Prof.

Saghin Cristina
Scoala Gimnaziala Gruia, jud. Mehedinti

CHRISTMAS IN BRITAIN

Christmas Eve - December 24th

In England less emphasis is placed on Christmas Eve than in other countries, much more is made
of Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Carol singing, midnight church services and going out to the
pub are some of the activities that many families enjoy (sometimes all three activities can be
combined into one fun night out!).
Night time on Christmas Eve though is a very exciting time for young children. It is the time
when Santa or Father Christmas comes. They hang up their stockings and go to sleep. Santa and
his elves make all the toys for Christmas in his home in Greenland. On Christmas Eve he piles
all of the toys onto his sleigh and rides across the sky with his 9 reindeer (Dasher, Dancer,
Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner (or it may be Donder), Blitzen and of course ... Rudolf!).
The most famous one is Rudolf the who is always the one at the front, to lead the way with his
red nose. In the morning when the children wake up they open their stocking presents.
Traditionally on Christmas Eve mince pies and sherry (or milk) are left out for Santa and
nowadays carrots are left for his reindeer. Most children are in bed way before midnight waiting
for Santa to visit.
Christmas Day

The origins of the now traditional Christmas Celebration, distinct from earlier pagan winter
holidays, date to sixth century England. By the middle ages, it was a well-established important
holiday, with traditional pageantry, customs, music and feasting all its own. Customs from pre
Christian days were incorporated into the Celebrations, and many still remain.
However in 1647, the English parliament passed a law that made Christmas illegal, all festivities
were banned by the Puritan leader Oliver Cromwell, who considered feasting and revelry on
what was supposed to be a holy day to be immoral. The ban was lifted only when Cromwell lost
power in 1660.
In Britain, the Holy Days and Fasting Days Act of 1551 (which has not yet been repealed) states
that every citizen must attend a Christian church service on Christmas Day, and must not use any
kind of vehicle to get to the service There are a large number of Britons who break this law every
year. The law may have been intended to encourage humility by forcing even the wealthy to
attend the church on foot, or perhaps it was simply to avoid the traffic and parking crush that
universal attendance would otherwise have brought about.
Later, during Queen Victoria's reign, Christmas became a time for gift giving, and a special
season for children.
Nowadays, according to research by, of all things, Jarlsberg cheese, the average family gets out
of bed just before 8am and is ready to start opening presents by 8.19am. Once the wrapping
paper has been torn off all the presents, the family sits down to breakfast at 9.02am, but not
before they have tucked into a bit of chocolate at 8.39am.
13 per cent of families always attend church on Christmas Day.
Unfortunately all the excitement and stress means that at precisely 9.58 on Christmas morning
the first rows begin, and the average parent ends up losing it, and they start to tell off their
children for the first time around 11.07am.
The strain of cooking the big Christmas dinner sees the average Brit start to sip their first
alcoholic drink at 11.48am.
27 per cent of families sit down to watch the Queen’s Speech.
Dinner is finally served at 3.24pm, with 85 per cent of people enjoying the traditional turkey
with all the trimmings.
All that food and drink means the first person falls asleep at around 4.58pm, with dad being the
leader in losing the "staying awake" battle. Almost half of those who do nod off end up annoying
the others with their loud snoring. For those who manage to stay awake, family board games are
brought out at 5.46pm.
38 per cent of families think that spending time with the family is the best thing about Christmas
Day.
And lights out? 11.39pm.
The Queen's Message

One Christmas ritual not drawn from an ancient tradition is the British monarch's broadcast on
Christmas day. The tradition began in 1932 when King George V read a special speech written
by Rudyard Kipling. The broadcast was an enormous success . It began, "I speak now from my
home and from my heart, to you all...".
Queen Elizabeth II continues the tradition to this day. Every year she broadcasts her message on
Christmas Day, and it is heard by millions of people all over the world. In England most people
watch or listen to it whilst digesting their Christmas Dinner!
Christmas Carols

Christmas carols have their roots in medieval England, when minstrels traveled from castle to
castle, today they would be called carollers. In addition poor people in England would go
wassailing, they would bring their mugs to the door of rich houses hoping for a share of the
wassail bowl. The drink in the bowl was called lambswool. It was a brew of hot ale with sugar,
eggs, spices and roast apples floating in it.
The book "A Christmas Carol" was written by Charles Dickens. It is the tale of a miser called
Ebeneezer Scrooge who is visited by four ghosts (Jacob Marley, The Ghost of Christmas Past,
The Ghost of Christmas Present and the Ghost of Christmas Future). He was made to see the
error of his ways and became a reformed character.
Today carollers generally collect money for charity. The 'Round Table' in England often sends a
big sleigh with a Christmas tree and people singing and playing carols around the cities and
towns of England. In Wales, each village may have several choirs which rehearse well in
advance of the holidays and then go carolling collecting money for charity.
Christmas Presents

Like many of our Christmas customs, gift giving has its historical origin in an ancient pre-
Christian tradition. During the ancient Roman celebration of Saturnalia, the harvest festival,
small candles and clay figures were given. At Calens, the Roman new-year, more elaborate gifts
were exchanged. The Romans believed that sweet gifts would ensure a good year, so fruits,
honey, and cakes were popular gifts. Evergreen branches, were given as symbols of continuous
health and strength. Wealthy Romans gave each other gold coins for good luck. Everyone gave
gifts, children gave to their teachers, slaves gave to their masters, and the people gave to their
emperor. Even though the three kings and others gave presents to the baby Jesus, gift giving did
not become an established part of the Christmas celebration until several centuries after the birth
of Christ.
Because the early Christians did not want their religion to be associated with pagan festivals,
they shunned gift giving as a pagan practice. It was in the middle ages that gift giving began to
be part of the Christmas tradition. The kings of England, like the emperors of Rome, demanded
gifts from their subjects. The common people also exchanged gifts, but only among the wealthy
were elaborate gifts given. The poor exchanged trinkets and entertained each other with songs
and parties and plays.
Nowadays, the knitted pattern jumper is considered to be the worst present you could find under
the tree, followed by a dustpan and brush and the dreaded socks.
Christmas Trees

Christmas trees are an integral part of the Christmas decorations in most British households.
Although it was always traditional to bring evergreens into the house the Christmas tree is
another tradition borrowed from Germany, where it is said that German Martin Luther was the
first person to decorate a tree with candles and bring it indoors to show his children what stars
looked like at night in the forest. It didn't become popular in Britain until the nineteenth century,
when Queen Victoria’s husband Prince Albert introduced the custom from Germany.
Nowadays in the UK you will find a variety of trees, from real trees with roots that can be
replanted after the festivities, to felled trees that get recycled, to plastic imitations that get
unpacked every year. No one seems to be able to agree which is the most environmentally
friendly option. The tree will be decorated with lights (candles are a rarity due to the risk of fire),
tinsel, baubles, chocolate figures and coins, and the obligatory angel / fairy on the top.
Mistletoe

Mistletoe was considered sacred by the people of ancient Britain. The Druid priests used it in
their sacrifices to the gods. It was believed to have magical properties. People who met under a
tree bearing mistletoe were forbidden to fight, even if they were enemies, and anyone who
entered a home decorated with mistletoe was entitled to shelter and protection. Mistletoe may
even have been part of Druidic wedding ceremonies. The Celtic people believed it had
miraculous healing powers. In fact the name for mistletoe in the Celtic languages is all heal.
Mistletoe could cure diseases, render poisons harmless, make humans and animals fertile, protect
the house from ghosts and bring good luck.
In eighteenth century England mistletoe was credited, not with healing power, but with a
different kind of magic. It was the magic element in the kissing ball, a special decoration used at
Christmas parties. The kissing ball had a round frame that was trimmed with evergreens, ribbons
and ornaments. Tiny nativity figures were placed inside it. For the finishing touch, a sprig of
mistletoe was tied to the bottom of the ball. It was then hung from the ceiling, and party goers
would play kissing games underneath it. A kiss under the mistletoe could mean deep romance or
lasting friendship and good will.
The mistletoe's kissing tradition, according to one account, comes from the Norse myths. Friga,
one of the gods, gave her son, Balda, a charm of mistletoe to protect him from the elements, but
because mistletoe grows neither from the water or the earth, nor from fire nor air, it grows on
trees, it held the power to harm Balda. One of the other god's arrows made of mistletoe struck
Bolda down, and his mother cried tears of white berries. She brought her son back to life, and
vowed to kiss anyone who rested beneath the plant. Thus the kissing tradition began.
There is a limit to how much you can kiss under one sprig of mistletoe though. For each kiss a
berry must be removed and once all the berries are gone - no more kissing!
The Nativity Play
A Nativity play is a play, usually performed at Christmas, which recounts the story of the
Nativity (birth) of Jesus.
Many primary schools and Sunday schools in the UK put on a Nativity play. Schoolchildren in
costume act as the human and angel characters, and often as the animals and props. The infant
Jesus is sometimes represented by a doll, but sometimes played by a real baby. Every year
parents of young children dread the note from the school to say what role their child will play.
Why do the dread it? Because they have to make the costume, and it's a very competitive thing.
Parents are judged on the quality of the costume, children are judged on the role they get to play
and how many lines they get to speak. If you're interested I got to play the star - not one line.
In the UK, increasing secularism and sensitivity in multicultural areas has led many schools to
end the performance of Nativity plays, or significantly alter their content, causing others to
complain about excessive political correctness. In 2014, there were reports of drunken spacemen,
Elvis Presley, footballers, aliens, punk fairies, and a lobster (that must be a posh school) all
making an appearance.
Another controversial topic is taking photographs or filming the play. Some schools have banned
this because of fears of inappropriate use of the images. However, some canny schools then sell
DVDs of the play.