Christmas in England :usi,costumi e tradizioni

Christmas:Religious Holiday

This religious holiday was carried across the Channel around 596 AD. by Augustinian monks but in old Brittany it has much more distant origins. The druids, the ancient Celtic priests, celebrated the Winter Solstice – as did many pagan communities – exchanging mistletoe and holly, plants linked to immortality.https://www.britannica.com/topic/Christmas

Today in Great Britain it is still customary to exchange these small twigs between friends and relatives as a welcome symbol and even if it is linked more to popular tradition than to religious one, it is now mixed with other typical Christmas practices in England.

Some Brits these days like to get together or stroll around the neighborhood and ring every door to sing Christmas Carols. This tradition has been respected in recent times especially by children, who receive sweets and candies in exchange for sprigs of mistletoe and holly and a cheerful cantata.

Christmas in England is obviously the party of children who already in November write their letters for Christmas Father, our Santa Claus to be clear, asking for the gifts they hope to find in their stocking on Christmas morning. Adults also write, because in Great Britain it is customary to send Christmas Cards with Christmas greetings to friends and relatives.

Christmas tree

Few people know that the tradition of the Christmas tree was born in England in the second half of the 19th century: the original custom was Saxon, introduced into the Kingdom by Prince Albert of Saxony, husband of Queen Victoria, along with many other Christmas traditions. The tree is a central element of Germanic culture (the Tannenbaum), a symbol of life and rebirth, it also played a very important role in pre-Christian civilizations. Albert was an upright and typically Germanic prince, a lover of art and beauty, but numerous rumors and tales with an irreverent and ironic flavor arose around him, to explain the spread of the Saxon Christmas traditions in England.

https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/tradition/a25619292/queen-victoria-prince-albert-christmas-tree-holiday-tradition/

Christmas :”Unique and unforgettable experience”
Christmas in London becomes a unique and unforgettable experience.

Everything, on the street, in the museums, among the shop windows, in the churches, recalls this wonderful time of Christmas.
Christmas in Trafalgar Square
The starting point to start breathing Christmas right away is Trafalgar Square: Here you can visit the National Gallery, and draw inspiration from the great paintings depicting the Nativity.  Next to it you will already know the church of Saint Martin in the Fields;  right in Saint Martin’s, every year the Advent period is celebrated with a series of concerts held inside the Church from November 30 to December 28, culminating with the “Christmas Carols” (or Christmas carols) in the night of Monday23December.

https://www.missdarcy.it/a-christmas-carol-i-canti-di-natale-in-epoca-vittoriana/
In the month of December you can listen to the Chrismas Carols almost everywhere, for free or for a fee for the better organized ones.

In the first week of December, also in Trafalgar Square, there is a fixed appointment for all lovers of Christmas and its most historic traditions;  every year, in fact, a gigantic tree donated by Norway to the United Kingdom is erected in the center of the square to commemorate the help that the Nordic country had given to England during the tragic years of the Second World War.
A truly unmissable moment that effectively marks the official start of “Christmas time” in London https://www.london.gov.uk/about-us/our-building-and-squares/christmas-trafalgar-square

Covent Garden at Christmas
Another magical place to breathe the Christmas atmosphere is Covent Garden.
Each year, as you can see from past photos, there is a different subject that represents Christmas.  In recent years it is a beautiful giant Reindeer covered in 1000 white lights.  British people know how to “animate” Christmas, with colors, lights, music, songs, …. turning on Christmas lights in Covent Garden .https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBsmLw08GX0

Christmas Eve

Christmas in London is one of the best times of the year, the shop windows are filled with Christmas-themed lights and decorations, children begin to write their gift list and there is an air of celebration throughout December. Two weeks before Christmas, even the houses begin to be decorated, with the tree embellished with lights and bows.The most exciting moment for English children cannot fail to be the night of Christmas Eve: back from Midnight Mass the children hang near the in the tree or at the fireplace the traditional Father Christmas socks and to thank him for the copious gifts they prepare a cup of milk and a sweet, the mince pie. Poor reindeer Rudolph is also pampered, so a thank you carrot is usually left next to the cup! Another tradition for English houses with fireplaces is to leave a log burning on Christmas Eve, making it last as long as possible. This is a gesture of good continuation, combined with that of keeping an ember of this log to light the fireplace the following Christmas.They get together in the family making long tables of food, prepare the: Stuffed Christmas turkey, pudding (a dessert), and mince pie, sweets too. Furthermore, to entertain the younger family members, a colorful pot full of sweets is prepared all together, and as soon as midnight strikes the children open it.

A Log burning on Christmas

Christmas morning

Christmas morning is always dedicated to the gauge of gifts, left under the tree in a black bag. For lunch all sit at the table with relatives: the main dish of the Christmas lunch is obviously the stuffed turkey (roast turkey), usually accompanied by a blueberry sauce. Other traditional dishes include Cornish dumplings, smoked salmon timballs, Scottish fried eggs, beer stew, leg of lamb with mint sauce and much more. The traditional dessert to be enjoyed at the end of a meal is the Christmas pudding or Christmas Cake.

Christmas in England then continues with the Queen’s speech at 3 pm, on which all are summarized.

Finally, December 26th is called Boxing Day and it is a very special day, because everyone gives small gifts contained in boxes – hence the reason for the name – for all those who meet during the year for work: the milkman, the newsagent, the postman, etc.

Christmas Cracker

Another typical tradition of the English table is that of the Christmas Cracker: a candy-shaped paper tube filled with a surprise or a small gadget and a tissue paper crown to wear. The diners cross their arms holding their cracker with the right and, pulling the end of the neighbor’s with the left, they are opened with great joy and laughter from the children.

CHRISTMAS SWEATERS

Christmas sweatshirt / sweater is a tradition that we immediately made ours.

Children go to school dressed in the Christmas Jumper on a specific day in December, in exchange they bring boxes of chocolates and bottles of wine to school which are then sold at the school Christmas party to raise funds.

You can find Christmas Jumpers in all clothing stores, from the most “exaggerated” to the finest, from those for children to those for adults, men and women and even for pets.

Here are some examples of sweaters for Christmas then there are others of many types, colors, patterns and decorations:
https://images.app.goo.gl/ijo94qhRAEEBrw8n9

The Advent Calendar

The Advent Calendar was invented by Gerhard Lang, a Protestant publisher, originally from Maulbronn (Germany), in 1908.

At the time in Germany there was already the custom of waiting for the feast of the birth of Jesus making 24 small packets to be discarded, one per day, from December 1 to Christmas day. But Lang did something more: he prepared a calendar with a drawing for each day. The following year he introduced the detail of the windows, from which emerged angels or little Child Jesus to be cut or assembled. Then came sweets and chocolates.

The advent calendar today is also a custom in English-speaking countries and is also gaining ground in Italy,

Queen Elisabeth’s Christmas speech

Another Christmas tradition is Queen Elizabeth’s  speech.

This year The Queen spent her holidays at Windsor Castle in the company of the Prince Philip. For the first time in 30 years the family was not united ,but she said:

                           ” You are not alone”