Thread by @Britannica

All I want for Christmas is…a painting of a mouse riding a lobster.

Christmas cards during the Victorian Era tended to be rather unusual, reflecting an offbeat sense of humor before Christmas iconography had solidified into what it is today.

Let’s shake this tree down. 🧵⬇️

Queen Victoria, whose mother and husband were born in Germany, is credited with bringing German holiday traditions like Christmas trees and card-giving to England in the 1830s.

The first Christmas card is thought to have been designed in England in 1843, the EXACT SAME YEAR that Charles Dickens wrote ‘A Christmas Carol.’

Christmas (snow, big feasts, family cheer) was becoming a thing.

1,000 hand-colored copies of the card were sold in London.

With the advancement of printing processes, cards became cheaper and more accessible.

Card companies began commissioning artists to create designs specifically for Christmas cards.

To keep up with competition, the designs became more original.

Although the church and rigid social codes dominated Victorian culture, there are remarkably few religious themes.

Instead, dark humor found its way into the designs.

The increased popularity of novelty cards also meant that middle-class families could own a piece of art to display in their homes.

And who wouldn’t want a coy boot-wearing onion hanging on your wall??

During the height of the Victorian era, many Brits delighted in the bizarre and macabre, even during the holidays.

We have them to thank for the quintessentially odd Christmas cards that still delight (and freak us out) today.

God bless us, everyone.