The man who cracked the cracker

Wed, 19 Oct 2005

A Londoner called Tom Smith noticed while in Paris how sweets were wrapped in colourful paper.

After coming back to London, Tom decided to try out his own version. As well as a sweet he also wrapped a joke or a message.

The cracker snap came later when his family were gathered around a log fire on Christmas Day. His children cheered whenever the log in the fire cracked in the flames.

This was 150 years ago.

Crackers had become well established by the end of the 19th century and were part of Britain’s Christmas tradition.

A young man in 1927 sent Tom Smith’s company an engagement ring and ten shillings asking him to produce a special cracker for his beloved so he could propose to her. In his excitement he forgot to send his name and address. The ring and ten shilling note is still to this day with the company.

The snaps in crackers were first used by soldiers in the World War Two. They were set off when the string was pulled and were used to mimic gunfire.

When crackers first appeared commercially, love verses were featured in them but these were later replaced by cartoons, puzzles and now riddles and corny jokes.

The Royal family have special crackers made for them each year. However, what they look like and what they contain are a closely guarded secret.

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