VICTORIAN CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS
Christmas as it is celebrated today got many of its traditions from the Victorian era. To kind of set the scene for you, prior to Victoria’s ascension, Christmas was pretty much just another day – most didn’t have the day off and any celebrations were decidedly low key. Victoria became queen in 1837 and married Albert in 1840. That was when the festivities really began.
VICTORIAN MOURNING JEWELRY & VICTORIAN JEWELRY HISTORY
When Prince Albert died in 1861, Queen Victoria's grief was so profound that not only did she have her servants lay out Albert's clothes every morning after his death, but she only wore black until her own death in 1901. Unwittingly, she started the craze for what was popularly dubbed, mourning jewelry. Items such as necklaces, rings, brooches, and bracelets that contained jet were all the rage.