The 25 Strangest days of Christmas Day 17 - The Chains of Christmas

0:00 Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome back to the Strange History Podcast and Day seventeen of our Victorian Christmas countdown the twenty five strangest days of Christmas. Before ribbon, tinsel or glitter existed to haunt carpets for eternity, Victorian families made paper chains, but not like we do now. There was no twenty minutes and we're done. Victorian paper chain nights were multi day affairs. Families would cut paper by candlelight, paste loops together with flower glue, occasionally glue themselves to each other, and absolutely not stop until the entire home looked like a holiday spider web of cheer.

0:39 Speaker 1: In eighteen seventy one, the Harrington family of Surrey created a chain long enough to wrap their entire house twice. The local paper described it as a triumph of festive industry and questionable priority. Victorian's believed effort equals love. Also, emptiness of free time equals decoration intensity.

1:04 Speaker 2: This episode is sponsored by Pascete Safe craft adhesive, now guaranteed not to accidentally bond siblings together. Paste safe keep the crafting lose the crisis.

1:15 Speaker 1: Next, we head to the dining table and bring a pig's head with an apple in its mouth,