Christmas in the United Kingdom

Christmas in Great Britain

In Great Britain the hustle and bustle of the season begins well before Christmas and there is barely anytime for a break until the Twelfth night.

There is preparation going on of foods, the sending of Christmas cards, the decorating of houses and churches, and the readying of gifts keep everyone busy even the youngest family members.

On Christmas Eve youngsters hang up their stockings on the ends of the beds or by the chimney so that when Father Christmas comes he can leave them something.

On Christmas morning the family traditionally opens their presents and prepares for a big feast which typically is served just after midday.

The table gleams with the best china and glassware, and at every place on the table there is a cracker.

The meal begins with a toast, followed by the popping of the crackers.

After the meal they sit down in front of the television for the traditional Christmas speech of the British Monarch.

In the afternoon they exchange visits with neighbours other family members.

Some churches in Great Britain have a Christingle service on the fourth Sunday of Advent. This is a carol service of Scandinavian origin at which every child received an orange and candle wrapped in a red ribbon. The candle represents Jesus and the ribbon stands for the blood of Christ and the love of God embracing the world.

In Britain, children write their letters to Father Christmas and then throw them into the fireplace so they will float up the chimney and fly to the North Pole. If the lists catch fire first, they have to rewrite them.

At Christmas dinner, a plum pudding is served with little treasures hidden inside that bring their finders good luck. Britain was the first country to hang up mistletoe.

Christmas in Scotland

The Scottish people have their big celebrations on New Year’s Eve, called Hogmanay.

There is an old superstition that it is bad luck for the fire to go out on Christmas Eve, since it is at this time that the elves are abroad and only a raging fire will keep them from coming down the chimney.

On Christmas day, people sometimes make big bonfires and dance around them to the playing of bagpipes.

Bannock cakes made of oatmeal are traditionally eaten at Christmas.

In Scotland, Christmas had traditionally been celebrated very quietly, because the Church of Scotland – the Presbyterian Church – has never placed any great emphasis on the Christmas festival.

However, the Scots who are members of the Church of England or other churches generally celebrate Christmas in the same way as the English people.

Christmas in Wales

The Welsh are great lovers of music and so every year at Christmas, carol singing is the most enjoyed activity. In the churches, they are sung to the harp. They are sung in people’s homes around the Christmas tree and at the doors and windows of the houses.

Carolling is called eisteddfodde and is often accompanied by a harp. In some rural areas a villager is chosen to be the Mari llwyd. This person travels around the town draped in white and carrying a horse’s skull on a long pole. Anyone given the “bite” by the horse’s jaws must pay a fine.

Christmas is spent with lots of people gathering in the public square for the announcement of who, during the year, has won the prize for submitting the best music for a new carol, and the formal pronouncement of it as the carol of the year. This carol is now added to those already known and sung in Wales.

Taffy making is one of the most important traditions of the Welsh Christmas.

This involves the making of the special kind of chewy toffee from brown sugar and butter. It is boiled and then pulled so that it becomes lovely and glossy.

The Christmas goose is also essential.

The Welsh people maintain most of the traditional customs associated with England such as holly, mistletoe, pudding, carols, Christmas stockings, oranges, crackers and lots of snow.

The carollers make their rounds at dawn on Christmas morning, and families wake from sleep and ask them in for refreshments.

Information taken from https://www.santas.net