...in the nicest possible way, of course.
And what better, more fitting way could there be for me to send my festive wishes to you than to share some beautifully wacky and slightly macabre natural history themed Christmas cards from our Victorian ancestors...?
May Christmas be merry
May all jollity "LIGHTEN" your CHRISTMAS hours
A HAPPY CHRISTMAS
A hearty welcome
To wish you The Compliments of the SEASON
A Happy Christmas to you!
Friendship is flavour best for wine
Take then, anew (?) with Christmas, mine!
A Loving Christmas Greeting
(Sorry about that one! It was traditional to show dead birds on Christmas cards
in the Victorian era, perhaps related to ancient good luck rituals
and as a symbol of the fleeting nature of life.)
A very Merry Christmas to all who come here and many thanks!
x
Happy Christmas C.
ReplyDeleteSwiss Adam
Thanks and to you too SA. Thanks for introductions to some great music over at BA.
DeleteMerry Christmas to you and yours C
ReplyDeleteThanks and same to you CC. Have particularly loved the Covers vs Originals series over at CCM this last year.
DeleteGreat images. Although a little creepy. Those Victorians certainly had something about them.
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas C.
They are aren't they? I love the wildlife ones particularly as that's my thing, but wasn't sure what to make of the polar bear one! Maybe that was the Victorian equivalent to modern day jokey/cartoon cards, I guess it must've been.
DeleteMerry Christmas to you too Darcy and hope to see and hear more good tunes over at Feel It in 2018.
Nightmares tonight; guaranteed! Happy Christmas C.
ReplyDeleteOh no, sorry about that John! They are right up my alley - the more beetles, spiders and birds the better (but preferably not dead). I read that a particularly unpleasant good luck tradition was to actually kill a bird, preferably a robin, and offer it as a gift in December. Aargh, I'm so glad that ritual died out.
DeleteHappy Christmas John and look forward to seeing what you get up to in 2018!
Particularly like that last one - festive!
ReplyDeleteA very merry Christmas to you, C.
Hard to get your head around that last one, really! But I'm all for celebrating Christmas with creepy crawlies I must say (except for human ones).
DeleteMerry Christmas Martin and thanks for all the great thought-provoking and interesting posts at New Amusements, I always look forward to them.
Smiling, groaning, shaking my head and laughing... all at the same time. I hope your enjoying the season, and my best to you and your fella. Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteThey seem so far removed from the cards of today - personally I'd like to see a few more insect-themed cards in the shops...
DeleteThanks for the Christmas wishes and hope you and your family have a great time this festive season. I'm looking forward to another year of LTL too.
Wow, I know the Victorians kind of invented Christmas as we know it but glad these cards didn't really take off!
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely day tomorrow - Hope your stocking is overflowing with nice things!
Haha, I know what you mean - although (apart from the dead bird) I must admit they're very much to my taste - not that I usually think of myself as having Victorian values!
DeleteThank you and have a super Christmas, Alyson - thank you for a great year of blogging at WIAA and I can't wait to hear what's in store for you (and for us) through 2018.
Im like a space alien:
ReplyDeleteI have no #@!!☆ idea.
Nevertheless...
Make Your Choice -SAW