giving of Christmas boxes was a way of helping those less fortunate and had its roots in the Feast Day for St Stephen, which took place on 26 December. St Stephen was associated with charity, and alms boxes in churches were opened on this day and the money distributed to the needy.

Twelfth Night was the last day of the month-long Christmas season. It was an evening when the Lamont family and their servants would celebrate together. For the occasion, the cook baked a ‘Twelfth Night cake’, a rich, crumbly fruit cake decorated with lavish icing. This cake contained a dried bean and a dried pea and all members of the household, including servants, were given a slice. The man who found the bean was King for the night, and the lady who found the pea was Queen. It was a night of games, drinking, lots of food – and great hilarity if a servant found the bean or pea!

On Twelfth Night the family and servants would take down all the decorations, as we do today, and the greenery was burned to protect the household from misfortune in the New Year. Although we have been imagining Christmas with the Lamonts, it’s clear that our Christmas celebrations are not so different.