Christmas Day is celebrated in the United Kingdom on December 25.
Christmas in the United Kingdom is celebrated with a mix of traditional customs, cultural traditions, and a strong emphasis on family gatherings. The holiday season is deeply rooted in Christian traditions but has also evolved over the years to include secular customs. Here's how Christmas is typically celebrated in the UK:
The Christmas season begins with Advent, and many households have Advent calendars and Advent wreaths. Lighting Advent candles is a common tradition.
Homes, streets, and towns are beautifully decorated with festive lights, ornaments, and Christmas trees. The Christmas tree, often adorned with baubles and tinsel, is a central decoration in homes and public spaces.
Many UK cities host Christmas markets, where visitors can shop for gifts, enjoy seasonal foods, and soak in the festive atmosphere.
Christmas Eve is a time for family gatherings and a festive meal. Traditional dishes may include roast turkey, roast beef, and mince pies. Many people attend a church service, such as Midnight Mass.
Exchanging gifts is a central part of the Christmas celebration in the UK. Children often receive gifts from Father Christmas or Santa Claus.
Caroling is a cherished tradition in the UK, with groups of carolers visiting homes and public spaces to sing traditional Christmas carols. It's common for carolers to collect donations for charity.
Attending pantomimes or festive plays is a popular activity during the Christmas season, providing entertainment for both children and adults.
Many people participate in acts of charity during the Christmas season, helping those in need and supporting local charities and community organizations.
An annual tradition on Christmas Day, Queen Elizabeth II delivers a Christmas message that is broadcast to the nation. The speech often reflects on the year's events and encourages unity and goodwill.
The day after Christmas, known as Boxing Day, is a public holiday. It is a time for relaxed family gatherings, sports events, and shopping sales.
The holiday season in the UK extends into New Year's Eve, with fireworks, parties, and celebrations to welcome the new year. The stroke of midnight is often marked by singing "Auld Lang Syne."
Christmas crackers, small cardboard tubes filled with a toy, a joke, and a paper crown, are a common feature of Christmas dinner tables. They are pulled apart with a cracking sound before the meal.
Christmas in the UK is a time for tradition, togetherness, and creating a warm and festive atmosphere. The combination of festive decorations, traditional customs, and a rich culinary heritage makes it a special time for both Britons and visitors to the country.
In most of the countries of the UK, the festive season begins at Advent. During this time, holly wreaths are made with three pink, one white and one purple candle. Shops however, start selling Christmas decorations from mid-November to enthusiastic Christmas shoppers who prefer to have a one-upmanship over their friends and neigbours. In England as well as in most other nations of the U.K., the beautiful Christmas Trees are an essential part of traditional Christmas decorations. In England, the decorating of Christmas trees has been widely popular since around the 1850s when Prince Albert had a Christmas tree set up in Windsor Castle for his wife Queen Victoria and their children. In modern times, the Christmas decorative items last until 6 January (Epiphany). It is considered bad luck to have these at home even after this date.
The tradition of Christmas observance is believed to have begun in England in 596 AD, when St Augustine landed on her shores with the message of Christianity on his lips. The present day Christmas festivities here sees the celebrators adorning their homes with Christmas trees, lights, tinsel and other decorative items in the days counting to the festival. The traditional Christmas dinner in England is a mouthwatering affair with the main dish being roasted turkey with vegetables and sauces. The dessert is usually a rich, fruity Christmas pudding with brandy sauce. For English kids, Christmas is the time to have fun with family and friends and recieve gifts from Father Christmas, a Santa Claus-like figure, who is pictured as wearing a long red or green robe. This lover of children is said to leave presents for them in their stockings(or pillowcases that they hang at the end of their bed) on Christmas Eve. The gifts are usually opened on Christmas Day, though not until afternoon.
The festive spirit can be discerned all over Britain with most public places such as departmental stores, gift shops, town halls and restaurants decorated beautifully with electric lights and festoons for the occassion. Churches and Cathedrals all over the country hold masses, with many people attending the Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, or a service on Christmas morning. For Catholics, it is one of the main Holy Days of Obligation. In London and the provinces, a number of theatres traditionally organise for kids a special Christmas pantomime based not on Biblical tales but on such popular children's stories such as Little Red Riding Hood and Aladdin, with a subtle connection to the festival being made deliberately.
In England the day after Christmas is called Boxing Day, named so because young boys used to go go around on this day collecting money in clay boxes. The boxes were smashed open, when they were full. The Boxing Day is still celebrated in the UK. It is a bank holiday in England. If it happens to fall on a weekend, then a special Bank Holiday is delared on Monday.