Nine Facts About Christmas In England That You Will Not Believe

Charles Dickens said, 'I will hold Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all the year'. It is typically cold and foggy in England at Christmas time.

Families in England welcome the cold temperature because cold weather signifies that Christmas is approaching. Christmas celebrates Christ's beginning, and the very first Christmas (Christ's Mass) celebration was recorded in England in 1038.

Houses are decorated with holly, ivy, and other evergreens, and mistletoe is placed on door frames. Festivals such as Christmas, Diwali, and Hanukkah bring everyone together, giving people a break from their daily lives to spend time with their families. Christmas cards and presents are often shared between family and friends during this festival.

In the United Kingdom, Christmas Day became a public holiday in 1834. Even the first Christmas card was designed in 1843.

Boxing Day, the day after Christmas, was also added to the holiday calendar in 1871. Throughout this holiday, carolers move from residence to residence at twilight, ringing handbells and singing songs.

Holly And The Ivy' and 'Hark, The Herald Angels Sing' are two of the most popular Christmas carol songs. People give the carolers treats, including little pies filled with nuts and dried fruits called 'mince pies'.

According to a survey in 2019, 93% of people were willing to celebrate Christmas in the United Kingdom. People here generally greet each other by wishing 'Happy Christmas' instead of 'Merry Christmas'.

The day before Christmas is typically hectic for households in England. People wrap presents, bake cookies and fill stockings with gifts ready for Christmas morning. 

During the Christmas season, people enjoy listening to Christmas songs. It is believed that Father Christmas comes from the North Pole to surprise children during the night, leaving presents under the tree. This holiday season is truly a special time for many people.

How did our ancestors celebrate Christmas?

The Christmas dinner English families have today is very different than what people used to eat in the past. Lights, food, and decorations are also different from earlier Christmas seasons.

People call Christmas Day a 'modern' festival. Naturally, it depends on where your loved ones live and what faith they follow. In present times, globalization has made Christmas an international celebration. Our ancestors did not celebrate Christmas Day like we do today. The festivities were much smaller.

Even by the start of the 19th century, Christmas Day was not a major day in the festive season. It was not a public holiday, and the shops used to stay open the whole day. However, today Christmas Day, is a holiday, and all shops remain closed.

After Queen Victoria married Albert of Saxe-Coburg in 1840, many German traditions, along with decorating a Tannenbaum or fir tree, were introduced to British society. Another quintessentially British Christmas tradition that started during the Victorian era was Christmas crackers, which began when a confectioner called Tom Smith traveled to Paris.

Replacing candies for paper hats and trinkets, Smith’s variation of the Christmas cracker also became linked to British Christmas customs.

An animal related to Christmas in Britain is the robin. The story goes that when a mail mailman delivered Christmas cards and presents, they wore bright red uniforms, earning them the name 'robin'.

Food And Drink At Christmas

When you see mince pies, a yule log (a type of chocolate sponge cake) on the table, and children getting excited about Santa Claus coming from the North Pole, you know that Christmas has arrived. Particular types of food and drink are eaten, especially around Christmas.

Christmas time means Christmas cake. Christmas cake is a dried fruit cake that people often decorate with the theme of Christmas, such as with snowflakes, snowmen, or Father Christmas.

As the air turns cold and festive tidings beckon us to huddle around our room heaters, we dream about quaint fireplaces embellished with socks and wreaths held on doorways, in addition to a lit fir tree with a massive pile of presents under it. Christmas is the Christian pageant that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ on 25 December.

The festival is well known by the followers of Christ around the world.

In India as well, Christmas is celebrated amongst the few Christian communities with tons of fanfare. In the days bafore to Christmas and on the main day, there are carol-making song competitions called Christmas carols, Christmas markets and fairs, and so on. A number of domestic bakers and bakeries start stocking up on chocolates, cookies, and cakes.

Food is a large part of Christmas celebrations, a pageant that celebrates joy and togetherness.

Some foods and drinks that are common at Christmas include Christmas pudding, bread sauce, roast potatoes, Brussel sprouts, plum cake, gingerbread, candy canes, eggnog (made of egg white, yolk, cream, and milk), pigs in blankets (a sausage based dish which is a UK Christmas tradition), mulled wine, yule log cakes, chocolate yule log, roast turkey, roast goose, hot chocolate and much more.

Many people put food-based treats into a Christmas box for Christmas Eve.

Some culinary traditions like eating a turkey or mince pies are associated with the Victorian era. Later on, they became part of the Christmas traditions. Did you know that mince pies do not contain meat at all? They are also left out as a present for Father Christmas on Christmas Eve, along with a carrot for his reindeer.

Christmas Trees And Decorations

Christmas is the time to bring out the Christmas decorations and decorate your house and Christmas tree.

The tree resembles Jesus Christ and new life. It is believed that it symbolizes the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Germany first celebrated this festival by putting up trees as a major ritual. This german tradition also became part of English traditions when Prince Albert introduced it in the Victorian era.

Red and green baubles are classic decoration items; however, there is a lot more variety when it comes to decorations nowadays. Many people buy new decorations every year, while others pass down Christmas decorations from generation to generation.

Whether you want your Christmas tree to be understated, rustic, glam, completely over-the-top and colorful, or all-natural, there are hundreds of Christmas tree decor ideas on the internet nowadays. You can also make your own Christmas decorations.

Did you know that Christmas trees in the Victorian era were decorated with candles? However, over time, candles have been replaced with small ornaments. In the 19th century, sweets and cakes were also hung on trees.

Christmas Traditions In England

Although Christmas is celebrated worldwide, each country celebrates the festival differently with one-of-a-kind customs and traditions.

If it’s your first time in the United Kingdom over the festive duration, then get organized for the big day and learn about British Christmas time. Note that Boxing day, the day immediately after Christmas is a public vacation.

Although there are many theories surrounding the origins of Boxing Day, this holiday can be traced to when tradesmen or servants acquired a 'boxing', or Christmas present, the day after Christmas.

You will also get Christmas pudding, a form of fruit pudding served in the United Kingdom at Christmas dinner. Some people flame it with brandy, while others also put a silver coin inside the pudding.

The pudding was a common dessert in the United Kingdom in the 14th century and is made with currants, raisins, prunes, wines, and spices.

Gifting Christmas cards and other presents to neighbors and families is also common, so keep them handy!

Eating turkey on Christmas is also popular, although turkeys are not native to the British, they were first introduced to Britain in the 16th century.

People in the United Kingdom started consuming turkey at Christmas dinner because farmers wanted to keep their livestock for milk and would regularly save their chickens from laying eggs.

Also, know that spotting a snowflake at Christmas or snow on Christmas Day is known as a White Christmas in England. People experienced a White Christmas in the United Kingdom in the 20th century.

Across the United Kingdom, Merry Christmas is pronounced in many different ways. In Gaelic, Merry Christmas is 'Blithe Yule' and 'Nollaig Chridheil' in Welsh.

The Christmas Stocking And Santa Claus

The 12 days of Christmas is the duration in Christian theology that marks the span between the start of Christ and the approaching of the Magi, the three wise men.

It starts on 25 December (Christmas) and runs until 6 January (the Epiphany, additionally called Three Kings' Day). On Christmas Eve, kids around the United Kingdom place stockings (a kind of huge sock) on fireplaces so Saint Nicholas (otherwise referred as Father Christmas or Santa Claus) can fill their stockings with gifts, fruits, goodies, or cash.

It is believed that if kids act up, Santa claus fills their stockings with a single lump of coal in place of presents.

On Christmas Eve, an empty sock usually is hung so that Saint Nicholas (Santa Claus or Father Christmas) can fill it with coins, various toys, or different small objects when he arrives, and these things are also known as stocking stuffers.

The tradition of hanging stockings is related to the existence of Saint Nicholas.

As wassailing developed with youngsters regularly going door-to-door, it has become more associated with Christmas and caroling. People supposedly looked for means by going door-to-door and singing to declare their desirable intentions.

Whether famous Christmas songs, Christmas hymns, or Christmas carols, the reason for singing is to increase the memories and traditions of Christmas in ways that can be enjoyed through passive listening and active participation in making a song.