Although Christmas on the television and in the shops starts around October time in the United Kingdom. The build up to Christmas usually starts around the first of December, with the first day on the Advent Calendar being opened. The children in Nurseries and Schools start their rehearsals for their Christmas concert, whilst mums and dads are busy picking up presents. Christmas cards (Weihnachtskarten) are distributed around the work place, children have little post boxes within their school, so that they can send cards to different class members. Decorations are already up in Schools and work places, and in the town centres where the Christmas lights are displayed for all to see.
The Christmas tree is meant to be officially put up on Christmas week, although many households in the United Kingdom have the tree in there houses long before this. It is tradition to decorate the tree with lights and baubles. People also now decorate the outside of their houses with lights to mark Christmas.
During the run up to Christmas Eve there are many Christmas Concerts and Nativity plays, giving of Christmas cards, exchanges of gifts and Christmas Greetings (Weihnachtsgrüsse). On Christmas Eve the children leave out a mince pie and a glass of Sherry for Father Christmas, who comes down the chimney to deliver presents. Once the Children are in bed Father Christmas leaves his presents under the three for the children to open in the morning, he drinks his sherry and eats his mince pie and flies away in his sleigh. Many people join midnight mass at the local Church.
On Christmas day, the children rush downstairs to open their presents, whilst dad puts the turkey in the oven and starts the preparation for Christmas Lunch, which is usually around 3pm in the afternoon. After the children have finished opening their many presents the wrappers are put in the bin, and they spend all morning playing with their new toys. Family arrives around 2 o clock for drinks and lunch. The lunch is traditionally Turkey, potatoes, sprouts, roast potatoes, carrots and gravy. With Christmas pudding and custard for afters. There is plenty of wine and beer on offer and crackers are placed at the side of everyone’s place setting. The children enjoy sweets out of one of the many selection boxes which they receive.
After Lunch it is traditional to play a board game of some kind, and the Queens speech is listened to all over the country. There is usually a lot of tired eyes after the big dinner.
Boxing day is a time for spending more time with the family, although it was named this because it was the day that the box was opened and gifts given to the poor and needy. Many of the sales start in Britain on Boxing day, but the supermarkets and local shops remain closed until the 27th.
The next day on the Christmas celebration calendar is New Years Eve. When many people around the country have parties or go to venues to celebrate the turn of the New Year. On New Years day people generally celebrate again with a meal or a party, and many people take down their Christmas decorations on this day, although Christmas is not officially over until the 12th night which is the 6th of January, when all decorations should be taken down by. It is felt that it is bad luck to keep Christmas decorations up longer than the 12th night.
Although many of the Christmas traditions have been altered along the way, most are still in place, and the children certainly enjoy the festive season.