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
Russian tea cake Russian tea cake Russian tea cake is a kind of pastry, often eaten around Christmas in the United States. It is a form of jumble, a pastry common in England during the Middle Ages. Similar varieties are known as Mexican wedding cakes (or cookies), Italian wedding cookies, butterballs, and occasionally snowball cookies for their powdery white spherical appearance when appearing around the winter holidays. Russian tea cakes have a relatively simple recipe, generally consisting entirely of flour, water, butter, and ground nuts, the nut variety depending upon the cookie type. After baking, they are rolled in powdered sugar while still