Christmas in The United Kingdom

Christmas in the United Kingdom
In the UK (or Great Britain), families often celebrate

Christmas together, so they can watch each other open
their presents!
Most families have a Christmas Tree (or maybe even

two!) in their house for Christmas. The decorating of the
tree is usually a family occasion, with everyone helping.
Christmas Trees were first popularised the UK by Prince
Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria. Prince Albert
was German, and thought that it would be good to use
one of his ways of celebrating Christmas in England.
Holly, Ivy and Mistletoe are also sometimes used to

decorate homes or other buildings.
Most villages, towns and cities are decorated with

Christmas lights over Christmas. Often a famous person
switches them on. The most famous Christmas lights in
the UK are in Oxford Street in London. Every year they
get bigger and better. Thousands of people go to watch
the big 'switch on' around the beginning of November.
Like a lot of countries, Nativity Plays and Carol Services

are also very popular at Christmas time. The Church that
I go to always has a Carols by Candlelight Service where
the church is only lit up by candles. It is a very special
service and always makes me feel very Christmassy! Lots
of other British churches also have Carols by Candlelight
and Christingle services. The most famous UK Carol
service is the Service of Nine Lessons and Carols which is
broadcast on Christmas Eve at 3.00pm from the chapel of
King's College, Cambridge.
Children believe that Father Christmas or Santa

Claus leaves presents in stockings or pillow-cases. These
are normally hung up by the fire or by the children's beds
on Christmas Eve. Children sometimes leave out mince
pies and brandy for Father Christmas to eat and drink
when he visits them. Now, it's often a non-alcoholic drink
that's left because Santa has to drive his sleigh.
Children write letters to Father Christmas/Santa listing

their requests, but sometimes instead of putting them in
the post, the letters are tossed into the fireplace. The
draught carries the letters up the chimney and Father
Christmas/Santa reads the smoke.
There are some customs that only take place, or were

started, in the UK. Wassailing is an old anglo-saxon
custom that doesn't take place much today. Boxing
Day is a very old custom that started in the UK and is now
taken as a holiday in many countries around the world.
In the UK, the main Christmas Meal is usually eaten at

lunchtime or early afternoon on Christmas Day. It's
normally roast turkey, roast vegetables and 'all the
trimmings' which means vegetables like carrots & peas,
stuffing and sometimes bacon and sausages. It's often
served with cranberry sauce and bread sauce.
Traditionally, and before turkey was available, roast beef
or goose was the main Christmas meal. One vegetable
that is often at Christmas in the UK are brussel sprouts. I
love them but lots of people don't!
Dessert is often Christmas Pudding. Mince pies and lots of

chocolates are often eaten as well!
Trifle is also a popular dessert at Christmas. It's made in a

large bowl and consists of a layer of sponge cake (or
sponge fingers) at the bottom of the bowl (which is often
soaked in sherry or brandy) then there's a layer of fruit
(normally suspended in a fruit flavored jelly) and it's
topped with a layer of custard and then whipped cream.
In Scotland there's a variation called 'Tipsy Laird' which
uses whiskey to soak the sponge and the fruit are
raspberries.
The dinner table is decorated with a Christmas

Cracker for each person and sometimes flowers and
candles.
The UK is also famous for Christmas Cake - some people

love it and some people really don't like it! It's
traditionally a rich fruit cake covered with marzipan and
icing - and often top with Christmas themed cake
decorations like a spring of holly.
At 3.00pm on Christmas Day, the Queen's Christmas

Message is broadcast on TV, radio and online in the UK.
The tradition of a Royal Christmas Message started in
1932 by King George V. Queen Elizabeth II gave her first
Christmas Message in 1952. It was first broadcast on TV
in 1957. The speech is now pre-recorded a few days
before Christmas. It's actually broadcast first in New
Zealand and Australia (at about 5am UK time) as they
start Christmas Day earlier!
In North Derbyshire and South Yorkshire (in the north of

England), some very special carol singing, called 'The
Sheffield Carols', happens in some pubs during the weeks
leading up to Christmas (the traditional day for sorting
the carol singing is Armistice Sunday near the middle of
November). The pubs are often rural and out on the hills
in that part of England. The carols are often very local
ones and the same carol often varies from pub to pub.
Not all the carols are ones about the Christmas story. The
pubs are often packed, especially the nearer it is to
Christmas. The singing can be lead/accompanied by local
folk musicians, an organ in the pub or sometimes the
singing is un-accompanied. You can find more about
these carol singing sessions on these
sites: www.villagecarols.org.uk/ (there are some
wonderful recordings of the carols being sung on there as
well) and www.localcarols.org.uk/.
In the UK, it doesn't snow very often, but people always
want to know if it will be a 'White Christmas'. The British
definition, used by the UK Meteorological Office (who say
if it has been a White Christmas in the UK or not!), is that
a single snow flake has been seen falling in the 24 hours
of Christmas Day! This doesn't happen a lot in the UK!!!
Statistics show that in the UK, they get an official White

Christmas about every 4 or 5 years and have real snow at
Christmas about 1 in 10 years (but often this is only
normally in Scotland!).
Below is an animated map, made

by www.signatrol.com (goes to another site) - who make
weather data logging systems - showing where it's been a
White Christmas in the UK over the last 50 years.

Christmas in The United Kingdom

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Christmas in the United Kingdom

In the UK (or Great Britain), families often celebrate

Most families have a Christmas Tree (or maybe even

Holly, Ivy and Mistletoe are also sometimes used to

Most villages, towns and cities are decorated with

Like a lot of countries, Nativity Plays and Carol Services

Children believe that Father Christmas or Santa

Children write letters to Father Christmas/Santa listing

There are some customs that only take place, or were

In the UK, the main Christmas Meal is usually eaten at

Dessert is often Christmas Pudding. Mince pies and lots of

Trifle is also a popular dessert at Christmas. It's made in a

The dinner table is decorated with a Christmas

The UK is also famous for Christmas Cake - some people

At 3.00pm on Christmas Day, the Queen's Christmas

In North Derbyshire and South Yorkshire (in the north of

Statistics show that in the UK, they get an official White

Below is an animated map, made

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