When the Cunninghams of Lanyon sat down for Christmas lunch in the 1800s, what food graced their table, and did they decorate their gracious new home for the festive season?
Brightly festooned Christmas trees to mark the occasion were a relatively recent tradition, made popular in Queen Victoria’s England. Did Andrew and Jane and their eight children adopt these traditions, or were their Christmases, like those of many other Australians of the era, relatively simple affairs?
Explore the link above to discover a richly illustrated view of how Christmas evolved in Australia from the 1800s into the early 1900s.
Book a tour of Lanyon Homestead here.
Image:
Christmas in the bush, an Australian homestead, illustration by OR Campbell, Illustrated Sydney News, 1867, courtesy National Library of Australia, nla.obj-135892410