V21 N41

The Activity Column
Catherine Dugan’s guide to getting out there... this week, !
Many of our holiday activities are
dictated by tradition, but, “tradition”
is always in flux — look
at the ruckus that ensued when
Queen Victoria embraced the foreign
custom of the Christmas tree.
Queen Victoria could not help bucking
tradition from the beginning of her reign —
the marked contrast between her and her predecessors
startled the London establishment.
She was a young woman assuming a role
usually played by old men. Victoria was also
the first monarch crowned after the Reform
Act of 1832, designed to amplify the role of the
average (male) citizen in government. Private
coronations, witnessed only by Parliament
and the nobility, were a thing of the past. For
the first time, the public was invited to view
the procession of the new ruler, and reportedly
due to a lack of planning, many things
went awry. Lord Rolle fell down the stairs, the
music was mediocre, and the coronation ring
was too small. Her subjects did not seem to
mind. Thanks to the new railroads bringing
in tourists from outside of London, 400,000
came to celebrate. The weather was lovely, the
fireworks were a hit, and the four-day fair in
Hyde Park gave a boost to the local economy.
Victoria’s new Christmas traditions were similarly
popular. When she and her German husband,
Albert, brought them to Buckingham
Palace, religious conservatives objected, but
when an 1848 image in the “Illustrated London
News” showed the royal family around their
Christmas tree, her subjects were charmed,
and the new tradition took hold. Victoria’s
reign also saw the reduction in postage from
one penny in 1840 to a half-penny in 1870,
which helped to popularize the sending of
Christmas cards, a tradition which is fading in
favor of digital holiday messages.
Your traditions may also be in flux, so you’ll
need some flexibility planning your Cape May
holiday. Maybe you love the entire West Cape
May Christmas parade, but the visiting fiveyear-old
only wants to stay for 45 minutes.
If your kids have outgrown “Breakfast with
Santa” at Congress Hall (caperesorts.com)
or The Inn of Cape May (capemaymac.org),
change that tradition to a play like “A Tuna
Christmas” at Cape May Stage November
15-December 30 (capemaystage.org) or East
Lynne Theater Company’s revue, “Lennie’s
Christmas Extravaganza,” December 7, 8 and
9. Let older kids skip “Santa’s Trolley Ride”
with mom and dad in favor of the “Ghosts of
Christmas Past” on their own — a little independence
is a great gift.
November 16, 2023 EXIT ZERO Page 43