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• Have you ever wondered just how different the Christmas traditions in England are in comparison to the traditions you have experienced? Browse through the links on this page for a look at the practices, history and origins of Christmas in England.

• Fast Facts

  1. Christmas falls annually on December 25th
  2. Christmas 2009 is Friday, December 25th
  3. Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is a popular Christmas story that takes place in Victorian England
  4. Popular English Christmas dishes include Christmas bread, Christmas cake, mince pies, plum pudding and roast turkey
  5. English children believe Santa Claus (also called Father Christmas) lives in Lapland, instead of at the North PoleThe Independent: The house that Santa Claus built

• English Christmas Customs

  Going to see a pantomime show ("panto") is a popular Christmas tradition.Kaboose: Christmas in England

  Christmas crackers, which are small tubes filled with sweets and trinkets, originated in England. They were created by a man named Thomas Smith in 1846.Woodlands Junior School: Christmas Crackers

• Father Christmas and Yuletide

  Father Christmas became associated with Santa Claus in England in the 1950s, but his origins are steeped in Norse and Saxon legend. The Saxons welcomed King Frost, Father Time and King Winter to their firesides in the hope that the winter weather would treat them kindly.The Christmas Archives: Christmas Customs of England

  The Norse god Odin had twelve incarnations. His winter incarnation was known as Jul, which is where the term Yuletide originated. During the month of December, Odin came to earth disguised in a blue cloak and riding an eight-legged horse. He would sit around the fire and listen to the people, and occasionally he left behind a loaf of bread for an impoverished household.The Christmas Archives: Christmas Customs of England

• Twelve Days of Christmas

  English Catholics were victims of repression during the Elizabethan era, and subject to violent retribution should they practice their faith. A scholar by the name of Father Harold Stockert claimed to have found hidden references to Catholicism in the song the "Twelve Days of Christmas," tying the symbolism expressed in the song to Catholic beliefs and rituals.On Religion: A Christmas Mystery However, others have refuted this claim. The website Snopes.com states that "[t]here is no substantive evidence" to support the theory, and suggests that the idea may have originated with people conflating the secular tune with the religious song "In Those Twelve Days."Snopes.com: The Twelve Days of Christmas

• Related Pages on Mahalo

  Christmas | Christmas Recipes | England | Christmas Decorations | Christmas Decorating Ideas | Plum Pudding | The German Christmas Pickle | Christmas Eve Dinner | Christmas Eve Recipes | Christmas in France | Christmas in Australia | Christmas in Japan | Christmas in Iraq | Christmas in India | Christmas in July | Boxing Day | When is Christmas | When is Christmas Day 2008 | Christmas History | Christmas Poems | Short Christmas Poems | Origin of Christmas | Christmas Fruitcake | Christmas Markets in France | Christmas Markets in Germany | Christmas in Italy | Christmas in New York | Christmas in Russia | Christmas in the Philippines | Christmas Around the World | Christmas in Spain | How to Make Christmas Crackers | Christmas Pudding Recipes | Victorian Christmas Decorating | Christmas Cake Recipes | Christmas in Brazil | Christmas in Switzerland

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