Christmas traditions old and new

My new tradition will be to ignore Christmas other than for Santa Claus visiting children. Christmas has become so commercial to me its all now about jerseys,pjs,decorations, extravagant food and drink, partying, and horrendously expensive presents for adults. How many actually consider the origins of Christmas?

Our presents were always downstairs and we'd wake in the middle of the night and go down.Poor dad still worked on Christmas day and had to be out of the house before 7am,he must have been worn out.He came home around 4 and we had our dinner then .Christmas day wasn't a holiday in Scotland when I was wee.

I have many happy memories of Christmas as a child and when my children were young. As a child we have pillowcases on the end of the bed and we all piled into my Nana and Grandads room - we all lived together - and when the cup of early morning tea had been made we were them allowed to open the gifts. Oh and my dad got the old record player and played Christmas carols while we did it. As we grew up, those who were able went to watch my brother swim in the sea with his swimming club. I liked to watch and then enjoy the sherry in the sailing club when all the cold water stuff was over!

I do consider the origins of Christmas 4allweknow and would normally be going to church but will be doing it on Zoom this year. I am looking forward to Santa Claus visiting me because although I am no longer a Child, I have been very good this year! Yes Christmas has become commercial but there are so many lovely threads on here about how people are going to spend Christmas. There is no need to be extravagant to enjoy a wonderful Christmas day

We rose for the National Anthem when watching the Queen's speech and on any other occasion. I suspect Daddy might have been sorely tempted to warm our bottoms if we hadn't! He would certainly have told us we deserved to have them well warmed!

In Denmark the royal anthem is played for the Queen's speech and on New Year's Eve both the royal anthem and the national anthem (we have two different anthems ) are played just after midnight.

I was inexpressible shocked some years ago when we visited friends on New Year's Eve when only DH and I automatically rose, stood to attention and sang!

We had the best of two worlds when I was a child.

We celebrated Christmas in the Danish fashion on Christmas Eve with a Danish Christmas dinner , the tree and presents.

At bedtime we hung up one of Daddy's kilt stockings each for Santa to fill and on Christmas Day we had a British Christmas dinner!

Needless to say, my mother loved cooking and was excellent at it.

She baked traditional Danish Christmas biscuits and mince pies as well.

It was the only time of the year where we were allowed to eat as many biscuits as we wanted.

For 40 years we have had a fondue on Christmas Eve,great fun
with our 4 children their friends and now grandchildren,then go out carol singing.But not this year.

lemongrove I've never watched the Queen's speech either! We're always really busy or otherwise occupied and never notice that it's 3pm!

A tradition for me is always listening to the live carols from Kings college on Christmas eve afternoon while I make mince pies and prep the vegetables. I don't do so much now as we usually go to DD. My mother lived in Cambridge before she went into sheltered housing and a cousin of my father's who was a fellow at Trinity took her to the service, she was over the moon.

suzette1613

We lived on a small-holding and every Christmas Eve, when we were a bit older, we children were led out to the byre approaching midnight (we were always still awake and excited on Christmas Eve) to see if the cattle went down on their knees in homage to Christ’s birth, as the old superstition says they do. There always was one random cow that did, if not on the stroke of midnight!
A magical sight for young children, never forgot the wonder of it.

I love the poem "The Oxen" by Thomas Hardy that starts "Christmas Eve and twelve of the clock".

I do now elleks, l didn’t learn about it until a few years later. I am sure my parents knew it, though they said it was something the family always did. Like Hardy, l wish l could go to the byre and see the cattle kneeling again, l would feel the true magic of Christmas as l did years ago.

When I was small we lived with my Grandparents. At Christmas time they lit a fire in the front room, decorated the place with fairy lights and the tree stood in the corner. A real tree, not a tinsel or plastic one. Then they would call us children in to see the magical sight, ceiling light turned off to get the full effect.

Like one or two others on here, Grandfather would conjure up a cup of tea with whisky or rum in it as a special treat. Whether we liked it or not.

In our stockings, were an apply, an orange, toffees, nuts, maybe a jigsaw and shortbread. All as a taster for the main presents which were beneath the tree.

Magical times.

apple, not apply...

When I was about 7 or 8 I was allowed to go to midnight mass with my mother and older siblings (Daddy was C of E, we were Catholic so he went to his separately!) and some people we knew always attended too - the husband had his birthday on Christmas Day, so as we came out of Mass my mother would give him a birthday kiss! I thought that was very daring of her and always wondered what my father would say if he knew! Many of the above memories happened in our house too, if we went to my Uncle's house for Christmas Dinner we all had to stand throughout the Queen's Speech and once we had drunk a toast to Her Majesty we all sat back down and carried on feasting!

I wonder what the Queen would say if she knew people actually stood to watch a recording of her making her Christmas speech.

Another one who has NEVER watched or listened to the Queens speech, or has any interest in so doing.

A sort of tradition started in our family when my children were young. Lots of them (Children I mean), six of our own, plus sometimes a foster child or two. Back in the 70's money was pretty tight most of the time. We never, ever ate out as a family or even had takeaways. My husband worked in a job which gave him Luncheon Vouchers and these were carefully saved all year (he took sandwiches from home).

Christmas Eve was such a busy day for me, preparing all the foods for the following day, all from fresh. I would start in the morning after breakfast and usually finish (stuffing turkey and putting in oven on timer) around midnight.

So, our evening meal was special - as a takeaway Chinese meal was ordered for us all. Dad and oldest two children would go to collect this, paid for entirely with those LV's, younger ones would get table cleared and laid.

No takeaway or Chinese meal could be more looked forward to or enjoyed than that once a year one - using an entire 2 weeks worth of luncheon vouchers.

One of my daughters continues this with her family (even though her children are very much more used to eating out and takeaways on a much more often basis), but,still the Christmas eve one is a special one. Fortunately, that is my bubble family so will be able to join them for that.

52 weeks of LV's (sorry missed off the 5)

The r4 live Christmas Eve Carols from Kings service is the start of Christmas for me. Magical!
I read that the choirboy chosen to kick off the processional first carol is a last minute decision.
When I was a child (I was the youngest of three) we drank a toast to Mum to thank her for a year of cooking meals for us before we tucked into lunch.'T'was sherry in special sherry glasses which were kept in the Cabinet. Just 3 of these glasses remain - and I have them!