December is a cold, rainy month in the UK, so Christmas generally happens inside. Many Christmas traditions go back to pagan times. Others are more recent, introduced just two hundred years ago. The tradition of hanging mistletoe, for example, and kissing under the plant, is ancient. And although carol singing dates back to pagan times, the most popular carols are from the time of Queen Victoria. It was actually Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert, who introduced Christmas trees from Germany, and the modern Christmas festive season was born.
British Christmas Traditions
Charles Dickens
Many of the traditions of the festive season actually come from just one source. Charles Dickens, with his book A Christmas Carol, converted Christmas from a chaotic street celebration into a family occasion. The writer put old and new elements into one classic story, with roast turkey, gift giving, carol singing, mulled wine, holly and Christmas pudding.
Modern times
Recent research about Christmas Day has produced some very interesting results. The average English family starts to open presents at 8.19am. About 13 per cent of families go to church on Christmas Day morning. Stress produced by cooking lunch – the most important meal of the year – makes parents have their first alcoholic drink at 11.48 am. Almost 90 per cent of English families have roast turkey for lunch, with all the trimmings. At 5pm, the father normally falls asleep. He is already dreaming about next year’s Christmas Day.
5 Popular British Christmas Traditions
Es difícil elegir solo cinco tradiciones entre las muchas que caracterizan la Navidad, pero aquí están las que mejor representan la esencia de esta festividad.
Father Christmas
The central figure of Christmas Day wears a costume invented by Coca-Cola. Santa comes down the chimney, eats the snack left by children to help him during the night (typically a mince pie and a glass of wine), and leaves presents in stockings and around the Christmas tree.
Christmas Lunch
The most important meal of the year. Most families eat roast turkey or goose or chicken. Vegetables include Brussels sprouts (sometimes called ‘the devil’s vegetable’.) Then there is plum pudding, Christmas cake and mince pies.
Christmas Crackers
Invented almost two hundred years ago, these paper-covered tubes produce a loud crack when pulled apart. They contain a small trinket, a bad joke and a paper hat – which people wear during the lunch.
Pantomimes
An essential part of the festive celebrations, these Christmas plays are often adaptations of children’s stories. Cinderella is very popular. The plays have songs, dances, jokes and, very importantly, and the audience participates.
The King’s Christmas Message
The British monarch has made a speech almost every Christmas since 1931, talking about the year’s events and the royal family. Although it is no longer as popular as it once was, the Kings’s speech on TV is still watched by millions every Christmas Day.