Question

Who invited Christmas Crackers? What was the inventor's target, he was trying to achieve?

Answer 1

Christmas Crackers were invented by a London sweet maker Tom Smith. He had seen the French 'Bon Bon' sweets and wanted to do something similar.

Answer 2

Christmas crackers were invented by Tom Smith, a British confectioner, in the mid-19th century. Tom Smith was inspired to create Christmas crackers after a trip to Paris, where he saw French bonbons wrapped in twisty wrappers. Upon returning to London, he decided to develop a similar concept for the British market, but he wanted to make it more exciting and suitable for Christmas.

His initial intention was not to create a festive tradition but to boost sales of his bonbons. The traditional cracker design we know today, with a paper tube containing a small gift, a joke or a riddle, and a snapping mechanism, was born out of this desire to create a unique and attention-grabbing product.

The idea was that when the cracker was pulled apart by two people, it would make a cracking sound, revealing the surprise inside. Over time, this tradition caught on, and Christmas crackers became an integral part of Christmas celebrations in the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth countries. The inventor's target was primarily to boost his confectionery sales, but he inadvertently created a beloved Christmas tradition in the process.