Bringing the Figgy Pudding: Celebrating Christmas in the UK

by Nicole Clendinning

As they don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in England, Scotland or Ireland, the lead up to Christmas in the United Kingdom often dominates most of the fall season. Restaurants and bars start advertising bookings for Christmas parties well before Halloween, as early as September. Christmas markets and winter activities such as skating last until mid-January. While the lead up to the holiday season starts in early fall, the real start of the season is marked by the release of Christmas themed advertisements. Popular department stores such as John Lewis and Selfridges release specially made feel-good Christmas commercials in mid-November that people look forward to watching all year.

While in 2019 the fall
season was slightly overshadowed by campaigns for the general election taking
place in December, the feeling of Christmas was still widely felt.

London

Christmas in London is
exceptionally festive and there are many Christmas themed events going on in
December. Royal Albert Hall, an iconic performance hall in the city puts on a
series of concerts called ‘Christmas at Royal Albert Hall’. Last year they
showed a screening of the Home Alone movies accompanied by a full orchestra and
this year they are hosting events such as a Christmas carol sing along and the
nutcracker.

Oxford Street in
Central London is set up with scenic Christmas lights from mid-November.

Selfridges, an iconic
high-end department store on Oxford street in Central London holds an event to
unveil their holiday window displays.

Food

While in Canada
Christmas dinners bring the thought of turkey and stuffing, roasted chestnuts
and cranberry sauce, the UK has their own distinct Yuletide foods. Mince pies,
sweet tarts filled with raisin, apple and cinnamon are popular desserts
reserved for the holidays and are often served with cold cream or brandy butter
as dessert.

Traditions

There are clear
differences in how Christmas is celebrated in the UK in comparison to North
America. Firstly, they say ‘Happy Christmas’ as opposed to ‘Merry Christmas’
and call Santa Clause, ‘Father Christmas’. Other than these distinctions, old
traditions such as gifting oranges and other fruits as stocking stuffers are
practiced. Some also refrain from putting up a Christmas tree until 12 days
before Christmas, and leave it up into the new year, although stores and
restaurants often decorate as soon as Halloween is over. Christmas in the UK is
more widely regarded as a secular holiday as opposed to a religious one and has
been commercialized in a similar way to the holiday in North America.

Another yearly
tradition that families often partake in are attending Pantomimes, which are
comedy musicals, based on films like Peter Pan, Aladdin and Cinderella. They occasionally
star well known celebrities and are part of Christmas traditions.

While Christmas
parades are not as prevalent across the pond, perhaps one of the most well
attended traditions is to attend German themed Christmas markets. While Ontario
has one large Christmas market in Toronto, many cities in the UK have their
own. No need to travel to London to attend one! These outdoor markets sell
crafts and holiday goods that are often bought as unique gifts. In addition,
there are German sausages, hot ciders and mulled wine to drink in the cold.

In addition to the
classic Christmas songs like Jingle Bells, White Christmas and Frosty the
Snowman, there are British classics unique to England. Some good ones to check
out are Do they know its Christmastime and Merry Christmas Everyone!

Interested in studying in the UK? You can find out more by contacting one of our advisors!