BEST OF BRITAIN
ON THE TWELFTH TRADITION OF CHRISTMAS
Christmas in Britain, like many places, is a big holiday full of fun and festive traditions. Although each family may have different rituals or customs, some traditions are a constant practiced from one generation to the next. Just how did they start? Below are the origins of 12 British Christmas traditions.
Advent What is now a chocolate, or cheese- filled, countdown was actually a period where Christians would fast before Christmas; it is said that monks fasted in preparation for the coming of Christ as early as 597 AD. Advent as we know it now was a tradition started by the Germans who made chalk marks or lit candles in the days leading to Christmas. The treat-filled calendar is considered to have been started by German-born Gerhard Lang, who created the staple in- spired by his childhood where his mother had stuck sweets onto a card- board calendar.
Carols The word ‘carol’ meant to dance in a ring and it was the Pagans who invented carols, as they would sing folk songs and
dance in praise and joy. This practice was then adopted by Christians who sung at social gatherings and outside the church, which became an integral part of the Christmas service. Carols have been writ- ten throughout the centuries but the most familiar date from the Victorian times. Pop songs, such as ‘White Christmas’ by Bing Crosby and ‘Merry Xmas Everybody’ by Slade, are now just as much a part of Christmas as carols.
Crackers Tom Smith first invented the Christmas party staple in the late 1840s. The London-based sweet maker took inspira- tion for the crackers from French paper- wrapped bonbons, and it wasn’t until he managed to find a way to make them crack did sales take off. Mr Smith first filled the crackers with riddles and mot- tos, then later his sons Tom, Walter and Henry added the novelty gifts and hats that each person will traditionally sport during dinner.
Christmas cards There are two names that come up when thinking of who started the Christmas card – Henry Cole (the mastermind) and John Horsley (the designer). Mr Cole, who had helped to set up the Public Records Office (now the Post Office) and had a part in the introduction of the first postage stamp, had the idea of a Christmas card in order to encourage people to use the postal services, as well as being able to write to all of his friends in an easy way. So, he commissioned Mr Horsley to design a card with the words
24 FOCUS The Magazine November/December 2018
“A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year To You”. By 1900 the custom of sending cards had spread throughout Europe. Although e-cards may be more popular now, everyone can appreciate a festive Christmas card.
Christmas pudding The pudding synonymous with Christmas, also known as plum or figgy pudding, has roots as far back as the Middle Ages when it was then known as frumenty, a wheat-based pottage. With the addition of eggs, dried fruit, spices and alcohol the pudding had developed into a thicker dessert by the mid-17th century. Christmas pudding was a Victorian favourite where it was a cus- tom to put a silver coin in the pudding and it was said it would bring luck to whoever found the “six pence”, which nowadays would be a five pence piece.
Christmas tree To decorate a tree sets the tone and in- troduces the Christmas season with the act of putting up the tree usually done at the beginning of December. Although it had been around for a millennium across Northern Europe, it wasn’t until Prince Albert, a German, brought the tradition to the UK by putting up the first Christmas tree in Windsor Castle in 1841, that it became a widespread custom.
Boxing Day The day after Christmas where everyone runs into town for the sales and to make
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