Editing Christmas cracker

{{short description|Table decoration that makes a snapping sound when pulled}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2020}}
[[File:ChristmasCrackers 2.jpg|thumb|Christmas crackers]]
'''Christmas crackers''' are festive table decorations that make a snapping sound when pulled open, and typically contain a small gift, paper hat and a joke. They are part of [[Christmas]] celebrations in the [[United Kingdom]], [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]] and [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] countries such as [[Australia]], [[Canada]], [[New Zealand]] and [[South Africa]].

A cracker consists of a segmented [[Paperboard|cardboard]] tube wrapped in a brightly decorated twist of [[paper]] with a prize in the centre,<ref name="bbc america">{{cite web|last=McAlpine|first=Fraser|title=Part 3: Crackers|url=http://www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia/2011/12/a-very-british-christmas-crackers/|work=A Very British Christmas|publisher=BBC America|access-date=25 December 2012|date=7 December 2011}}</ref> making it resemble an oversized [[Candy#Packaging|sweet-wrapper]]. The cracker is pulled apart by two people, each holding an outer chamber, causing the cracker to split unevenly and leaving one person holding the central chamber and prize.<ref name="bbc america"/> The split is accompanied by a mild bang or snapping sound produced by the effect of friction on a [[shock sensitivity|shock-sensitive]], chemically impregnated card strip (similar to that used in a [[cap gun]]).<ref name="bbc america" /> One chemical used for the friction strip is [[silver fulminate]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Christmas Crackers USA|url=http://christmas-crackers-usa.com/faqs.htm|access-date=3 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161214152532/http://www.christmas-crackers-usa.com/faqs.htm|archive-date=14 December 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Tradition==
[[File:Christmas cracker pull.jpg|thumb|Dinner party guests pull a cracker]]
Crackers are traditionally pulled during Christmas dinner or at Christmas parties. One version of the cracker ritual holds that the person who ends up with the larger end of cracker earns the right to keep the contents of the cardboard tube. Sometimes, each participant retains ownership of their own cracker and keeps its contents regardless of the outcome. Christmas crackers traditionally contain a colourful crown-shaped hat made of tissue paper, a small [[toy]], a [[plastic]] model, or a trinket, and a small strip of [[paper]] with a [[motto]], a [[joke]], a [[riddle]], or a piece of trivia.<ref>Although in most cases the contents of Christmas crackers have little monetary value, Christmas crackers are sometimes marketed as [[luxury good]]s. In 2009, [[Harrod's]] created a Christmas cracker that retailed at $1,000: [http://elitechoice.org/2009/11/10/harrods-luxury-6-christmas-cracker-collection-bling-it-up-this-festive-season/ "Harrods Luxury 6 Christmas Cracker Collection: Bling it up this festive season!"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111009093955/http://elitechoice.org/2009/11/10/harrods-luxury-6-christmas-cracker-collection-bling-it-up-this-festive-season/ |date=9 October 2011 }}</ref> The paper hats, with the appearance of crowns, are usually worn at [[Christmas dinner]]. The tradition of wearing festive hats is believed to date back to Roman times and the [[Saturnalia]] celebrations, which also involved decorative headgear.<ref name="bbc america" />

Christmas crackers are also associated with [[Knut's party|Knut's parties]], held in Sweden at the end of the Christmas season.

Author and historian [[John Julius Norwich]] (Viscount Norwich) was known for sending his family and friends a Christmas Cracker each year which was a kind of expanded Christmas card of anecdotes, trivia and witticisms collected from history and literature. Initially he printed them privately to give to friends but also sold via some London bookstores. His 49th and final cracker was published posthumously<ref>"A Christmas Cracker being a commonplace selection", 2018, ISBN 978-0-9932126-2-8</ref> in the year of his death.

==History==
The ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' records the pulling of ''crackers'' from 1847.<ref>[http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/43642#eid7942684 OED, Second edition] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221122093914/https://www.oed.com/start;jsessionid=DC3F0199670FA225AE6B160547DA176B?authRejection=true&url=%2Fview%2FEntry%2F43642#eid7942684 |date=22 November 2022 }}, 1989; online version November 2010.. Retrieved 23 December 2010. Earlier version first published in New English Dictionary, 1893.</ref>

=== Tom Smith ===
[[File:Tom Smith Christmas crackers 1911.jpg|thumb|right|Catalogue for [[Tom Smith (confectioner)|Tom Smith]]'s Christmas Novelties from 1911]]
Tradition tells of how [[Tom Smith (confectioner)|Tom Smith]] (1823–1869) of [[London]] invented crackers in 1847.<ref>Peter Kimpton (2005) ''Tom Smith's Christmas crackers: an illustrated history'', Tempus  {{ISBN|0-7524-3164-1}}</ref><ref>Margaret Baker (1992) ''Discovering Christmas customs and folklore: a guide to seasonal rites'', p.72, Osprey Publishing {{ISBN|0-7478-0175-4}}</ref> He created the crackers as a development of his [[bon-bon]] sweets, which he sold in a twist of paper (the origins of the traditional sweet-wrapper). As sales of bon-bons slumped, Smith began to come up with new promotional ideas. His first tactic was to insert love messages into the wrappers of the [[confectionery|sweet]]s (similar to [[fortune cookie]]s).<ref name="fletcher">{{cite news |title=Christmas traditions: The history behind crackers, mistletoe, turkey, stockings, tinsel, mince pies and more |last=Fletcher |first=Damien |newspaper=Daily Mirror |date=22 December 2011 |access-date=25 December 2012 |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/christmas-traditions-the-history-behind-crackers-187443}}</ref>

Smith was inspired to add a "crackle" element after hearing the crackle of a [[logging|log]] he had just put on a fire.<ref name="fletcher" /><ref name=tscrackers>{{cite web|title=History of the Christmas Cracker|url=http://www.tomsmithcrackers.co.uk/|work=History|publisher=Tom Smith Crackers|access-date=25 December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130827125125/http://www.tomsmithcrackers.co.uk/|archive-date=27 August 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> The size of the paper wrapper had to be increased to incorporate the banger mechanism, and the sweet itself was eventually dropped, to be replaced by a [[wikt:trinket|trinket]]: fans, jewellery and other substantial items.<ref name=Callow>{{cite book|last=Callow|first=Simon|title=Dickens' Christmas|year=2009|publisher=Frances Lincoln|location=London|isbn=978-0711230316|pages=138|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fFtX209ghqUC&pg=PA138}}{{Dead link|date=December 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The new product was initially marketed as the ''Cosaque'' (French for [[Cossack]]),<ref name=Callow /> but the [[onomatopoeia|onomatopoeic]] "cracker" soon became the commonly used name, as rival varieties came on the market.

The other elements of the modern cracker—the gifts, paper hats and varied designs—were all introduced by Tom Smith's son, Walter Smith, to differentiate his product from the rival cracker manufacturers which had suddenly sprung up.<ref name=tscrackers />

Tom Smith & Company merged with Caley Crackers in 1953.

A memorial water fountain to Tom Smith and his family stands in [[Finsbury Square]], London.<ref name=londonist_2012>[http://londonist.com/2012/12/london-christmas-past-the-invention-of-the-christmas-cracker.php "London Christmas Past: The Invention Of The Christmas Cracker"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219003359/http://londonist.com/2012/12/london-christmas-past-the-invention-of-the-christmas-cracker.php |date=19 December 2013 }} (5 December 2012) Londonist</ref><ref name=londonist_2014>[http://londonist.com/2014/12/how-finsbury-square-gave-the-world-a-christmas-tradition.php "How Finsbury Square Gave The World A Christmas Tradition"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150324065446/http://londonist.com/2014/12/how-finsbury-square-gave-the-world-a-christmas-tradition.php |date=24 March 2015 }} (5 December 2014) Londonist</ref>

=== Art ===
[[File:The-party-favour-1919.jpg|thumb|Norman Rockwell (1919)]]
A Christmas cracker is the subject of ''The Party Favor'', an oil painting by American artist [[Norman Rockwell]].
<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wikiart.org/en/norman-rockwell/the-party-favour-1919|title=Wikiart.org, Norman Rockwell, The Party Favor|website=Wikiart.org, Visual Art Encyclopedia|access-date=20 December 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.artrenewal.org/Artwork/Index/3346|title=The Party Favor|website=ARC (Art Renewal Center)|access-date=20 December 2018}}</ref> The painting appeared as cover art for ''[[The Saturday Evening Post]]'' on 26 April 1919.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.best-norman-rockwell-art.com/norman-rockwell-saturday-evening-post-cover-1919-04-26-the-party-favor.html|title=Saturday Evening Post cover, April 26, 1919|date=20 December 2018|website=Best Norman Rockwell Art|access-date=20 December 2018}}</ref>

=== Records ===
The World's Largest Christmas Cracker was measured at 63.1 m (207 ft) long and 4 m (13 ft) in diameter and was made by the parents of children at Ley Hill School and Pre-School, Chesham, Buckinghamshire, UK on 20 December 2001.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/largest-christmas-cracker- |title=Guinness World Records; online version. |work=Guinness World Records |access-date=6 October 2023 |archive-date=15 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230615230137/https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/largest-christmas-cracker- |url-status=live }}</ref>

The longest Christmas cracker pulling chain consisted of 1081 people and was achieved by [[The Harrodian School]] in London on 10 December 2015.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/4000/longest-christmas-cracker-pulling-chain |title=Guinness World Records; online version. |access-date=7 November 2013 |archive-date=11 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111172315/http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/4000/longest-christmas-cracker-pulling-chain |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 17 August 2020, while filming a Christmas episode of the television series ''[[QI]]'', British comedian [[Alan Davies]] set a [[Guinness World Record]] for the most crackers pulled by an individual in 30 seconds. He achieved 35 successful cracks, outscoring fellow panelist [[Justin Moorhouse]] by five in a head-to-head competition.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Most Christmas crackers pulled by an individual in 30 seconds|url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/497093-most-christmas-crackers-pulled-by-an-individual-in-30-seconds|access-date=23 May 2021|website=Guinness World Records|language=en-GB}}</ref> Davies' record stood until Joel Corry achieved 41 successful cracks at Capital's [[Jingle Bell Ball]] on 12 December 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Most Christmas crackers pulled by an individual in 30 seconds |url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/497093-most-christmas-crackers-pulled-by-an-individual-in-30-seconds |access-date=18 February 2022 |website=Guinness World Records |language=en-GB |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201228040920/https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/497093-most-christmas-crackers-pulled-by-an-individual-in-30-seconds |archive-date=28 December 2020 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Flight restrictions ==
Rules on transporting Christmas crackers in luggage vary by airline and airport.<ref>{{cite web |title=Flying with Christmas crackers 2018: Find out if your airline will let you travel with the festive faves this Xmas |url=https://www.aph.com/community/holidays/airlines-that-allow-christmas-crackers-to-be-carried/ |website=APH (Airport Parking and Hotels) |access-date=7 March 2019}}</ref> Passengers on commercial flights in and to the [[United States]] are explicitly prohibited from carrying Christmas crackers on board or in checked baggage.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/whatcanibring/printable|title=What Can I Bring?|publisher=[[Transportation Security Administration]]|access-date=15 March 2018}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category-inline|Christmas crackers}}
{{Christmas}}

[[Category:Christmas traditions|Cracker]]
[[Category:Party favors]]
[[Category:Christmas in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Christmas in Canada]]
[[Category:English inventions]]
[[Category:British inventions]]