On Hosting Your Regency-Era
Christmas Party
A Companion to JANE AND THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS
Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas
Being a Jane Austen Mystery
by Stephanie Barron
Available in Hardcover and Ebook
ISBN: 978–1–61695–423–9
eISBN: 978–1–61695–424–6
Celebrate Your Very Own Jane Austen Christmas
THE LATEST INSTALLMENT in Stephanie Barron’s richly historical Jane Austen mystery series takes place over the twelve days of Christmas, a Regency-era tradition unlike the holiday we celebrate today. In the pages that follow you’ll find authentic ways to celebrate your own Georgian Christmas — from decorations to recipes to parlor games — for full immersion into the world of our heroine.
On Christmas Eve of 1814, Jane Austen and the Twelve Days of Christmas finds the Regency era’s most beloved author on holiday at the Vyne, the gorgeous estate of the prominent Chute household, with family and friends. As they prepare for the twelve days of Christmas festivities, the guests are all in a celebratory mood — until one of the Yuletide revelers dies in a riding accident, which Jane immediately views with suspicion. With clues scattered amidst cleverly crafted charades, dark secrets coming to light during parlor games, and old friendships returning to haunt the Christmas parties, can Jane discover the truth and stop the killer from striking again?
A Regency Christmas Tradition
Christmas trees and Santa Claus didn’t become part of the holiday season until the Victorian era, circa 1837. Christmas in Regency-era England was celebrated over twelve days, starting on December 25th (Christmas Day) and culminating on January 6th, the festival of the Epiphany (Twelfth Day). Families gathered together for the duration when they could.
While Christmas Day was contemplative and religious, spent in church and then with family over a long meal, the next eleven days were filled with social calls and holiday parties. The seasonal merrymaking culminated on January 5th, or “Twelfth Night,” Epiphany Eve, with an enormous party — often a masquerade ball with fancy attire, plenty to eat and drink, an exchange of gifts, and charades and other games.
Read on for your own guide to hosting a Twelfth Night party in genuine Regency style.
DECORATE
The Kissing Bough
Hang a kissing bough over your doorway to bring goodwill into your home. This may be a knot of mistletoe and evergreens suspended from a red ribbon, or you may make a more elaborate spherical bough by pinning the greens and ribbon around an apple center.
Remember, it is terribly unlucky to bring your Christmas greenery into the house prior to Christmas Eve! Don’t forget to remove it and burn it on the Epiphany for good luck all year.
The Yule Candle
Beginning in the late 18th century, a very large candle would be lit at nightfall on Christmas Eve and allowed to burn through the night. Serve your Christmas Eve supper by the light of your Yule Candle to bless and protect your guests from harm.
The Yule Log
In Regency England, families would bring one massive log into the house to burn through the entire twelve days of Christmas. Bygones of the year past are burned away in the Yule Log’s flame. Gather ’round to sing songs, tell stories, and pass a cup of wine. If you can’t find a Yule Log large enough to burn for twelve days, the modern replacement — the hearth fire — will inspire much the same Christmas spirit.
Sugar Carvings (Pastillage)
For the truly ambitious host (or for those who, like Jane’s wealthy friends, have a full-time kitchen staff), sugar-paste sculptures (or pastillage, pronounced “pah-stee-yahj”) may be a worthwhile decorating challenge for your Christmas table.
1 pound of confectioner’s sugar
½ cup of cornstarch
¼ cup of cool water
¼ teaspoon of cream of tartar
1 envelope of gelatin
In a large bowl, mix the sugar, cornstarch, and cream of tartar.
Place the cool water into a small saucepan and sprinkle the gelatin over the water. Let the gelatin soak in the water for at least five minutes. Place the saucepan over a low flame and stir until the gelatin has completely dissolved and the water has warmed. Pour the gelatin mixture into a stand mixer with dough hook attachment.
Using the lowest speed setting, slowly add the sugar mixture to the gelatin. Mix until smooth.
Immediately remove the pastillage from the mixing bowl and wrap in plastic wrap. Keep in mind that pastillage becomes stiff very quickly. Remove as much pastillage from the plastic wrap as you will use for one decoration, add powdered food coloring if desired, and mold into whatever shape you want.
DRINK
A warm cup of Christmas cheer isn’t just a boon for party guests — it is also highly recommended for the host or hostess during the party preparations!
Negus, or Milled Wine
Traditionally, wine might be spiced with nutmeg and then stirred with a hot poker to heat it. If you are lacking a hot poker, you might try this instead:
Heat 1 gallon of water to very hot (just short of boiling)
Add ½ gallon of port wine
Squeeze in the juice of 1 lemon
Add ¾ a cup of sugar; stir.
Grated nutmeg is a must for Georgian mulled wine, but embellish to taste with cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, star anise, or even slices of pineapple.
Eggnogg
Many variants of eggnog already existed in Jane Austen’s time. Some of the earliest surviving recipes call for a mixture of cream, raw eggs, and brandy.
1 dozen medium eggs
½ cup sugar
dash of salt
½ gallon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
ground cinnamon
ground nutmeg
2 cup brandy
1 cup dark rum
Beat eggs, sugar, and salt in a large saucepan. Add 3 cups of milk and cook on low heat, stirring constantly, until thick. Remove from heat, stir in the rest of the milk. Add the vanilla, brandy, and rum. Cover and let cool.
A modern host or hostess might stick the eggnog in the refrigerator over night — and serve with cinnamon and nutmeg shaken on top.
Syllabub
3 cups milk
2 cups white wine
½ cup sugar and grated nutmeg
¼ cup brandy
Pour 3 cups of milk and 2 cups of white wine into a bowl. Add ½ cup of sugar and grated nutmeg to taste. For an extra kick, add ¼ cup of brandy.
EAT
Christmas Pudding
The traditional boiled pudding has thirteen ingredients to symbolize Christ and his twelve apostles:
3 cups dried mixed fruit (sultanas, raisins, currants)
1 cup candied fruit peel, finely chopped
1 small cooking apple, peeled, cored and finely chopped
Zest and juice from ½ a large orange and ½ a lemon
4 tablespoons brandy (plus a bit of extra for soaking at the end!)
½ cup sifted flour
1 level teaspoon of ground mixed spice
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
¾ cup shredded suet (beef or vegetarian)
½ cup demerara sugar
1 cup white bread crumbs
1 cup chopped almonds
2 large eggs
Begin at least two days in advance. In a large bowl, mix the dried fruits, candied peel, apple, and citrus juice. Add the brandy and stir well. Cover and leave to marinate overnight.
The following day: Stir the flour, mixed spice and cinnamon in a large bowl. Add the suet, sugar, citrus zest, breadcrumbs, and almonds, and stir well. Finally, add the marinated fruit and stir again. Beat the eggs lightly in a small bowl, then mix quickly into the dry ingredients. The result should have a fairly soft consistency.
Butter a 2 ½-pint pudding mold and pack the pudding mixture into it. Cover with a double piece of parchment and a sheet of aluminum foil and tie securely with a string at the top. Put the pudding in a covered steamer over a saucepan of simmering water and steam for 7 hours. Check the water level, adding boiling water as needed. The pudding should be a deep brown color, sticky, dense, and spongelike when cooked.
When the pudding is finished, let it cool, then remove the wrappings. Replace with fresh parchment and a new string. Store in a cool place away from light (under the bed works well), preferably overnight. Note: The pudding cannot be eaten immediately after cooking. This will cause it to collapse, and the flavors will not have had time to mature.
On Christmas Day: Steam the pudding again for one hour. For a lovely alcoholic accompaniment, cream together ½ cup of butter, ½ cup powdered sugar and, 4 tablespoons of brandy. To serve, remove the pudding from the steamer and take off the wrapping. Slide a palette knife around the pudding and turn it out onto a warm plate. Garnish with a sprig of holly. Serves 8–10.
To flambé: Warm a ladleful (½ cup) of brandy over direct heat, and when it is hot, carefully light it afire. Place the ladle over the pudding, but do not pour until at the table. When you do, slowly pour it over the pudding, sides and all. Watch it flame!
ENTERTAIN
Charades
The rhyming riddles that caused such upheaval in Jane Austen’s Emma are quite different from today’s notion of charades; they involve wordplay, often denoting a different description for each syllable. To play in a group, use cards with verses on the front and answers on the back, or detachable counterparts. Two sample riddles are below, with answers at the bottom — try your best guess before peeking!
1.
My first doth affliction denote
Which my second is destin’d to feel.
And my whole is the best antidote
That affliction to soften and heal.
2.
My first displays the wealth and pomp of kings,
Lords of the earth! Their luxury and ease.
Another view of man, my second brings,
Behold him there, the monarch of the seas!
But ah! United, what reverse we have!
Man’s boasted power and freedom, all are flown;
Lord of the earth and sea, he bends a slave,
And woman, lovely woman, reigns alone.
Thy ready wit the word will soon supply,
May its approval beam in that soft eye!
1) Woman. The first syllable is “woe” and the second “man,” so that the whole is “woe-man.” 2) Courtship.
Snapdragon
From the 16th to 19th centuries, no Christmas Eve celebration was complete without a hearty game of Snapdragon in the parlor. To play, brandy is heated and placed in a wide shallow bowl; raisins are placed in the brandy, which is then set alight. Typically, lights are extinguished or dimmed. The aim of the game is to pluck the raisins out of the flaming brandy and eat them, at the risk of being burnt. Some families continue this tradition even today.
Snapdragon is occasionally accompanied by chant:
Here he comes with flaming bowl,
Don’t he mean to take his toll,
Snip! Snap! Dragon!
Take care you don’t take too much,
Be not greedy in your clutch,
Snip! Snap! Dragon!
With his blue and lapping tongue
Many of you will be stung,
Snip! Snap! Dragon!
For he snaps at all that comes
Snatching at his feast of plums,
Snip! Snap! Dragon!
But Old Christmas makes him come,
Though he looks so fee! fa! fum!
Snip! Snap! Dragon!
Don’t ’ee fear him but be bold —
Out he goes his flames are cold,
Snip! Snap! Dragon!
Hoodman’s Blind
Mentioned in Persuasion, Hoodman’s Blind, or “Blind Man’s Bluff,” has existed for millennia under various names and is akin to today’s “Marco Polo.” One person is chosen, be it by the party or the drawing of straws, to be “It,” and is then blindfolded, spun around three times, and released to catch his tormentors in a wide open space. The others are to get as close as possible without getting caught, and they often clap, chant, or sing to the blind man. When he catches you, he feels your face and hair to figure out who you are. Each person caught becomes “It” in turn.
We hope you’ve enjoyed creating your very own Regency-era Christmas Party! May the holiday festivities abound.
