what are english christmas crackers

English Christmas crackers are a traditional part of British and Commonwealth Christmas celebrations. They are small, cardboard tubes covered in colorful paper and decorated with a festive design. Each cracker contains a small trinket or toy, a paper hat, and a funny paper motto or joke. When the cracker is pulled apart, it makes a loud crack and the items inside are released. The tradition is thought to have originated from the 1840s, when a London sweet maker named Tom Smith began wrapping sweets in paper and tying them with string.