British Christmas Calendar

Christmas it seems, starts earlier each year and it is not uncommon to see stores and shops putting up their Christmas decorations as early as October!.

It is customary in British households to open up advent calendars counting down the days of December up until Christmas Day. In Britain the official Christmas holidays are Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

The general Christmas Day tradition starts early as children wake up their parents to see what Santa Claus or Father Christmas has left for them underneath the Christmas Tree. The pubs in Britain are open for a few hours on Christmas Day and many people meet up for a few sociable drinks to work up an appetite for their Christmas Dinner of turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and vegetables. After which many will turn on the TV to watch the Queen’s Christmas Message. The following day is known in Britain as Boxing Day, this stems from the Christmas tradition dating back to the medieval times of offering up the Church collection boxes to the poor.

Many work places close down completely over the period between Christmas and New Year and New Year’s Day is also a holiday – while people recover their hangovers of New Year’s Eve. In Scotland they celebrate Hogmanay rather than New Year’s Eve and January 2nd is also a holiday, while throughout the UK, should Christmas Day, Boxing Day or New Year’s Day fall on a weekend, then these holidays are reclaimed through the week with bank holidays.

During the Reformation in Britain, a Puritan Protestant parliament actually banned Christmas in 1647. This led to widespread riots and for several weeks the city of Canterbury was controlled by the rioters, who ‘decked the halls with bows of holly’ (hence the song). Christmas was restored in 1660 with the Restoration of the Monarchy under King Charles II, perhaps this is why he was known as the Merry Monarch.

For further information on Christmas vacations to Britain, please contact one of our guides.