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A Victorian Christmas at Portsmouth
23 December 2006. Historic ships, 19th-century costumes and Christmas fun.
It's not snowing, but Christmas is in the air at the Victorian Festival of Christmas, an annual event held at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. 
Portsmouth is a small city on the south coast of England, and the dockyard - which houses the museum of the Royal Navy and some very old ships - is the city's main tourist attraction. For one weekend in early December, the place is taken over by Christmas markets, Christmas shoppers and people dressed in Victorian costume.
A quick history lesson 
But who were the Victorians, and what is their connection to Christmas? Well, the Victorian era is named after Queen Victoria, who reigned from 1837 to 1901. She was England's longest-serving monarch (63 years!) and in this period of history, Britain was at the height of its power, due to the industrial revolution and the British Empire.
The Victorians also began some of Britain's most popular Christmas traditions. The custom of sending Christmas cards began in 1843. Christmas crackers, which are pulled open before we begin eating our Christmas dinner, were invented during this period too.
Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert, brought a Christmas tree to Britain from his native country of Germany and the Christmas soon became popular when a newspaper published a photo of the royal couple in front of their impressive tree.
Who's that over there?
As we walk between between the ships, shops, cafes and markets, we are greeted by various characters from the Victorian age: a jolly policeman, a magician, a strict-looking schoolteacher and Brunel, the famous engineer. A couple of men have even dressed up as Christmas turkeys!
Musicians and actors put on performances, including Victorian classics Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll and Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens (who also wrote A Christmas Carol). There are morris dancers, brass bands and many other traditional forms of entertainment.
All aboard! 
Of course, a visit to the festival would not be complete without visiting the ships. These include the HMS Warrior (1860) and Henry VIII's vessel the Mary Rose, but the most attractive has to be HMS Victory. Looking like something out of Pirates of the Carribean, it is an impressive sight. The ship was launched in 1765 and is most famous for being the vessel with which Lord Nelson defeated the French and Spanish in the Battle of Trafalgar.
Visitors can see the ship's 100 guns, Nelson's cabin, the place where he was shot - indeed, all around the ship where a crew of 800 men once lived.
Next to the ship, a French market sells food and gifts from across the English Channel - a sign of peaceful times between our nations!
The grand finale
The festival ends with a parade. All the people in costume march to the sound of a Scottish band playing bagpipes and drums, and a Victorian military band in bright red uniform (below). Some people go by in a horse-drawn carriage, and of course Santa is there too.
There is then a carol service to remember the religious importance of Christmas. By now, the sun has set, and a fascinating and fun day has come to a close.
