If you are in Great Britain or the Commonwealth you’ll most likely have a Christmas Cracker at the dinner table. This tradition that started in the 1850’s is a cardboard paper tube, wrapped in brightly colored paper and twisted at both ends. There is a banger inside the cracker, two strips of chemically impregnated paper that react with friction so that when the cracker is pulled apart by two people, the cracker makes a bang. Inside the cracker is a silly joke (used to be a love poem), an inexpensive toy, and a paper crown.

Photo credit: www.historic-uk.com