What do you know about Christmas Crackers?
How well-versed are you in the art of the Christmas cracker?
Aaah, the holidays. That special time of year - Christmas trees, carolers, Santa Claus, and of course, Christmas crackers!
Part of the magic of Christmas is how it infuses the old world with the new.
Christmas crackers are one of those great traditions that have been going on for centuries.
Christmas crackers are a great addition to the dinner table at Christmas time. But what do you really know about Christmas crackers other than it's a great British tradition that have been going on for centuries ?
The first Christmas crackers were introduced in the 1840s by a London confectioner and were originally called "crackers".
The original crackers consisted of a small cardboard tube with a paper hat and motto, wrapped in coloured paper. They were filled with some sort of sweet, such as peppermint or lemon drops.
In 1857, tinsel was used as the covering of the Christmas crackers. This represented a significant change in their appearance.
In 1847, the production of Christmas crackers became even more popular when they were introduced to the British Isles by Sir Henry Cole.
Xmas Crackers were introduced to Australia by British traders who had brought them to the continent, when they established trade and soon became popular as a festive treat.
The tradition was then brought to America in 1864 by Charles Fenno Hoffman, and his wife, who had arrived in Australia just a year earlier
A Brief History Of Xmas Bon Bons
Have you ever wondered how Xmas bonbons got their name?
Tradition has it that Tom Smith from London invented the Christmas cracker.
Tom Smith, who first started his career in a London Bakery in the 1830s, made a variety of exciting treats until he was eventually able to open up his own bakery near Clerkenwell: T Smith & Co.
He experimented with his confectionary to entice more customers with his increasingly elaborate offerrings.
Smith travelled widely and discovered bon bons, sugared almonds wrapped in twists of tissue paper, in Paris in 1840.
His Christmas bon bons sold well during Christmas, so Smith tried putting love mottos inside the packaging to see if it would make sales even better. What he found was that sales of these festive treats went up even more than they were before.
XMAS Crackers And The Classic 'Crack'
Crackers were originally known as "cosaques" a French word, the for the 'Cosaques' soldiers who would fire their guns into the air.
The inventor of the cracker himself, Tom Smith, revealed that the original idea for this artful twist on a regular gift came from an anecdote about his fireplace. According to legend, he got the idea when he threw a log in one day and heard it make a different noise than expected.
He tried to imitate the sound and experimented with small amounts of chemicals to achieve that.
And as we all know he perfected it.
He wrapped tissue paper around small cardboard tube filled with chemically impregnanted cardboard strips. They were glued together so that when two people pulled at the carboard strips at the glued end it caused a small explosion and created a cracking sound, similar to the crackling sound of the log in his fireplace.
In 1910, T Smith and Group became the official supplier to the British Royal Household for Christmas Crackers and Wrapping paper. An hour the group still holds today.
Xmas Crackers And Bon Bons In Australia
The tradition of giving Xmas Crackers and Bon Bons to friends and family at Christmas in Australia is a practice that has been around for over 100 years.
The origin of this tradition can be traced back to the early 1800s, when European immigrants were settling in Australia.
The earliest Xmas Cracker was a bonbon in Australia. They were first introduced in 1867 by the confectioner, George Smith and Sons of Sydney.
The bonbons were made with sugar, cream of tartar, and peppermint oil. These were wrapped with paper to look like a cracker. And the ends were glued together to make it look like an exploding cracker.
The original idea for these Christmas Crackers was to give them away to children as gifts.
The modern Christmas Crackers are typically made of cardboard and covered with a decorative paper. It consists of two halves that are pulled apart by the person who opens it and cracked loudly to make a popping noise.
They are usually filled with a cheap platic toy, a joke and a hat.
There are also some other types of crackers that have been developed over time such as the pull-string cracker, which has an attached string that needs to be pulled to make it pop, and is a quieter alternative to the noisy Christmas Cracker.
Luxury And Eco Friendly Christmas Crackers In Australia
There are ways to enjoy an eco-friendly Christmas "bang" while also considering your environmental impact on our planet.
This is why we have pledged to reduce the use of single-use plastic toys inside our Christmas crackers, and you would find built-to-last toys along with recyclable packaging.
One of the most common criticisms about Christmas crackers is that they can't be reused, and even if recyclable, are not zero-waste.
Our Eco-Friendly " Mr & Mrs Gingerbread" comes in a box of 8. They are handcrafted, and environmentally friendly Christmas Crackers/Bon-Bons -- with minimal plastic and recyclable outer packaging.
We also have a massive DIY range for those who would like to fill their Christmas Crackers with resueable and eco-friendly gifts.
However,going green does not mean that you need to compromise luxury.
Our Ultra-luxurious Black Sparkle Box of 6, are handmade Christmas crackers/bon-bons of the highest quality. A six-piece set includes reusable items such as a pen, keyring, notebook, wallet or cardholder.
Xmas Crackers A Fun Festive Tradition
The modern Christmas cracker is considerably different from its Victorian counterpart but, in essence, remains much the same. It creates the same emotions in us as it did during those days, more than a century ago.