Fortunately she provided lots of Christmas research so each of the 3 tour guides could decide what we would say and where. The house looked so lovely at night!
It's amazing how many holiday traditions that are still popular today began during Queen Victoria's long reign. Her husband Prince Albert introduced the German custom of keeping a Christmas tree to the English royal family in 1841. When an illustration of Victoria, Albert, and their children around their Christmas tree was published in London in 1848, the custom spread throughout England. That same illustration was published in the US in 1850, causing Christmas trees to become enormously popular here.
According to Druid custom, whenever enemies met under mistletoe in the forest, they would lay down their arms and observe a truce until the next day. This evolved into exchanging kisses under mistletoe as a sign of friendship and goodwill. The English custom of kissing under the mistletoe had the restriction that there could be only as many kisses as berries--every time a couple kissed under the mistletoe, a berry had to be removed!
Holly wreaths were hung on the inside of Hill-Stead's windows when Theodate lived there. Did you know that holly was the sacred plant of the Roman god Saturn and was used during Saturnalia celebrations? Early Christians celebrated Christ's birth at the same time as Saturnalia, using decorations of holly to avoid persecution.
I learned a lot about Christmas from reading those 8 pages of research!
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