A Sweet History of Cake and Christmas
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History of Cake & Christmas
📅 Wednesday, December 9, 2026
🇺🇸 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM PDT
🇬🇧 The UK National Archives
Vimeo | Virtual Online Event
🍰 A Sweet History of Cake and Christmas • The National Archives UK
Food historian Annie Gray explores the history of cake, Christmas traditions, and what one particularly rich fruit cake can tell us about English identity and changing tastes.
Join The National Archives in the United Kingdom for a festive online history talk exploring one of Britain’s most recognizable seasonal foods: Christmas cake. Historian and broadcaster Annie Gray uses the rich, fruit-filled holiday cake as a starting point for a wider look at food, culture, and national identity.
The talk traces the history of cake and the traditions that developed around it, including how cakes became associated with celebrations and how British food customs traveled alongside British culture. Along the way, Gray considers what changing tastes and habits can reveal about the way traditions evolve over time.
There is also a distinctly modern question at the center of the lecture: is the traditional Christmas cake in danger of disappearing? Gray examines why the once-familiar seasonal centerpiece may be losing ground — and promises some ideas for keeping the tradition alive.
The event is presented live online as part of The National Archives’ Christmas lecture tradition.
🍰 Event Details
▫️ Date: Wednesday, December 9, 2026
▫️ Pacific Time: 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM
▫️ UK Time: 7:30 PM – 8:30 PM
▫️ Location: Online
▫️ Cost: Free / Pay What You Can
📚 Topics to Explore
▫️ The history of cake
▫️ Christmas food traditions
▫️ Food & national identity
▫️ Changing British tastes
▫️ The future of Christmas cake
🎙️ About Annie Gray
Dr. Annie Gray is a historian, broadcaster, and writer specializing in the history of food and dining in Britain from 1600 to the present day. Her work explores food not simply as something people eat, but as a window into culture, class, identity, everyday life, and social change.
💻 Watch Online
The event will be live-streamed through Vimeo. Registered viewers will receive the viewing link by email, and a Vimeo account is not required. The presentation can be watched in a web browser on a computer or mobile device, with live closed captions available.
ⓘ Event Information:
A Sweet History of Cake and Christmas is presented online by The National Archives on December 9, 2026.
The live program runs from 7:30–8:30 PM UK time and 11:30 AM–12:30 PM Pacific.
The event is listed as free with a pay-what-you-can option. Check the official National Archives event page for registration, livestream access, and any schedule updates.