Christmas Celebration in England
Celebration of Christmas in England is much like celebrating in any other western countries. Christmas in England began in AD 596, when St Augustine landed on her shores with monks who wanted to bring Christianity to the Anglo Saxons living in this country.
During Christmas festival everyone seems to take part in the giving and receiving of gifts, as a sign of friendship and goodwill toward others. With so many different cultures living so close together, Christmas is the only time when people tend to celebrate together.
During Christmas time England is cold and wet. Families celebrate the warmth and cheer of Christmas by blazing Christmas log in their house fireplace. A large log is selected in the forest on Christmas Eve, decorated with ribbons, dragged home and laid upon the hearth. After lighting it was kept burning throughout the twelve days of Christmas. It was considered lucky to keep some of the charred remains to kindle the log of the following year.
A traditional feature of Christmas afternoon is the Queen's Christmas Message at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, the Queen gives her Christmas message to the nation that is broadcast on radio and television. The Queen's message is also broadcast throughout the British Commonwealth. The first televised broadcast of the Queen's Christmas message was in 1957, but it is a tradition begun on the radio in 1932 by George V.
Throughout Christmas day carolers go from house to house in evening ringing hand bells and singing English favorites Christmas songs such as “The Holly and the Ivy” and “Hark’. In return people give treat to the carolers in form little pies filled with nuts and dried fruits.
A day before Christmas families in England are busy in wrapping presents, baking cookies, and hanging stockings over the fireplace. Then everyone gathers around the tree and someone tells the favorite story, “A Christmas Carol.”
After hearing their favorite Christmas story, children write a letter to Santa Claus with their wishes and place their letter into the fire so their wishes can go up the chimney in the form of smoke. After the children fall a sleep on Christmas Eve, Santa Claus comes to visit. He wears a long, red robe, carries a sack of toys, and arrives on his sleigh pulled by reindeer. He fills the children’s stockings with candies and small toys.
On Christmas Day, many people go to church to celebrate Lord Jesus Christ birthday and sing carol. Besides this member of the family sits together for the midday feast and finds a colorful Christmas cracker beside their dinner plate. A Christmas cracker is a paper-covered tube. Crackers are very traditional items to have at Christmas. A cracker consists of a cardboard tube wrapped in a brightly decorated twist of paper, making it resemble an oversized sweet-wrapper. Two people pull the cracker and each one contains a small toy, a joke or thoughts of good wishes, and a tissue-paper crown hat. Every member present during midday feast wears this tissue- paper crown hat.
The day after Christmas is called Boxing Day. This day has nothing to do with fighting. Long ago, people filled church alms boxes with donations for the poor. Then on December 26, the boxes were distributed. Now people often use this day to give small gifts of money to the mail carrier, newsvendor, and others who have helped them during the year.
On Boxing Day, families enjoy stage performances called pantomimes. This activity originally mean a play without words, or actors entertained without speaking. Pantomime now refers to all kinds of plays performed during the Christmas season. Both young and old generation delighted by watching these play. In some towns, masked and costumed performers called mummers present plays or sing carols in the streets.
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