Crimson & Green & White

Crimson is the Christmas red — the deep vivid crimson of Christmas ribbon, holly berry, and Christmas decoration. The Christmas red tradition has multiple origin stories: (1) the deep red of the holly berry (Ilex aquifolium — the most characteristic winter plant of the British Isles, with its glossy dark green leaves and vivid red berries — traditionally associated with Christmas from at least medieval times, with Christian symbolism of Christ's blood); (2) the red of Santa Claus (Father Christmas) — the specific deep red of the Santa costume was not invented by Coca-Cola, as is often claimed, but was standardized by the illustrator Thomas Nast in his 1863-1886 Harper's Weekly illustrations, and then further standardized by Haddon Sundblom's Coca-Cola advertisements (1931-1964) into the most universally recognized costume silhouette; (3) the crimson of Christmas poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima — native to Mexico, introduced to the US by Joel Poinsett in 1828, now the most widely sold potted plant in the holiday season). The specific Victorian Christmas use of crimson: Dickens's 'A Christmas Carol' (1843) was the most celebrated and most culturally influential Christmas text of the Victorian era — its descriptions of red-lit fireplaces, wine, and festive decorations cemented the association of warm crimson with the most generous and most festive Christmas experience. Green is the holly and the tree — the vivid mid-green of Ilex aquifolium (European holly — the most characteristic evergreen of the British winter landscape, retaining its glossy dark green leaves and vivid red berries throughout the winter when all other broadleaved plants are bare) and the Christmas tree (Picea abies — Norway spruce — the traditional Victorian Christmas tree introduced to Britain from Germany). The Christmas tree tradition: Prince Albert brought the German Tannenbaum tradition to the British court in 1841 — the Illustrated London News published a woodcut of the royal family around their Windsor Castle Christmas tree on December 23, 1848, which became the most reproduced image of the Victorian Christmas and established the Christmas tree as the central element of the British Christmas celebration within a decade. White is the winter — the pure white of Victorian Christmas iconography: the frost patterns on windows, the white of snow (not always present in Britain, but powerfully idealized as the essential backdrop for the 'perfect Christmas'), the white of Christmas candles, and the white of Victorian Christmas cards (the world's first Christmas card was produced in 1843 by John Callcott Horsley at the commission of Sir Henry Cole — the same year as 'A Christmas Carol' — creating the first commercial Christmas card tradition).