Christmas cracker tradition of wearing festive hats is believed to date back to Roman times and the Saturnalia celebrations, which also involved decorative headgear. Christmas crackers are also associated with Knut's parties, held in Sweden at the end of the Christmas season. The "Oxford English Dictionary" records the use of "cracker bonbons" and the pulling of "crackers" from 1847. Tradition tells of how Tom Smith of London invented crackers in 1847. 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
Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer balcony. Over the night, fireworks were displayed above Hyde Park and 100 beacons were lit up across the country to celebrate the royal wedding. The couple received gifts from foreign officials including "an engraved Steuben glass bowl and a handmade porcelain centerpiece by Boehm" from the US, a set of antique Canadian furniture, handcrafted silver platters from Australia, and "a matching diamond and sapphire watch, bracelet, pendant, ring, and earrings" from the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. The couple had 27 wedding cakes. The Naval Armed Forces supplied the official wedding cake. David Avery, head baker at the Royal Naval