British Christmas Traditions
With Christmas almost here and the holiday season in full swing, here are some British Christmas traditions you might enjoy learning about.
Stockings: children hang their stockings at the end of their beds on Christmas Eve so that Father Christmas can fill them with small gifts called stocking fillers; the children open their presents on Christmas morning. Originally, children jut used their everyday socks but over time special stockings were created to be used on Christmas Eve.
Crackers: a cracker is a cardboard tube wrapped in colourful paper and twisted at both ends so that it represents a large sweet. It is used as a table decoration during the festive period! The cracker is pulled apart by two people holding each end; when it is pulled apart it makes a popping noise. Traditionally, each cracker contains a coloured paper hat or crown, a piece of paper with a riddle or joke and a small toy or trinket. Nowadays, crackers can contain different items ranging from the inexpensive to the very pricey such as a Cartier watch or a limited edition pen!
Pantomimes: pantomimes are a type of musical theatre for families. These theatrical productions happen during the Christmas and New Year holidays in the United Kingdom. The performances use a well-known story or fairy tale and incorporate songs, dancing and jokes. The audience is expected to participate in the performance by talking with the actors and joining in the singing. Many English associations in France put on pantomimes during the holiday season!
Boxing Day: Boxing Day is celebrated on the Day after Christmas and people traditionally visited extended family who they haven’t seen on Christmas day. This tradition dates back to older times when the servants of rich families were allowed to visit their families and relatives on the day after Christmas since they had been working on Christmas Day serving their masters; the employers would give each servant a box of gifts, money and food to take to their families. Today, Boxing Day is one of the biggest shopping days of the year with huge sales and discounts.
Food: there are a few dishes that are typically associated with Christmas in the United Kingdom. Christmas pudding is made with dried fruits, eggs, molasses and spices. The pudding can be left to mature for a month or longer as the high alcohol content prevents it from spoiling. Mince pies are sweet pies which contain dried fruit and spices; originally they also contained minced meat but nowadays they are made without meat.
Carol singing : carol singing is one of the oldest Christmas traditions in Britain; it began in the Middle Ages when poor people would walk round the streets singling holiday songs and begging for food and money. Today, groups of people stand in the street or go from home to home collecting money from charities. The majority of churches also have carol singing events which many people attend.
With Christmas almost here and the holiday season in full swing, here are some British Christmas traditions you might enjoy learning about.
Stockings: children hang their stockings at the end of their beds on Christmas Eve so that Father Christmas can fill them with small gifts called stocking fillers; the children open their presents on Christmas morning. Originally, children jut used their everyday socks but over time special stockings were created to be used on Christmas Eve.
Crackers: a cracker is a cardboard tube wrapped in colourful paper and twisted at both ends so that it represents a large sweet. It is used as a table decoration during the festive period! The cracker is pulled apart by two people holding each end; when it is pulled apart it makes a popping noise. Traditionally, each cracker contains a coloured paper hat or crown, a piece of paper with a riddle or joke and a small toy or trinket. Nowadays, crackers can contain different items ranging from the inexpensive to the very pricey such as a Cartier watch or a limited edition pen!
Pantomimes: pantomimes are a type of musical theatre for families. These theatrical productions happen during the Christmas and New Year holidays in the United Kingdom. The performances use a well-known story or fairy tale and incorporate songs, dancing and jokes. The audience is expected to participate in the performance by talking with the actors and joining in the singing. Many English associations in France put on pantomimes during the holiday season!
Boxing Day: Boxing Day is celebrated on the Day after Christmas and people traditionally visited extended family who they haven’t seen on Christmas day. This tradition dates back to older times when the servants of rich families were allowed to visit their families and relatives on the day after Christmas since they had been working on Christmas Day serving their masters; the employers would give each servant a box of gifts, money and food to take to their families. Today, Boxing Day is one of the biggest shopping days of the year with huge sales and discounts.
Food: there are a few dishes that are typically associated with Christmas in the United Kingdom. Christmas pudding is made with dried fruits, eggs, molasses and spices. The pudding can be left to mature for a month or longer as the high alcohol content prevents it from spoiling. Mince pies are sweet pies which contain dried fruit and spices; originally they also contained minced meat but nowadays they are made without meat.
Carol singing : carol singing is one of the oldest Christmas traditions in Britain; it began in the Middle Ages when poor people would walk round the streets singling holiday songs and begging for food and money. Today, groups of people stand in the street or go from home to home collecting money from charities. The majority of churches also have carol singing events which many people attend.