Advent - (Four Sundays Before Christmas)

Advent is not widely celebrated in England, its celebration actually originated in Germany, although in the church calendar Advent is the official start of the
run up to Christmas.
Two traditions that have caught on in England are the Advent calendar and the Advent candle. The Advent Calendar originated in the 19th Century from the
protestant area of Germany. Protestant Christian families made a chalk line for every day in December until Christmas Eve. Before long, commercial
entrepreneurs started replacing the ephemeral chalk lines with printed calendars. The first known Advent Calendar is for the advent of 1851. Nowadays it is
usually a thin rectangular card with 24 or 25 doors. The doors are numbered 1-24/25. Door number 1 is opened on the 1st of December, door 2 on the 2nd
etc. Behind each door there is a Christmas scene (but the most popular ones have a chocolate behind each door) .
An Advent candle often has 25 marks on it, a bit of the candle is burned down by one mark each day. In some homes, 24 candles are kept, one for each night
from December 1 through Christmas eve. One candle is lit for a while on December 1, then a new candle is added each day for the 24 day period. However,
it is now more common to have four candles for the four weeks before Christmas. One candle is lit on the first Sunday, two the second week and so on. The
candles were often placed on a wreath upon the dining room table. Advent candles are lit in many homes, schools and churches, in England, with a final
central candle lit on Christmas Day; these are often on a hanging decoration known as an "Advent Crown." They became exceedingly popular due to a
children's TV programme called Blue Peter, who every year made an advent crown from old coathangers, tinsel and candles! Well, they used to use candles,
but because of health and safety insanity they now give instructions using baubles - it's not really the same, but you can make an advent crown following the
instructions in this pdf file.
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 Queens 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!
Boxing Day - December 26th
In England Boxing Day celebrated on December 26th, is traditionally a time to give gifts to tradesmen, servants, and friends.
It originated in medieval times, when every priest was supposed to empty the alms box of his church and distribute gifts to the poor. Wealthy people
indulged in huge Christmas feasts, and when they were finished, packed up the remains of feasts in boxes and gave them out to their servants. It didn't
become widely celebrated though until Victorian England.
In Ireland there is an Irish custom called "feeding the wren". The custom is based on a legend of St. Stephen. Once he was forced to hide in a bush, but a
chattering wren gave him away. In the past Children caged the wren to help it do penance for this misdeed. Nowadays children carry a long pole with a holly
bush at the top - which is supposed to hide a captured wren.
In the UK Boxing Day is still a public holiday, some shops and supermarkets open nowadays, but banks and most offices remain closed.
The Twelve Days of Christmas - December 26th to January 6th
The sixteenth century saw England first officially celebrate the Twelve Days of Christmas. Shakespeare's Twelfth Night premiered in the first year of the
seventeenth century, in a performance at the court of Elizabeth the First.
Advent is usually solemn and religious in spirit, while Saint Steven's Day marks the beginning of the twelve days of Christmas, a light hearted time given
over to merry making and fun. It is a holiday of heart-warming homecoming and family gatherings, with candles glowing in the windows as a sign of
welcome.
During the ancient 12-day Christmas celebration, it was considered unlucky to let the log in the fireplace stop burning. This log was called the Yule log and
would be used to light the fire in New Year, to ensure that good luck carried on from year to year. The Yule Log custom was handed down from the Druids,
but with the advent of gas and electric fires it is rarely observed nowadays.
Another custom in medieval times, was to hide a dried bean in a cake, the cake was then eaten on Twelfth Night (January 6), during the most boisterous
party of the year. The finder of the bean became "King of the Bean" and ruled the party for the night.
Another eating myth is that for every mince pie you eat over the 12 days of Christmas you will have a month of good luck the following year!
However, according to A Celebration and History(ISBN 0-679-74038-4), by Leigh Grant, the written lyrics to "The Twelve Days of Christmas" first
appeared in Mirth without Mischief in the early 1780s in England. Grant states that the tune to which these words are sung apparently dates back much
further and came from France. Mirth without Mischief describes "The Twelve Days of Christmas" as a type of memory game played by children at that time.
A leader recited the first verse, the next child recited the second verse, and so on until someone missed a verse and had to pay some kind of penalty in the
game. There was no religious significance. At anyrate the popular urban myth makes a good story... at least as good as the song itself, so here is a slice of
urban myth culture for you: A very famous song about this time of year is "The Twelve Days of Christmas", which has a very interesting history. During
the period 1558 to 1829 Catholics in England were prohibited from any practice of their faith by law - private or public. It was a crime to be a Catholic.
Some people say that the song was written to help young Catholics learn the tenets of their faith during that period when to be caught with anything in
'writing' indicating adherence to the Catholic faith could not only get you imprisoned, but could also get you hanged, drawn and quartered! The song's gifts
are allegedly hidden meanings to the teachings of the faith. "True Love" mentioned refers to God. "Me" refers to every baptized person, here are the other
lyrics and their other hidden meanings. However, some people say this is an Urban Myth, but you can make your own mind up.
If you want to know today's cost of this generous gift giving check out PNC Bank's web site.
How would you feel to receive such lovely gifts? Read the replies that Sarah Truelove sent to her beloved on CVC's web site.
Christmas Food
There are several "traditional" meals you can have at Christmas. Here's a brief look at what the British nosh on Christmas day.
Christmas Dinner
In the past some very strange things were eaten around Christmas. At lavish Christmas feasts in the Middle Ages, swans and peacocks were sometimes
served "endored". The flesh was painted with saffron dissolved in melted butter and the birds were served wrapped in their own skin and feathers, which had
been removed and set aside prior to roasting.

Around Victorian times another traditional Christmas feast was roasted goose or roasted turkey. In Victorian times, most Londoners would have been
familiar with the "goose club", which was a method of saving to buy a goose for Christmas. Goose clubs were popular with working-class Londoners, who
paid a few pence a week towards the purchase of a Christmas goose. The week before Christmas, London meat markets were crammed with geese and
turkeys, many imported from Germany and France, although some were raised in Norfolk, and taken to market in London. The birds were walked from
Norfolk to the markets in London, to protect their feet the turkeys were dressed in boots made of sacking or leather and geese had their feet protected with a
covering of tar. The traditional Christmas goose was featured in Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol'.
Nowadays, if you sit down with a typical British family on Christmas day, the starter is probably going to be prawns or smoked salmon. The main course is
more than likely to be turkey, often free-range and the bigger the better, although goose has been making a bit of a comeback, and for the vegetarian in the
family (there's always one) a nut roast, this is normally served with potatoes (roasted, boiled, mashed, or maybe all three), vegetables (including the devil's
veg - brussel sprouts) roasted parsnips, and stuffing with gravy and bread sauce. This is usually followed by Christmas pudding; a rich fruit pudding served
with brandy sauce or brandy butter.
Christmas Pudding
The forerunner of the Christmas pudding (aka. plum/figgy pudding), a rich fruit pudding, was called Frumenty, it was served in Medieval times. Frumenty
was a spiced porridge, enjoyed by both rich and poor. It has its origins in a Celtic legend of harvest god, Dagda, who stirred a porridge made up of all the
good things of the earth.
The pudding became specifically associated with Christmas, rather than merely any festive occasion, when it was introduced to the Royal Christmas dinner
table by Prince Albert.
Plum puddings are a very rich, dark pudding made with all sorts of dried fruits, nuts, spices, black treacle and lots sherry or brandy. They are made well
before Christmas as it takes time for the alcohol to soak into the dried fruit, however nowadays most people buy them from a supermarket. They are steamed
when first made, and re-steamed on Christmas Day before being served with a sweet white sauce or brandy butter. If the pudding is made at home, everyone
in the household must take it in turns to stir the pudding and make a wish, the mixture should be stirred from east to west, in honour of the three wise men.
Some people like to hide a coin or trinket in the Christmas pudding. This may have originated in the ancient custom, in Rome and elsewhere, of concealing a
particular object in food. During the Roman festival of Saturnalia, a dried bean would be hidden in the food. Whoever found it was then "master of the
revels" - a king for the holidays. Even a slave could be the lucky one. In medieval times, a cake was eaten on Twelfth Night (January 6), during the most
boisterous party of the year. The "King of the Bean" ruled the whole party. Nowadays people put in a silver coin and eat carefully. Whoever gets the piece of
pudding with the coin in on Christmas day is especially lucky and their "pudding wish" (made when the pudding was stirred) will come true!
Christmas Cake
Christmas cakes are also very rich and dark and contain just about every dried fruit you can think of, nuts (usually blanched almonds) glace cherries, candied
peel and once again, sweetened with black treacle. They are covered with a layer of marzipan or almond paste and then thick white "Royal" icing made with
icing sugar and egg whites.
It was introduced as a custom by the Victorians. Prior to that period, cake was eaten during Christmas, but without the toppings. The idea of using marzipan
is thought to be linked to the Tudor Marchpane an iced and decorated cake of marzipan that acted as the table centrepiece during banquets and festive
occasions. They should be made about six weeks before Christmas and are usually decorated with ribbons and images of Santa Claus or robins with holly.

Christmas in the United States of America

The United States of America has many different traditions and ways that people in celebrate Christmas, because of its multi-cultural nature. Many
customs are similar to ones in the U.K., France, Italy, Holland, Poland and Mexico.
The traditional meal for Western European families is turkey or ham with cranberry sauce. Families from Eastern European origins favour turkey with
trimmings, keilbasi (a Polish sausage), cabbage dishes, and soups; and some Italian families prefer lasagne!
Some Americans use pop-corn threaded on string to help decorate their Christmas Tree!
In New England (the American States of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine), there are shops called
'Christmas Shops' that only sell Christmas decorations and toys all the year round!
People in America like to decorate the outsides of their houses with lights and sometimes even statues of Santa Claus, Snowmen and Reindeer.
In Hawaii Santa is called Kanakaloka!

Customs such as Mumming take place in some communities. On New Years Day in Philadelphia there is a Mummers Day parade which lasts over six
hours! Clubs called "New Years Associations" perform in amazing costumes which take months to make. There are four categories (Comics, Fancies,
String Bands, and Fancy Brigades) which are judged. You can find out more on the official website: www.phillymummers.com

Christmas in Australia

In Australia, Christmas comes in the middle of the summer holidays! Children have their summer holidays from early to mid December to early
February, so some people might even be camping at Christmas!
Because it's so hot at Christmas time in Australia, there are quite often massive bush fires across the country. Many volunteer bush fire fighters are
involved in saving people and property and travel from all over Australia to help in other states.
Australians hang wreaths on their front doors and sometimes go out Christmas carol singing on Christmas eve. People also decorate their houses and
gardens with Christmas Trees and Christmas lights. Neighbours sometimes have little competitions as to who has got the best light display. The
neighbours often visit each other to look at the light displays at night. Sometimes the displays are put out as early as December 1st! One street in Sydney
raises over $(AUS)35,000 every year for charity with their co-ordinated street display!
Australians also decorate their houses with bunches of 'Christmas Bush', a native Australian tree with small green leaves and cream coloured flowers. In
summer the flowers turn a deep shiny red over a period of weeks (generally by the week of Christmas in Sydney).
In each State capital city there is a large Carols by Candlelight service. Famous Australian singers like The Wiggles, John Farnham, Anthony Warlow,
Colin Gery, Niki Webster and many more help to sing the carols. These carol services, held in different cities, are broadcast on TV across Australia.
There are also huge Christmas pageants in each state capital city, that are also broadcast across the country. Most towns and cities have festivals and
parades. In some places, at the local park there is a fireworks display.
Many towns, cities and schools also hold there own Carols by Candlelight services, with local bands and choirs sometimes helping to perform the
Christmas Carols and songs. As it is the middle of Summer in Australia at Christmas time, the words to the Carols about snow and the cold winter are
sometimes changed to special Australian words! There are also some original Australian Carols.
When he gets to Australia, Santa gives the reindeer a rest and uses kangaroos or 'six white boomers' (a popular Australian Christmas song!). He also
changes his clothes for less 'hot' ones!
On Boxing Day most people go and visit their friends and often have bbqs at the beach. A famous Yacht race from Sydney to Hobart in Tasmania is also
held on Boxing Day.
The Flying Doctor Service has to work all though-out Christmas and on Christmas Day all the people in the outback send Christmas greetings to each
other over the radio network.
Most families try to be home together for Christmas and the main meal is eaten at lunch time. Most people now have a cold Christmas dinner, or a bbq
with seafood like prawns and lobsters along with the 'traditional english' food. On Christmas Eve, fish-markets are often full of people queuing to buy
their fresh seafood for the big day.
Australians often have Christmas Crackers at Christmas meal times.
Thank you to the students at Georgiana Molloy Anglican School for their help in giving me information on Christmas in Australia!

Christmas in Canada

Canada is a very large country and people of many different cultural backgrounds live there. Because of this, there are lots of different Christmas
traditions in Canada. Many of the traditions and celebrations come from French, English,Irish, Scottish, German and Aboriginal influences.
The Eastern Canadian province of Nova Scotia is known all over the world for its fir and pine Christmas Trees, so most families in Canada have a fir or
pine Christmas Tree. One Canadian tradition is to send the biggest, best fir tree (grown in Nova Scotia) to Boston, U.S.A. because of the assistance given
during the great disaster known worldwide as the Halifax Explosion. This tradition has been carried on for many years. Bostonians always love and
appreciate the Nova Scotian Christmas tree. They place this tree in the city and then light it during a ceremony to begin the Christmas season.
Mummering is a tradition which takes place in the provinces of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, more commonly in small towns and villages rather than
large towns and city's. People dress up in costumes and knock on someone's door and say in a disguised voice, "Are there any Mummers in the night?"
or "Any mummers 'loud in?'", meaning 'are mummers allowed in the house?' Then they sing and dance and have Christmas cake and a cup of something
nice before moving on to the next house. In some places, if the host does not guess who the Mummers are, the host must join the Mummers in their
merry-making. Going Mummering is a fun Christmas season activity for adults. Mummers usually come out between the dates of Dec. 26 and Jan. 06.
(The 12 Days of Christmas.) But some come out only before Christmas Day. In some places it is now banned because people used it as an excuse for
begging.
People in Canada send Christmas Cards to friends and family.
In northern Canada, some people plan a Taffy Pull. This is held in honour of Saint Catherine, the patron saint of single women. This party provides an
opportunity for single women to meet eligible single men!
Many Canadians open their gifts on Christmas Eve. Some only open their stocking on Christmas Eve. Others choose one gift to open, then save the rest
until Christmas Day.
Canadian children also believe in Santa Claus. Canadians are especially proud to say that their country is the home of Santa Claus. (Although I'm sure
the people in Finland would disagree!!)
"Sinck Tuck" is a festival started by the Inuit that is celebrated in some provinces of Canada. This celebration consists of dancing and gift exchanging.
Labrador City in Newfoundland holds a Christmas Light-up Contest each year. People dress the outside of their houses up with lights and often have big
ice sculptures in their front gardens! They have no trouble finding enough snow or ice, because Labrador City has about 12-14 Feet of snow every year!
Many Canadian families have cookie-baking parties. They bring a recipe for Christmas cookies, bake them and then exchange them with the members of
their family. Each family, at the end of the party goes home with a variety of different cookies to enjoy over the Christmas season.
Many families of French descent have a huge feast on Christmas Eve that lasts well into the early hours of Christmas morning after taking part in
Christmas Eve Mass.
At the end of the Christmas season, January 6th, people in the province of Quebec have a celebration called "La Fete du Roi" They bake a cake and place
a bean in the middle. Whoever is the lucky discoverer of the bean, gets to be the king or queen, according to tradition. This is similar to a tradition
in Spain.
In Southwestern Nova Scotia, many families eat lobster, a shellfish caught off the shores of Nova Scotia in the North Atlantic Ocean, for their Christmas
dinner instead of the traditional turkey or ham.

At Christmas Canadian eats sweets called Barley Candy and Chicken Bones! They are really sweets made by local candy companies. Barley Candy is
usually on a stick and is shaped like Santa, reindeer, snowmen, a tree and other symbols of Christmas. Chicken Bones a pink candy that tastes like
cinnamon. You melt them in your mouth and once melted, they reveal a creamy milk chocolate center.
Thank you to Grade 5, Forest Ridge Academy, Barrington, Nova Scotia and Gary and Debbie in Labrador City, Newfoundland for their help in giving
me information on Christmas in Canada!