Alongside the distribution of gifts and joyous celebrations, the Christmas season was also laden with grief and sorrow, as the Imperial family had to commemorate the anniversaries of the deaths of several of its closest members.
On 21 December, a memorial mass was performed for the Empress Dowager Elisabeth Christine (d. 1750), Maria Theresa’s mother and the mother-in-law of Emperor Francis Stephan. On 23 December followed the annual commemoration of Elisabeth Charlotte d’Orléans (d. 1744), the Emperor’s mother and Maria Theresa’s mother-in-law.
The Christmas period remained somehow fatal for the Imperial family. In the course of time, this sad list was further expanded by the death of twelve-year-old Archduchess Johanna, who died of smallpox on 23 December 1762. Another sibling, Archduke Ferdinand, passed away on Christmas Eve in 1806.
One can easily imagine the grief and sorrow shared by parents and siblings alike. As deeply religious individuals, they sought spiritual relief in private prayers and solemn liturgies. One can only hope that they found the consolation they needed.
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