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Christmas and New Year Traditions in the UK |
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The custom of hanging stockings comes
from England. Father Christmas once dropped some gold coins while coming down the chimney.
The coins would have fallen through the ash grate and been lost if they hadn't landed in a
stocking that had been hung out to dry. Since that time children have continued to hang
out stockings in hopes of finding them filled with gifts.
Actually, the hanging of stockings by the fire supposedly dates back to the actual Saint Nicholas, a bishop in Lycia in Asia Minor (present-day Turkey) during the fourth century AD. According to the legend there was a poor man with three daughters who could not provide a dowry for them to be married. One night, Nicholas secretly dropped a bag of gold into an open window of the house. The oldest daughter was then allowed to be married. This was repeated later with the second daughter. Finally, determined to uncover his benefactor, the father secretly hid each evening by his daughter's window until he caught the saint tossing in a bag of gold. Nicholas begged the man to not reveal what he had done, not wanting to bring attention to himself. Word got out anyway, and when anyone received a gift from an unknown source, it was attributed to Saint Nicholas. The stockings come into play in one legend, in that the third daughter had hung her stockings by the fire to dry them out after washing them, and when St. Nicholas tossed in the bag of gold it landed in one of the stockings. Thus the tradition began.
Children write letters to Father
Christmas listing their requests, but instead of dropping them in the mailbox,
the letters are tossed into the fireplace. The draught carries the letters up the chimney
and Father Christmas reads the smoke.
The hanging of greenery around the
house, such as holly and ivy, is a winter tradition with origins well before the Christian
era. Greenery was brought into the house to lift sagging winter spirits and remind people
that spring was not far away.
Mistletoe is found on willow and apple trees (and garden
centres) and the practice of hanging it in the house goes back to the times of the ancient
Druids. It is supposed to posses mystical powers which bring good luck to the household
and ward off evil spirits.
The decorating of Christmas trees, though primarily
a German custom, has been widely popular in England since 1841 when Prince Albert had a
Christmas tree set up in Windsor
Castle for his wife Queen Victoria and their children.
A Nordic tradition of burning the Yule
log goes back to medieval times. 
The
Yule log was originally an entire tree, carefully chosen, and brought into the house with
great ceremony. The large end would be placed into the hearth while the rest of the tree
stuck out into the room. The log would be lit from the remains of the previous year's log
which had been carefully stored away and slowly fed into the fire through the twelve days
of festivities. Having the remains of the Yule log in the house throughout the year was
thought to give protection against fire and it was considered important that the
re-lighting process be carried out by someone with clean hands. Nowadays of course, most
people have central heating so it is very difficult to burn a tree! 
On Christmas Eve children leave out mince
pies, brandy or some similar warming beverage for Father Christmas, and a carrot
for the reindeer.
Christmas crackers are a
party favourite in England. 
Conceived
in 1850 by a London confectioner called Tom Smith whilst sitting in front of his log fire.
His attention was focused on the sparks and cracks emanating from the flames when suddenly
he thought what an added attraction it would be if his sweets and toys could be revealed
with a crack when their fancy wrappings were pulled in half. Today's crackers are short
cardboard tubes wrapped in colourful paper and traditionally there will be one cracker
next to each plate on the Christmas dinner table. When the crackers are pulled, out falls
a colourful party hat, a toy or gift and a festive joke. The party hats look like crowns
and we assume these symbolise the crowns worn by the three kings.
Gifts are opened
Christmas morning. The younger children will awake very early in the morning to find a
stocking at the end of their bed and some presents on the floor. Later, the family will
gather together to open all the presents that have been left under the Christmas tree.
"Wassailing"
is an ancient custom that is rarely practised today. 
The word "wassail" is derived from the Anglo-Saxon phrase waes
hael, which means "good health". Originally, wassail was a beverage made of
mulled ale, curdled cream, roasted apples, eggs, cloves, ginger, nutmeg and sugar. It was
served from huge bowls, often of silver or pewter for the purpose of enhancing the general
merriment of the season. The legend says that a beautiful Saxon maiden named Rowena
presented Prince Vortigen with a bowl of wine while toasting him with the words "Waes
hael". Over the centuries a great deal of ceremony developed around the custom of
drinking wassail. The bowl was carried into a room with great fanfare, a traditional carol
about the drink was sung, and finally, the steaming hot beverage was served.
The celebration of Boxing Day,
which takes place on December 26 - the feast of St. Stephen, is a part of the holiday
season unique to Great Britain. Traditionally, it is on this day that the alms box at
every English church is opened and the contents are distributed to the poor. Also, this is
the day that servants traditionally got the day off to celebrate with their families. It
became traditional for working people to break open their tip boxes on this day.
In Scotland they celebrate Christmas
rather sombrely and reserve their merriment for New Year's Eve which is called Hogmanay.
This word is derived from a kind of oat cake that was traditionally given to children on
New Year's Eve.
The first person to set foot in a
residence in a New Year is thought to profoundly affect the fortunes of the inhabitants.
Generally strangers are thought to bring good luck. Depending on the area, it may be
better to have a dark-haired or fair-haired stranger set foot in the house. This tradition
is widely known as "first footing". In England it is said that
a stranger coming through the door carrying a lump of coal will bring good luck.
History of the
Christmas Pudding
Do you know any UK traditions that we have missed? Such as why we hang up stockings by the
fireplace or the origin of Father Christmas and his flying reindeer.
Go to the
Welford and Wickham Primary School Xmas Page.