Sapere Aude Bilingüe

CHRISTMAS IN THE UK

Christmas is a very special time of year; however it is celebrated in very different ways from country to country. In the UK there are Christmas traditions, foods and even superstition that are different to those in Spain and all over the world.

Christmas Pudding

One of the main differences between cultures is always food and this is true for Christmas food. In the UK we have a variety of Christmas food from Mince Pies, sweet mixed fruit tarts, to Mulled Wine, hot red wine with spices and orange (a festive Sangría!). Food is a very important part of Christmas in the UK but so are the traditions.

On Christmas Eve (the day before Christmas) there is a church service called Christingle which celebrates the last day of advent by lighting the last advent candle. The children are given oranges with a red ribbon around it, a candle in the middle and sweets on sticks. The sweets don’t last very long! In the evening children leave a mince pie with a glass of brandy for Santa (and carrots for the reindeer). Santa comes when the children go to bed and leave presents in their stockings which are put on the fireplace ready for Santa to come down the chimney!

Christmas Day is the biggest day of the festive celebrations. In the morning the presents from Santa and the family are opened, usually very early if there are excited kids in the house! In the afternoon the family eats Christmas dinner which is traditionally roast turkey and Christmas Pudding for desert (a fruit pudding that is steamed, set on fire with brandy and served with brandy sauce). Christmas Day evenings are spent relaxing and spending quality time with the family.

The day after Christmas Day is Boxing Day in the UK, a tradition that originates from many years ago. In UK history when wealthy people employed servants the servants had to work on Christmas Day, so the day after (26th) the wealthy people would let them have the day off work to visit their family. As a way to say thank you for the servants’ hard work throughout the year the wealthy people gave them a box that contained leftover food and gifts, this is where the name comes from. Nowadays it is a national holiday that is celebrated by eating the leftover food, spending time with the family and also, more recently, the ‘Boxing Day Sales’ in the shops.

Following Christmas is the Twelve Days of Christmas. This starts on Christmas Day and the Twelfth night is on 5th January. The day following this is when we take down all the Christmas decorations because it is believed to be bad luck if they are up after this date. For those of us that are superstitious it is essential that every last bauble*  is packed up ready for next year!

*a shiny coloured ball used as a decoration on a christmas tree, a decoration or piece of jewellery that is not expensive