Victorians' Secret

With Christmastime comes many traditions — and not just Uncle Larry hitting the rum and eggnog. Exchanging gifts, sending cards, decorating a tree and singing carols may seem like ancient rites, but they’re not. “Much of our present-day Christmas customs were popularized or invented by the Victorians in England,” says Bob Stevenson, president of the performing group Revels Houston.

So it’s surprising that after a decade, this will be the first time they spotlight that era with The Christmas Revels: A Victorian Celebration of the Winter Solstice, featuring traditional music hall entertainment, a choir, a brass band, comedy and dramatic scenes. Plus caroling. Lots of caroling. Holding to Revels tradition, the company includes a mix of professionals, amateurs and local schoolchildren. And audience participation extends beyond just belting out “The First Noel” from the comfort of your seat. Some are even drafted to appear on stage, and two unwitting attendees will reign as the Pearly King and Queen.

When most think of the Christmas of yesteryear, the specter (no pun intended) of A Christmas Carol looms large. Revels similarly explores the holiday from both ends of the social spectrum, set as it is on the streets of lower-class London and in the party parlor of a posh West End home. But Revels is certainly not as humorless as the Ghost of Christmas Future, or many Christmases past. It seems the festive side of Christmas is also a fairly recent development.

“It used to be a solemn and mystical rite of the church. You didn’t whoop it up, you weren’t having fun,” Stevenson says, noting that under puritan rule in the 1600s Christmas was outlawed. And in the United States, “it wasn’t an official holiday until 1856!”

Stevenson also produces the syndicated Revels radio show, which will be broadcast by KUHF/88.7 FM on December 22 from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Our modern Christmas traditions, from the greedy shopping orgies to Tim Allen in a fat suit, somehow pale in comparison. But Stevenson believes that’s the appeal of Revels: It’s sort of a holiday time machine. So yes, Virginia, there was a Christmastime — long before Tickle Me Elmo.