A Study Of Seaside Holiday Activities In Victorian England

The Victorian Age（1837-1901）was a period of great prosperity in British history,known as the "Golden Age" in British history.In this period,the industrial revolution reached its peak,which not only promoted the rapid development of economy,but also brought about great changes in people’s lifestyle,one of which was having holidays on the seashore in the Victorian era.The extensive use of railways narrowed the geographical distance between the regions of Britain,making long-distance travel holidays possible;And under the influence of the imitation society of the time,people also flocked to the seaside;Religion also relaxed the restrictions on leisure and recreational activities;Finally,many people was facing the pressure of city life and the increasingly bad environment and they were in urgent need of fresh air and relaxation.All of these factors contributed to the rise of having holidays on the seashore in the Victorian era.The flourishing of having holidays on the seashore also promotes the development of society and economy.For the holiday crowd,it satisfies people’s spiritual needs to some extent,also enlarges people’s knowledge,and promotes their physical and mental health.For the development of seaside resorts,it promotes the optimization of urban infrastructure and the transformation of economic structure,and strengthens the connection between coastal areas and the mainland.The holidays on the seashore also enriched people’s cultural activities,stimulated people’s creative inspiration,and added a lot of excellent works to the history of British literature and art.This paper explores the interaction between human activities and social economy and culture from the perspective of sociology and summarizes the characteristics of seaside holiday activities in the Victorian era.First of all,the economic and technological development and progress of the industrial revolution made the ordinary people have the opportunity to choose more advanced leisure activity types,having holidays on seashore is no longer restricted by class.It was becoming a public recreational activity,and not only making it possible to take a cross class communication,but strengthening the regional social and cultural exchanges;Secondly,the large number of female participation in having holidays on the seashore is one of the characteristics,which promotes the development of female participation and discourse power in the public sphere.Finally,the public’s enthusiasm for the holidays on the seashore also reflects their pursuit of more elegant,more rational and more civilized leisure activities,which promoted the rational and civilized development of leisure activities in the Victorian era.