Christmas in Great Britain

Christmas in Great Britain

Christmas is the biggest festival in Britain and is celebrated on 25th December

Advent is the season before Christmas during which Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus.

Advent calendars are a way of counting down to Christmas. They have a window to open for every day from 1st - 24th December (Christmas Eve).

Traditionally all relatives and friends give each other presents. People in Britain spend on average over 600 pounds (around $1000) per person on Christmas every year.

In Great Britain, the Christmas tree became popular while Queen Victoria ruled the country. Besides the Christmas tree, holly and mistletoe are used to decorate the house.

Mistletoe is hung over doors, so the young people have a chance to kiss the girls under it, plucking each time a red berry from the mistletoe. It is said that the girl who was not kissed under it at Christmas would not get married that year.

On the eve of Christmas children hang their stockings, so that Santa Claus could put presents into them: oranges, sweets, nuts and if the child didn't behave properly Santa Claus can put there a piece of coal as punishment.

Santa Claus got his name from a man known as St. Nicolas, who lived in the fourth century. He gave his wealth to the poor and often to children.

Carol singing is an essential part of Christmas. Usually children come around in the evening to the front doors and start singing carols and people who live in these houses give children candies, nuts and so on, to thank them for carol singing.

A typical Christmas lunch includes turkey with cranberry sauce and pudding. Every young woman in each household helps to stir the Christmas pudding.

After the lunch they go to the sitting room to listen to the Christmas speech of the Queen, shown on TV. So, Christmas is a merry family holiday for all the people of Great Britain.

Christmas comes but once a year!