The tradition of wearing festive hats is believed to date back to Roman times and the Saturnalia celebrations, which also involved decorative headgear. The paper hats, with the appearance of crowns, are usually worn at Christmas dinner. 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. Sometimes, each participant retains ownership of their own cracker and keeps its contents regardless of the outcome. 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. Tradition Ĭrackers are traditionally pulled during Christmas dinner or at Christmas parties. One chemical used for the friction strip is silver fulminate. The split is accompanied by a mild bang or snapping sound produced by the effect of friction on a shock-sensitive, chemically impregnated card strip (similar to that used in a cap gun). 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. They are part of Christmas celebrations in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Commonwealth countries such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa.Ī cracker consists of a segmented cardboard tube wrapped in a brightly decorated twist of paper with a prize in the centre, making it resemble an oversized sweet-wrapper. Christmas crackers are festive table decorations that make a snapping sound when pulled open, and often contain a small gift, paper hat and a joke.

Christmas Cracker by R.L. Cherry