A Regency Era Christmas Parlor Game? Don’t Try This One At Home

One of the fun things about writing a Regency era Christmas romance is discovering how people celebrated the holiday in the early 19th century. If you don’t think that sounds fun, let’s talk about a parlor game called Snapdragon that was played around Christmas back then that might prompt a trip to the emergency room, today. 

Snapdragon was played between the 16^th and 19^th centuries, first in England and eventually the game crossed the pond to  the United States, as well. According to Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language (published in 1755), Snapdragon is game “in which they catch raisins out of burning brandy and, extinguishing them by closing the mouth and eat them”. That’s right, they were putting burning raisins in their mouths for fun! How many of you play that kind of game with your family and friends? Needless to say, this was not a game for the faint of heart.

 

The raisins were called snapdragons, giving the game its name. Not that I am encouraging you to play Snapdragon, but if you are curious, this is how it was done. You would fill a large shallow bowl with brandy, place it in the middle of a table, toss in raisins, and light the brandy on fire. The effect is similar to burning brandy over a Christmas pudding. The brandy does not burn at a high enough temperature to turn the raisins to ash, and the raisins resemble small wicks. The object of the game is to snatch a raisin out of the flaming bowl and pop it into your mouth. Back then, all the candles in the room would be snuffed out, so you could easily see the blue flame burning in the bowl. If raisins weren’t available, you could use almonds, currants, figs, grapes, or plums. It was believed that the brave soul who took the most snapdragons out of the burning brandy would meet their true love within a year. What really surprised me was that in almost all of the illustrations I found of the game, small children were taking part. Just looking at the illustration below, with the little boy reaching into the bowl. It makes me nervous looking at it because his sleeve looks like it could easily catch on fire.

The game of Snapdragon is mentioned in Old Christmas by my historical crush, Washington Irving, and Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens. In my book An Unexpected Countess, both my hero and heroine are adventurous souls and have a highly competitive relationship. I could easily imagine Hart and Sarah challenging each other to a game of Snapdragon. How about you? Do you think you would have been the type to put your hand in the flames, or would you be cheering others on while you sipped your Christmas punch?

Sarah Forrester is an American diplomat’s daughter who must locate the fabled Sancy Diamond or her family will be ruined by a mysterious blackmailer. However, finding the diamond proves to be even harder when the Earl of Hartwick develops a habit of getting in her way. Meanwhile, Hart has been tasked by the Prince Regent with finding the very same diamond. Little does he know that the feisty woman he meets on a rooftop is his competition. As they each follow the clues left behind, Sarah and Hart come to realize the only way they’ll find the diamonds is to work together as a team. Whoever will finally walk away with it, is anyone’s guess. Being together may be as dangerous to their hearts as the hunt is to their lives…and finding the jewel is only the beginning.