December 24
Christmas Eve in United Kingdom
Christmas Eve is the Day before Christmas Day, which is annually on
December 24, according to the Gregorian calendar. It is not a public
holiday in the United Kingdom but it is a day of preparations for the
Christmas season. The Christmas season includes the public holidays on
Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Day and January 2 (Scotland only).
Christmas Eve is the last day for many people to shop and prepare for the Christmas celebrations and festive meals. December 24 is not a public holiday. However, schools are closed for the
Christmas holidays and many people have a day off work or leave earlier
than usual.In the United Kingdom, Christmas Eve is both the religious and secular start of the festive season at the end of the year. A wide variety of things symbolize Christmas Eve. These include
Christmas trees, including the decorations and lights that people hang
on them, and other evergreens, such as holly, ivy and mistletoe, which
are used to decorate homes and other buildings.
In England less emphasis is placed on Christmas Eve than in other countries, much more is made of Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Carol singing, midnight church services and going out to the pub are some of the activities that many families enjoy (sometimes all three activities can be combined into one fun night out!).
ReplyDeleteNight time on Christmas Eve though is a very exciting time for young children. It is the time when Santa or Father Christmas comes. They hang up their stockings and go to sleep. Santa and his elves make all the toys for Christmas in his home in Greenland. On Christmas Eve he piles all of the toys onto his sleigh and rides across the sky with his 9 reindeer (Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner (or it may be Donder), Blitzen and of course ... Rudolf!). The most famous one is Rudolf the who is always the one at the front, to lead the way with his red nose. In the morning when the children wake up they open their stocking presents. Traditionally on Christmas Eve mince pies and sherry (or milk) are left out for Santa and nowadays carrots are left for his reindeer. Most children are in bed way before midnight waiting for Santa to visit.
Christmas Eve is the last day for many people to shop and prepare for the Christmas celebrations and festive meals. Stores, particularly those selling food and gifts, are usually busy. Some families put up their Christmas tree and other seasonal decorations, although others may have done this as early as late November.
ReplyDeletePeople may attend a church service, often called midnight mass, on Christmas Eve, even if they do not regularly attend church services. Traditionally, midnight masses started at midnight, as Christmas Eve becomes Christmas Day, but now often begin earlier in the evening. In addition, the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols is broadcast on radio throughout the United Kingdom and across the world from Kings College Cambridge. This service consists of the same nine bible passages each year, with a selection of modern and ancient hymns.
Christingle services for children are usually associated with the four Sundays of Advent, but may also be held on Christmas Eve. During the service, each child is presented with a decorated orange, which represents the world. A piece of red ribbon is tied around the orange's circumference to represent the blood of Jesus and sweets or dried fruits are placed on four toothpicks poked into the orange. These represent the four seasons and the fruits of the earth. A candle is inserted into the top of the orange to represent Jesus Christ.
Many families with children end Christmas Eve by hanging Christmas stocking up. These were traditionally socks, but are now often oversize sock-shaped sacks. Children hope that a mythical figure, called Father Christmas or Santa Claus, will visit the house during the night. He enters homes by climbing down the chimney and, if he thinks that the children have been well-behaved all year, fills the stockings with presents, gifts and sweets.