Comment: Jane Austen's Christmas - dances and dangerous games Published on: 18 December 2025 Writing for The Conversation, Meg Kobza discusses festive traditions such as dancing, dinner parties and dangerous games that Jane Austen took part in. , Would you dare to play Snapdragon and pluck a flaming raisin from a fiery bowl of brandy? Or don the costume of a comedic character on Twelfth Night? Jane Austen certainly would have 鈥� and did. These games were two among many festive traditions that featured in the Georgian Christmas season and were part of yuletide experience. Much like our own holiday season, it was a time filled with frivolity, fun, and friendly gatherings 鈥� as Mr Elton confirms in the pages of (1816). During a picturesque carriage ride through the snow, he shares his delight with Emma and Mr Knightley, proclaiming: 鈥淭his is quite the season, indeed, for friendly meetings. At Christmas every body invites their friends about them, and people think little of even the worst weather.鈥� This sentiment holds as true now as it did when it appeared in print in 1815 and is echoed across 础耻蝉迟别苍鈥檚 novels. In (1813) both Mrs Bennet and Lizzy invite family to stay for the holidays 鈥� Mrs Bennet welcoming her brother and his family to Longbourn, Lizzy offering to host her aunt and uncle at Pemberly. Whether the assembly at Randalls in Emma or Sir Thomas Bertram鈥檚 ball at , social gatherings with friends and family were a central part of Georgian Christmas culture. In (1817), Mary Musgrove鈥檚 disappointment over a 鈥渧ery dull Christmas鈥� without a single dinner party during the whole of the holidays emphasises the expectation and significance of jolly entertainments to foster a festive spirit. It is likely that Austen met one of her earliest romantic interests, the clever and handsome Tom Lefroy, at one such jovial holiday gathering in December of 1795. Lefroy, who was spending Christmas with family, continually crossed paths with Austen throughout the season. In a letter to her sister Cassandra, : 鈥淚 am almost afraid to tell you how my Irish friend and I behaved. Imagine to yourself everything most profligate and shocking in the way of dancing and sitting down together.鈥� They certainly made merry 鈥� flirting, laughing, and gossiping their way through the season. This article is part of a series commemorating the . Despite having published only six books, she is one of the best-known authors in history. These articles explore the legacy and life of this incredible writer. While the sentiments of 础耻蝉迟别苍鈥檚 Christmas scenes pervade our holidays even today, there are certain aspects of the Georgian holiday season that are more unfamiliar 鈥� most notably the length of the season itself. Today, Christmas decorations pop up early, with pumpkins vying for space between mince pies and stockings long before November has even begun. In 础耻蝉迟别苍鈥檚 time, the Christmas season sat firmly in December, beginning with St Nicholas Day on December 6 and concluding with a bang one month later on January 6, or, as the Georgians knew it, Twelfth Day. Unlike our December 25, 础耻蝉迟别苍鈥檚 Christmas Day was a more intimate and quiet affair, not yet characterised by elaborate feasting, large parties, or even Father Christmas. Instead, the day was spent attending church and with close family while Twelfth Night was given the spotlight of the season. The days between Christmas and Twelfth Day 鈥� known as the 12 days of Christmas 鈥� were therefore filled with preparation and anticipation. A Christmas party in the 2020 adaptation of Emma. Twelfth Night was an evening of mischief, masquerade and merriment. With a history dating back to the Romans, Twelfth Night was rooted in ideas of topsy-turvy 鈥� where anyone could be anything and everyone鈥檚 fate was determined by the slice of a cake. Shared among family, friends and servants, the , whether extravagant or practical, contained a dried bean and a dried pea. Whoever happened upon the slice with the dried bean became king for the evening, and the dried pea the queen. They would reign for the night, with their subjects left to do their bidding. Once the king and queen were crowned, revelry and games ensued. 础耻蝉迟别苍鈥檚 niece, Fanny Knight, often wrote of family Twelfth Night celebrations, 鈥渨e were all agreeably surprised with a sort of masquerade, on being dressed into character鈥�. There were costumes for a Harlequin, flower girl, clown, cupid, musician and many others. Austen herself enjoyed the spirited play of Twelfth Night, donning the character of 鈥淢iss Candour鈥� one year and 鈥渢aking people aside to comment on their dress or making outrageous comments in loud whispers for all to hear!鈥� Then came the games 鈥� including Snapdragon, apple-bobbing, and a messy round of which also appeared in the . Snapdragon challenged players to snatch almonds or raisins from flaming bowl of brandy while bullet pudding involved using your nose to poke through a mound of flour in order to find a hidden bullet 鈥� this often resulted in laughter and flour-powdered faces. Twelfth Day carried the merriment of the night before into daylight hours and was treated as a bank holiday. As January 7 dawned, however, households hurried to take down their decorations, stripping festive greenery from banisters, doorways, mantles and tables. The once resplendent wreaths and garlands were promptly gathered and set alight to ward off bad luck in the new year. Though Twelfth Night eventually went out of fashion, it seems that the Georgians and Austen herself found pleasure in mixing revelry with reverence and enjoyed the festive season to its fullest. Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. . This article features references to books that have been included for editorial reasons, and may contain links to bookshop.org. If you click on one of the links and go on to buy something from bookshop.org The Conversation UK may earn a commission. , Leverhulme Early Career Fellow, This article is republished from under a Creative Commons license. Read the . 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