Day 5 – The History of Christmas Crackers
“A merry heart doeth good like a medicine:” Proverbs 17:22
Christmas crackers are a traditional Christmas favorite in England (and Canada). They were first made in about 1845-1850 by a London sweet maker named Tom Smith.
He had seen the French ‘bon-bon’ sweets (almonds wrapped in pretty paper) on a visit to Paris in 1840. He came back to London and tried selling sweets like that in England. They also included a small motto or riddle in with the sweet. But, sadly, they didn’t sell very well.
In 1861 Tom Smith launched his new range of what he called ‘Bangs of Expectation’.
Legend says that, one night he was sitting in front of his log fire. Tom became very interested by the sparks and cracks coming from the fire. Suddenly, he thought what a fun idea it would be, if his sweets and toys could be opened with a crack when their fancy wrappers were pulled in half.
However, let’s look into the history of the Tom Smith company. It’s thought that Tom actually bought the recipe for the small cracks and bangs in crackers from a company called Brock’s Fireworks. The story of him sitting by the fire was probably added to help sell his new items.
In either case, crackers were born. They were nicknamed “cosaques” after the Cossack soldiers who had a reputation for riding on their horses and firing guns into the air.
When Tom died, his expanding cracker business was taken over by his three sons, Tom, Walter and Henry. Walter introduced the hats into crackers. He also traveled around the world looking for new ideas for gifts to put in the crackers. The crowns might have been inspired from Epiphany cakes from Europe which are often decorated with a paper crown on the top.
We love having crackers at our dinner table and this year, I plan on making my own. They are a great family tradition that can bring fun, joy and laughter to any dinner party.
“Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope,” Romans 15:13