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daisee1203
Yahoo User
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 Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 2:16 pm Post subject: Symbolism of gifts inside Christmas poppers/crackers? |
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| At work we all recieved poppers for Christmas. Its an English tradition where tubes of cardboard are wrapped in pretty paper. One pulls them open quickly, thus making it "pop" or "crack". Out comes little treats: a paper hat that looks like a crown and a little gift. Mine came with a metal puzzle. Most others came with a sizeable lock and key. The most odd are the ones that came with an egg cup...the things that you literally put a hard boiled egg in and place it next to a plate or on a table with others for display. We all laugh here about the bizzarre gifts inside but we are wondering if there is some sort of method to this madness? Anyone know? |
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Susan G
Yahoo User
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| Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 2:24 pm Post subject: |
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| I don't know if there's any method to the madness. This year I got a miniature whoopee cushion and my husband got a pair of toenail clippers in his cracker. Usually I get a whistle or a gazoo so this year's bunch was extra special. |
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Neerdowellian
Yahoo User
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| Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 9:35 pm Post subject: |
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| Christmas crackers are an integral part of Christmas celebrations in the United Kingdom and in other Commonwealth countries. A cracker consists of a cardboard tube wrapped in a brightly decorated twist of paper, making it resemble an oversized sweet-wrapper. The cracker is pulled by two people, and, much in the manner of a wishbone, the cracker splits unevenly. The split is accompanied by a small bang produced by the effect of friction on a chemically impregnated card strip (similar to that used in a cap gun).Crackers were invented by London confectioner Tom Smith, in 1847, as a development of his bon-bon sweets, which he sold in a twist of paper (the origins of the traditional sweet-wrapper). As sales of bon bons slumped, Smith began to come up with new promotional ideas. His first tactic was to insert mottos into the wrappers of the sweets (cf. Fortune cookies), but this had only limited success.He was inspired to add the "crackle" element when he heard the crackle of a log he'd just put on the fire. The size of the paper wrapper had to be increased to incorporate the banger mechanism, and the sweet itself was eventually dropped, to be replaced by a small gift. The new product was initially marketed as the Cosaque (i.e., Cossack), but the onomatopoeic "cracker" soon became the commonly used name, as rival varieties were introduced to the market. The other elements of the modern cracker, the gifts, paper hats and varied designs, were all introduced by Tom Smith's son, Walter Smith, as ways of distinguishing the company from the many copycat cracker manufacturers which had suddenly sprung up. |
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