Blogs > Life in the UK

10 UK Christmas Traditions

• December 02, 2019

Britons celebrate the festive season with a range of rituals and traditions, from decorating Christmas trees to hanging up stockings. To start Advent off, we wanted to share with you the most popular Christmas traditions in the UK.

1. Christmas Trees

Romans used fir trees to decorate their temples during Saturnalia, a feast in honour of Saturn, the god of agriculture and the predecessor to Christmas.

Evergreen trees were thought to keep away evil spirits, illness and were put up during the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, to remind them that the spring would return. Christmas trees made it to the UK in the 1830s and in 1841, Prince Albert set up a tree in Windsor Castle. In 1846, the Royal family was sketched standing around their Christmas tree, after which the practice became very fashionable.

2. The story behind Santa Claus

The story of Father Christmas started with St. Nicholas, a bishop who lived in Myra in the 4^th Century. He had a reputation for giving to the poor and being kind to children. Legend has it that St. Nicholas dropped a bag of gold down the chimney of a poor man who could not afford his daughter’s dowry. The bag fell into a stocking that had been left by the fire to dry.

3. Father Christmas in Red

Legend goes that Santa’s suit is red because of a successful advertising campaign for Coca-Cola that featured Father Christmas wearing red robes with a white trim, the soft drink’s colours. However, the red and white actually derive from the colours of St. Nicholas. Over time, the bishops’ red and white robes were replaced by a fur-trimmed suit.

4. Turkey on Christmas Day

Goose, boar and peacock have all been popular Christmas meats over the centuries, but nowadays, Turkey reigns supreme as the traditional Christmas Day meal in the UK. Legend has it that King Henry VIII was the first English monarch to eat Turkey on Christmas Day, popularizing it among the upper classes as the bird was imported from America.

5. Mince Pies

Mince pies were traditionally known as Christmas pies, and crib pies as their oblong shape was meant to resemble Jesus’ cradle. The pies were initially made of meat, usually mutton and were influenced by crusaders who came back from the Middle East with spices.

6. Christmas Pudding

Christmas puddings are sometimes called figgy pudding. It is made from beef, mutton, currants, wines and spices, frumenty was typically eaten as a fasting meal in preparation for the Christmas celebrations.

7. Advent Calendars

The season of Advent is traditionally celebrated by Christmas in the four weeks leading up to Christmas Day. It begins on the Sunday that falls between November 27^th and December 3^rd each year and symbolizes the ‘coming’ of Christ. By the last 1950’s, chocolate Advent calendars were popular and now, the cardboard Christmas countdowns contain a variety of treats, including beauty produces, children’s toys, gin and even cheese.

8. Christmas Cards

In 1843, Sir Henry Cole, a civil servant and educator, and his friend John Horsley, an artist, produced the first Christmas card. The development of printing processes meant Christmas cards grew popular during the Victorian era with new, distinctive designs on sale in bookshops.

9. Christmas Crackers

Crackers are a Victorian invention, created by a sweet maker who wanted a novel way of selling his wares after sales slumped. The story goes that Tom Smith watched a fire crackle and the thought of how the packaging could ‘crack’. The sweets were replaced by trinkets and jokes, and paper hats were introduced.

10. Christmas Lights

Christmas is not only the most wonderful time of the year but also the most colourful due to the massive Christmas light displays all over the UK. Take advantage of that by driving around and looking at the beautifully lit-up houses or drive through attractions with your family.

References

The Telegraph. (2019). Christmas traditions: Advent calendars, mince pies and the story of Santa Claus. [online] Available at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/christmas/0/christmas-traditions-advent-calendars-mince-pies-story-santa/ [Accessed 29 Nov. 2019].

Relocation to the UK

If you are an international doctor who would like support in securing a service post before you apply for an NHS specialty training programme, email your CV to [email protected] and we can support you in securing an NHS post and on your journey to the UK today.

Are you a member of our Facebook Group? When you join IMG Advisor, you will join a community of doctors all looking to relocate to the UK and join the NHS. We post a series of blogs and vlogs into the group every single day. We will also always be on hand to answer all your relocation queries.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel! We have over 45 videos on everything you need to know about relocating to the UK and joining the NHS!

Listen to BDI Resourcing on the go with our podcast, IMG Advisor, You can find us on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Stitcher and Buzzsprout. We have several episodes with tips and advice about relocating to the UK and the routes you can take to achieve this.