TRURO Cathedral is an outstanding Victorian building, writes Judith Field.

It was designed with grand occasions in mind, none more so than the great Christian festival of Christmas. So what were Victorian Christmases like, and how similar were they to our own?

Queen Victoria stares boldly out from one of Truro Cathedral’s history windows, not as an old woman but as she was in 1837 – 18 years old and determined to escape her domineering mother, Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld.

Inheriting not only the throne but also the revenues of the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall, Queen Victoria moved into Buckingham Palace – the first British sovereign to do so.

Before long, in October 1839, she proposed to her handsome cousin Albert. They married just five months later. “Dearest, dear Albert,” she wrote in her wedding night diary. ”He clasped me in his arms, and we kissed each other again and again!” It was the start of 21 years of happy marriage, resulting in nine children.

Just like today, the nation was fascinated by its Royal Family. What sort of Christmas fashions did they set?

Victoria and Albert both had Germanic family connections. Evergreen branches had always been used as Christmas decorations in Britain, but in Germany whole trees were decorated. The royal couple’s candle-lit Christmas trees sparked a craze that swept the nation.

The mythical figure of Father Christmas, dressed in green, added to the jollity and was a forerunner (with St Nicholas, patron saint of children) of today’s Santa Claus. His reindeer ­Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen - come from ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, an 1823 poem by American writer Clement C Moore.

Novelists were the ‘influencers’ of the Victorian age. Hard on the heels of the Royal Family’s Christmas tree came one of the best-loved stories of all time – Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. The 1843 story of Ebenezer Scrooge painted a lasting picture of what Christmas should be like: a season of good will when families and neighbours come together, with parties, plum pudding and gifts. The Victorians would have had no difficulty in identifying where Dickens’ idea sprang from – God’s message of “goodwill toward men” that the angels brought to the shepherds on the first Christmas Day.

Cornish Victorians embraced the latest fashions with gusto, and soon Christmas trees and Christmas cribs (nativity scenes) were to be found everywhere. The introduction of the penny post in 1839 also enabled a new custom - Christmas cards – to take off, especially when the mainline railway (and speedy delivery) came to Truro in 1859.

The tradition of Christmas carol services is also Victorian. Did you know the world-famous Nine Lessons and Carols service originated in Truro Cathedral in 1880? Charles Wesley, writer of Hark! The Herald Angels Sing is one of those honoured in the cathedral’s stained glass, and the spine-tingling beauty of Nine Lessons continues to be a Christmas treat. It starts at 7pm on December 23 and 24, no tickets required.