The origins of the Christmas cracker lie in France where bags of bon-bons where wrapped in paper which two children would then pull apart.
While on holiday in Paris in the 1860's an English confectioner named Tom Smith noticed the paper wrapped bags of sugared almonds and bon-bons in many shop windows.
When he returned to London he decided he would sell these bags of sweets in his shop but they where not to the English taste so he formulated an idea to improve on the French idea adding a printed motto or riddle this did not help.
It was only when he was sitting quietly by his fireside listening to the logs burning and cracking that the idea hit him.
Make them bang.
He was a very resourceful man and experimented with various chemicals before he succeeded in impregnating two strips of cardboard which when pulled apart, as a result of friction, would then cause a small explosion.
When they went on sale they contained mottoes written by popular writers of the day and quality novelties in the form of games, puzzles, toys and curiosities, a far cry from the cheap plastic imports and paper hats we get today.
Tom Smiths Christmas Crackers became an instant success.
