1890s: The first Christmas

 

Christmas has come to the Whittaker house. In 1890s Christmas traditions as we know them were still just emerging, and they were also quite different depending on where you lived, what church you went to and in Louisiana, if you had your roots in the French-creole part of society or the anglo-saxon one. Joseph Whittaker is definitely one of the latter, and as such he has taken inspiration from the British royal family, and is one of five Americans at this time to introduce a Christmas tree into his home. Christmas starts on Christmas Eve, when the tree is decorated and the family attend church together.  

Normally this would be done at night, when Frank is asleep, but Joseph wanted to include his son. They had quite fun decorating the tree together, and perhaps they started a new tradition all on their own? For Abigail this particular Christmas Eve comes with a surprise, as Joseph suddenly kiss her!

Now being a governess and being kissed by your employer is definitely not risk free! As a governess you can lose both job and reputation by falling for your employer, especially if they do not mean to marry you. Now Joseph doesn't seem the type, but he also seems very conflicted. That night he stands for a long time contemplating while gazing on the portrait of his lost wife Ruth:

But he also stands for a time outside Abigail's door. Will she need to lock it to keep him out at night? 

Christmas day comes with no resolution to the situation. They exchange gifts: 

Meet father Winter:

And eat a fabulous turkey dinner cooked by the house maid Lisbeth before she was sent home to her family for the day:

However, any attempt from Abigail to breach the topic of the future, and of Joseph's intentions, is firmly avoided by him. What does he want? Why did he kiss her? Abigail doesn't know what to think, and she feers for her own position. She really does love Joseph, and she thinks they could have a good marriage and a good life, but if he cannot move past his former loss, if he does not have honest intentions, she is the one who stands most to lose. Whether she accept his advances or refuse them, her reputation and livelihood can be lost. As boxing day rolls around, the day starts like normal. Abigail teaches numbers to Ida:

The entire family goes ice skating:

But then, out of the blue, Abigail gets a telegram with a very important message:

Now this is a revelation, and changes the entire playing field. With money of her own, she has the option to leave if she wants to. She does not need to put herself at risk, and she can afford, a simple and less affluent, but descent life of her own. She is no longer in need of Joseph for her very survival. She is a woman of options and means. It gives her an entirely new position of strength in this dance of theirs. Joseph seems to know this too. After the boxing day ceremony at church, he visits Ruth's grave. It's time to make up his mind. Should he live in the past, or move forward in life? Have more children (he does want them), and make a life with Abigail? If he does not, he might lose her forever. Suddenly she is not the only one who stands to lose something.

As new years eve rolls around, an event that is not celebrated as much as it is today, something new happens in the Whittaker household. For the first time since Ruth's death, Joseph picks up his violin and grace the family with a little concerto:

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He even includes a little serenade to Abigail: 

And finally, the moment Abigail has been waiting for comes, and as 1890 turns to 1891 Joseph goes down on one knee:

Obviously Abigail said yes! So now the question is not who will she marry, but what dress will she wear? I've tried to do this with as little CC as possible, and the game leaves me with three reasonable options:

The first one is a bit too slim for 1890s (perfect for 1900s) in its figure (so is number 3 but with a wider skirt) but both are good representations of the new fashion of wearing lace, something made popular by Queen Victoria herself (she was also the one to make white the go to color for weddings, mostly because lace looked better in white). The second one has a more time typical 1890s shape of the skirt itself, but has no sleaves. Wedding dresses were quite covered up at the time. So pros and cons to all, but which one should she wear? Next week they're hosting their engagement dinner!