Echoes of a Victorian Christmas

Men in tailored suits and satin waistcoats, gold watches peeking out of their pockets, walked arm in arm with women in wide skirts ~ hooped, crinolined, elegantly sculpted. Their tight corsets tease each careful traipse, leaving traces of elegance and opulence... dotting the streets at Christmastime with exaggerated silhouettes. They kissed under mistletoe ~ hung in doorways, each kiss claiming a berry until none were left. Saliva dried from whispered promises, and crisper breaths. When mouths moistened anew, their laughter spilled under winter's sun, burning with the thrill of ice-skating parties. Half-empty plates of Christmas pudding, roast meats and other festive dishes — littered Victorian tables, attesting to well-fed tummies and indulgent hearts. Back home, the evening evened with silent acting charades, Blind Man's Bluff, Forfeits, and Snapdragon. Pass the Slipper, Piggy Squeak, and Hunt the Ring ~ played near wood-burning fireplaces, transformed by Christmas into coziness, family warmth and seasonal magic. Christmas trees stood adorned, strategically placed to frisk each risk of its sly trick that might sneak out to steal away their joy. When the gift boxes were opened, the fiancé received smoking caps, shaving soaps, and tobacco pouches. The fiancée unwrapped doilies, silver tea balls, and tea strainers ~ simple treasures exchanged beneath candlelit ceilings in that age of elegance, where laughter and love lingered long, like the scent of pine needles and roast goose, long after Christmas Day had passed.