The descriptions of the festivities and customs of different periods are given, as far as possible, on the authority of contemporary authors, or writers who have special knowledge of those periods, and the most reliable authorities have been consulted for facts and dates, great care being taken to make the work as accurate and trustworthy as possible. I sincerely wish that all who read it may find as much pleasure in its perusal as I have had in its compilation.
william francis dawson.
| CHAPTER I. | page |
The Origin and Associations of Christmas | [5] |
| |
| CHAPTER II. | |
The Earlier Celebrations of the Festival | [10] |
| |
| CHAPTER III. | |
Early Christmas Celebrations in Britain | [23] |
| |
| CHAPTER IV. | |
Christmas, From the Norman Conquest To Magna Charta | [40] |
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| CHAPTER V. | |
Christmas, From Magna Charta To the End of the Wars of the Roses | [62] |
| (a.d. 1215-1485.) | |
| |
| CHAPTER VI. | |
Christmas Under Henry VII. and Henry VIII. | [94] |
| (a.d. 1485-1547.) | |
| |
| CHAPTER VII. | |
Christmas Under Edward VI., Mary, and Elizabeth | [115] |
| (a.d. 1547-1603.) | |
| |
| CHAPTER VIII. | |
Christmas Under James I. | [151] |
| (a.d. 1603-1625.) | |
| |
| CHAPTER IX. | |
Christmas Under Charles the First and the Commonwealth | [197] |
| (a.d. 1625-1660.) | |
| |
| CHAPTER X. | |
Christmas, From the Restoration To the Death Of George II. | [215] |
| (a.d. 1660-1760.) | |
| |
| CHAPTER XI. | |
Modern Christmases at Home | [240] |
| |
| CHAPTER XII. | |
Modern Christmases Abroad | [294] |
| |
| CHAPTER XIII. | |
Concluding Carol Service of the Nineteenth Century | [349] |
| |
INDEX | [351] |
