Behind The Scenes At The Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum: Dec. 23

From the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum:

December 23, 2020

Everyday Living

Did you know Christmas wasn’t declared a legal holiday in Connecticut until 1846? While mention is made of Christmas in earlier Wethersfield records, it’s unclear how the holiday was celebrated or how widely.

The WDS staff missed giving Christmas tours of the Isaac Stevens house this year, but we can share a few highlights… Typically, we would show how the Stevens House was decorated when the Francis family—Stephen – age 38, Elizabeth – age 35, Eliza – age 12, Stephen – age 10, Edwin – age 3 and Lewis – age 1—lived there in 1840.

By this period, the Francis children may have been familiar with Clement Moore’s “The Night Before Christmas,” published in 1823, or Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” published in 1843. Christmas was promoted as a holiday for children, and many of its customs were designed to support the morality of the early Victorian period. Presents from Santa Claus were inducements to proper behavior. Children were encouraged to avoid the lump of coal promised to those who misbehaved.

Toys, sweets and exotic fruits were considered the most appropriate gifts for children. But when 19th-century doctors and writers began advocating for a longer period of childhood, during which children were encouraged to play, toys became more common. An increasing number of toys were being created by the mid-century, and the giving of toys at Christmas became more prevalent. The Stevens House Christmas of the 1840s falls into a transitional period when sweets were still considered suitable, but toys began appearing in stockings and under trees.

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This press release was produced by the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum. The views expressed are the author's own.