Christmas

Grf Lilla 6.a

England
Christmas Eve:
Father Chritmas:
Children write letters to Father Christmas to tell him what they would like for
Christmas and they leave mince pies and and brandy for Father Christmas,
and carrot for the reindeer.

Christmas Stocking:
Children have hung up Christmas stockings at the ends of their beds or along
the mantelpiece above the fireplace. Children hang Christmas stockings or
bags up ready for Father Christmas, who will hopefully fill them up with
presents, if the children have been good.

Carol Service:
Christians go to a special carol service at their church on Christmas Eve night. There are
usually two carols services:

Candle Lit Service

- early evening

The congregation hold a candle each whilst they sing Christmas songs.

Midnight Mass:

Christians welcome Christmas Day in and rejoice in the coming of our Lord.

Christmas Crackers
and

Paper Crowns
Christmas Crackers:
Christmas Crackers are very popular. A
Christmas Cracker is a brightly coloured
paper tube, twisted at both ends. A
person pulls on each end of the cracker
and when the cracker breaks, a small
chemical strip goes and the contents fall
out.

Paper Crowns:
They wear paper hats on special occasions
like Christmas day and birthday parties.
The tradition of wearing hats at parties
goes back to the Roman Saturnalia
celebrations when the participants also
wore hats.

Scotland

Christmas Eve:
In Scotland people celebrate Christmas
Eve very quietly.

The Yule Log:

It is traditional to light a special Yule log on
Christmas Eve and keep it burning
through the 12 nights of Christmas
until Twelfth Night. Usually Yule logs
are cut from birch or rowan trees. The
word Yule come from an old word for
the winter festival.

Nortern Ireland
Traditions:
One of the most famos Christmas traditions in Ireland is to attend Church either at
midnight on Christmas Eve or on Christmas morning. Christmas stocking is also a
tradition in Ireland. A very old tradition is the Wren Boys Procession that takes place
on St. Stephen's Day.

Christmas Eve:
In some Irish houses people put a tall, thick candle on the sill of the largest window after
sunset on Christmas Eve. The candle is left to burn all night and represents a
welcoming light for Mary and Joseph.

Christmas Foods and Drinks:

The traditional Irish Christmas meal consists of roast turkey, baked ham, roast potatoes,
brussel sprouts, potato or bread stuffing, gravy and cranberry sauce.
Traditional Christmas-time drinks include mulled wine, hot whiskey, hot port, Irish
coffee and Baileys coffee.

Wales

Customes:
Before Christmas people decorate their houses
with mistletoe and holly..Many families
spend Christmas Eve with makink toffie.

New Year Day:

On New Years Day, children went around the
village homes and collecting gifts.

The
End