Keep your spirits bright this Christmas with some games

Long before the arrival of jolly radio shows, television or all that angst-driven social media, people enjoyed concocting their own Christmas entertainment. Years back, in 1573, the English poet, Thomas Tusser said, ‘At Christmas play and make good cheer, for Christmas comes but once a year.’ And is he not, correct?

Games and pastimes were a vital aspect of celebrations on December 25, and Christmas would not be the same without them. All the same, radio, television and other mediums do make a positive contribution and yet there is nothing like games whether it is an attempt at charades or the latest board game. Better still, why not invite a relative or neighbour around who lives alone. It is a great excuse to get away from the non-ending and sometimes pointless feed of modern technology, and interact with real people, and to have fun.

Let's kick off with some ideas this season with a look at Christmas fun and games from yesteryear. They could be fun to try out over the holidays instead of the usual drip-feed of endless television.

Owning happiness

According to Linda Clements in her book, ‘The Spirit of Christmas Past’, midwinter celebrations were a joyful time. Games and pastimes began as a respite to the harsh winter months, especially during Roman times when ‘gambling and dice games’ became popular. In the Middle Ages a play was put before the community, showing that the arts were always important.

In particular, I like the way Clements references a ‘French politician and gastronome’ named Anthelme Brillat-Savarin whose understanding of what makes a good host comes down to taking charge of the visitors happiness while they are under your roof. Brillat-Savarin famously said, ‘to invite people to dine with us is to make ourselves responsible for their well-being for as long as they are under our roofs.’

Blind man’s buff

In olden times, Christmas Day began with the presents received from Santa. Then it was off to the church and later, after dinner, the entertainment started. A popular diversion was blind man’s buff. This required a degree of commonsense. I am thinking back to Charlie Chaplin who once incorporated a scene in a film where he attempts to distract his girlfriend's innocent brother by pretending to play the game. Charlie had gone to see the girl, only for her gooseberry-like sibling to sit down beside them. The young fellow is asked to play blind man’s buff and, with a rag tied over his eyes, he gets unceremoniously pushed out the front door by Chaplin before stumbling straight on to a busy street. Chaplin then attends to his sweetheart.

But, in the proper game of Blind Man’s Buff, the blindfolded person attempts to catch, or tag, one of the group. The caught individual then takes on the role. Dicken’s ‘A Christmas Carol’ has an account of the game played by Scrooge’s nephew Fred and his pals. The scene of the young ones having a laugh contrasts with the loneliness of the tight old git.

Snapdragon

Dating from the 17th century, Snapdragon, or Flapdragon as they called it was a popular parlour game played into the 19th century until it was overtaken by charades. Be warned! This game was bonkers and could land you in A&E. because in the original game you often got your fingers or mouth burnt. A bowl of brandy was set on fire, and raisins were dropped into it. The room’s lights were then lowered or turned out. The family stood observing the haunting blue flame flicker forward and back across the bowl while each person was encouraged to take turns plucking burning raisins from the liquid, which they extinguished in their mouth. Tatler, an 18th century magazine, noted that ‘the wantonness of the thing was to see each other look like a demon, as we burnt ourselves, and snatched out the fruit.’ It sounds like a masochist’s idea of fun.

Charades

Automatically, charades are the pastime that comes to mind for most of us. It is fun to act out the part we are assigned to play. That could be the name of a book, a film, or even a person. The game likely came about in 18th century France and involves the formation of teams and the working out of syllables acted out by the person whose turn it is. The key to a good game of charades is silence.

In Victorian times, it replaced other games like Blindman’s Buff in popularity and was a favourite each Christmas. When first it was introduced, a book of phrases provided the subject matter. People enjoyed showing off their acting ability and it brought about many good laughs.

Board games

Remember to have some fun this Christmas. Think of the board games too. Monopoly, the Sock Game, Cluedo, Ludo and Snakes and Ladders, Frustration, and my all-time favourite, Trivial Pursuit, to name a few. All the same, I will give Snapdragon a miss this year. But, a few rounds of charades and even a bit of blind man’s buff might be good craic.

Well, however you spend Christmas this year, I hope that it will be a pleasant one and those spirits are kept bright. Wishing every reader a happy, healthy and peaceful Christmas. Nollaig shona dhaoibh!