The British wear paper crowns while they eat Christmas dinner. The tradition of wearing hats at parties goes back to the Roman Saturnalia celebrations (celebrated around the 25th of December) when the participants also wore hats.
The idea of wearing a paper crown may have originated from Twelfth Night celebrations, where a King or Queen was appointed to look over the proceedings.
The paper crown hats they wear today are found inside the Christmas Crackers. Crackers are very traditional items to have at Christmas. 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 each one contains a small toy, a joke or motto, and a tissue-paper crown hat, usually a crown.
The theme for this week is about Jane Austen, an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the privileged British social class who lived entirely off rental income (landed gentry), earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature. Her realism, biting irony and social commentary as well as her acclaimed plots have gained her historical importance among scholars and critics.
Austen lived her entire life as part of a close-knit family located on the lower fringes of the English landed gentry. She was educated primarily by her father and older brothers as well as through her own reading. The steadfast support of her family was critical to her development as a professional writer.
Enjoy two film trailers adapted from Austen’s most popular novels, Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice.
Sense and Sensibility:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ns17RQr1yK8
Pride and Prejudice:
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