Christmas in the Peninsula
There don't appear to have been a great number of celebrations of Christmas in Wellington's army on the
Peninsular. Christmas would have come when the army was in winter quarters - for the most part anyway. There was of
course the disastorous retreat to Corunna in 1808 which started over Christmas. I have taken a few of the
accounts written in diaries and biographies of the time.
Sir John Kincaid (of the 95th which was in the light division) doesn't
mention anything special they did at Christmas but seems to imply they kept
themselves fairly active and amused despite that all through the months from
October to December.
"In ever interval between our active services, we indulged in all manner of
childish trick and amusement....We lived, united as men always are who are
daily staring death in the face on the same side, adn, who , caring little
about it, look upon each new day added to their lives as one more to
regoince in. We invited the villagers every evening to a dance at our
quarters alternately..... We used to flourish away at the bolero, fandango
and waltz and we wound up early int eh evening with a supper of roast
chestnuts."
Private Wheeler, A soldier in the 51st (in the 7th division) writes to
his family on 28th of December 1811;
"I have nothing particular to write as
we still remain in our old quarters. The greatest evil attending us at
present is we want our new clothing, and a fresh supply of necessaries from
England, this we are dailey [sic] expecting. We have spent our Christmas as
comfortable as our situation would permit, The weather is very cold and we
have had much snow - the oldest people say they do not remember such a great
fall."
A soldier from the 68th Regiment about Christmas in 1812:
"...we killed a
young kid for our Christmas dinner, and we had what we considered a
delightful repast, but nothing to be compared to what some of the poorest
peasants have in England."
One 43rd Light Infantry officer in 1813 recounted :
"Just before dark while
passing a corporal's picquet, an officer and myself stood for a few minutes,
to contemplate a poor woman, who had brought her little pudding and her
child from her distant quarters, to partake of [Christmas] with her husband,
but the side of a small fire kindled under a tree."
John Cooper of the 7th Royal Fusiliers in 1813 suggests that they didn't
really celebrate it until 1813.
"Here for the first time in the Peninsula we
kept Christmas. Every man contributed some money, meat or wine. A sheep or
two were bought and killed. Pies and puddings were baked, etc. Plates,
knives and forks, were not plentiful, yet we managed to diminish the stock
of eatables in quick time. For desert we had plenty of apples; and for a
finish, two or three bandsmen played merry tunes, while many warmed their
toes by dancing jigs and reels."