TRADITIONS+UK

In the festive season many people use to decorate their homes. On the main entrance we use to hang rings made of evergreens, mistletoe, pine needles,holly leaves, red berries and ivy. Families in the past used holly to protect their houshold from the evil spirits and they would not spend Christmas time without holly. In the past, bay and rosemary could also be found in Christmas decorations. This kind of decorations are found also inside the house where they are accompanied by decorative elements made of coloured papers and foils beautifully cut in creative patterns of paper chains. People may blow up balloons and Christmas cards are put up. Sometimes they are fastened to long pieces of string and hung up on the walls. In the past, Christmas decorations were hung only on Christmas Eve and was believed that using them before that date would be very unlucky. However, today it is common to put decorations about fifteen days or even almost a month before Christmas. People in the UK remove their Christmas decorations on the 5th of January. This originated from the idea that the green spirit of the plants need to be freed. If kept in the house, they will become harmful.
 * Evergreens and more**

Everywhere in the country, in cities and countryside, young and elderly people like colourful and imaginative lights, sometimes flashing, on their front gardens and around houses and buildings. Many families love to decorate the Christmas tree with lights of all kinds. The lights are usually catching and children are very excited by the festive atmosphere that they convey. The use of lights has been increasing over the years. In the past, only few houses had Christmas lights and these were dedicated almost exclusively to the Christmas tree’s decoration. Towns and cities put up colourful lights across the streets. Also shops, offices and big corporations are lighted in many colours and shapes. Oxford street, in London, displays some of the most complex and beautiful lights and offers an amazing sight in the dark winter nights. As above mentioned, people in the UK remove their Christmas decorations from their homes, schools and workplaces on or before Twelfth Night. Many people believe that it is bad luck to display Christmas decorations after January 6. Actually, they have to be removed on the 5th of January. Decorations in town centers and shopping malls may stay on display for longer, as it can take many days or weeks to remove them all.
 * Lights**

This is the most important Christmas decorative item. The tree becomes almost like a friend who greets the familiy each year. Children love it and their parents who have greeted their friend since their infancy, still continue to like it. It is a symbol of joy, of gratitude, of celebration, of giving and receiving, of that unique warmth found within the families. Nowadays, there are many children with divorced parents and they spend the festive season in more than one household, so they have more Christmas trees to remember when they get adults. Christams trees may be either real trees or branches of big trees, or artificial ones. Generally, a Christmas tree is beautifully decorated with electric lights, charms and multicoloured baubles on the branches. It is traditional to put a star or an angel at the top of the tree representing the story of the birth of Christ. A huge Christmas tree can be seen in Trafalgar Square, in London, and they say that it arrives every year from Norway with good wishes from the Norwegian people.
 * The Christmas tre**