Christmas

Red and green are the traditional colours of Christmas:
Green represents the continuance of life through the winter and the Christian belief in eternal life through Jesus. Red symbolizes the blood that Jesus shed at His Crucifixion.

The Christmas tree became popular in England in 1841:
When Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert, brought a Christmas tree over from Germany and put it in Windsor Castle. The Royal couple were illustrated in a newspaper standing around the Christmas tree with their children, and the tradition of decorating a tree became fashionable.

The most Famous Christmas Tree in Britain:
In London, near the statue of Lord Nelson in Trafalgar Square, a giant Christmas tree is set up and decorated with great ceremony each year.

White Christmas in England:
England had only known seven white Christmases in the entire twentieth century. According to the records of the Meteorological Office in London, snow fell on Christmas Day only in 1938 and 1976. (The definition of a white Christmas in England is when one snowflake falls on the roof of the London Weather Centre.)

Christmas pudding:
It originates from an old, Celtic dish known as 'frumenty' & was first made as a kind of soup with raisins and wine in it.

Christmas Card:
1843, the first Christmas card was created on the instructions of an Englishman, Sir Henry Cole. J.C. Horsley designed the card and sold 1000 copies in London. In the nineteenth century, the British Post Office used to deliver cards on Christmas morning.

Postmen in Victorian England were popularly called "robins". This was because their uniforms were red. Victorian Xmas cards often showed a robin delivering Xmas mail.

Jingle Bells:
The popular Christmas song "Jingle Bells" was composed in 1857 by James Pierpont, and was originally called "One-Horse Open Sleigh." It was actually written for Thanksgiving, not Xmas.

Food:
It was a custom to eat goose at Christmas until Henry VIII decided to tuck into a turkey. Also, 93 per cent of the population in the UK eats turkey on Christmas Day; this means 11 million turkeys being cooked!!