STORIES+UK


 * The celebration of December the 25th comes from Rome and was celebrated before Jesus came; it was the worship of the Italic god Saturn and the rebirth of the Sun-god, by Romans and Pagans. This occurred because it was noted that the daylight increased on December 22nd, which is when they assumed the sun-god had died, but they believed that the sun-god rose from the dead three days later on the 25th and figured this was the reason for the increased light. This festival of Saturnalia was the cause of much excitement and celebration were gift giving and merriment filled the temples of Rome with the priests called dendrophori carrying wreaths and evergreen boughs to worship in procession
 * In England over the years many superstitions have surrounded the Christmas pudding, the most popular festive dessert. It is said puddings should be made by the 25th Sunday after Trinity, prepared with 13 ingredients to represent Christ and His Disciples, and that every member of the family take turns to stir the pudding with a wooden spoon from east to west, in honour of the Three Kings. A silver coin is always dropped into the pudding mixture before it is cooked. This is said to bring wealth, health and happiness to whomever is lucky enough to find it when the pudding is cut.
 * People decorate their homes and a tree, with baubles, tinsel and fairy lights, placing a star or an angel in pride of place, on the top of the tree. The decorating of Christmas trees, though primarily a German custom, has been widely popular in England since 1841 when Prince Albert had a Christmas tree decorated with candles, set up in Windsor Castle for his wife Queen Victoria and their children.
 * A very English tradition at Christmas is the family visit to see a Pantomime. The English 'panto' is based on traditional stories like Cinderella, Peter Pan and Puss in Boots and developed into the form we know today during the reign of Queen Victoria. It is a play of a fairy tale where the hero is played by a young woman, the comic characters are men dressed in outrageous drag, the bad guy is really, really bad and the cow is obviously two people dressed as a cow. The humour is topical (and FULL of double-entendres) and the play involves audience participation, (Oh No it Doesn't! Oh Yes it Does!!). Strange, I know, but Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without our pantos.
 * In 1922, Lord Reith, General Manager of the BBC, felt that the King, George V should use the powerful new medium of radio to speak to the nation as one family. Initially the King refused as he felt that radio was still too experimental to be used for a royal message. Lord Reith did not give up though, and asked the King again in 1932. By this time the BBC has begun its overseas service, and the King had the opportunity to talk to his subjects around the world. At 3:00pm on 25th December 1932, the King made the first broadcast live from Sandringham. Since then King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II have continued the tradition and in 1957 the broadcast moved to television. Over the years the format has changed from a formal speech delivered live, to a pre-recorded Christmas message, to the current more relaxed broadcasts.
 * The day after Christmas is called Boxing Day. This day has nothing to do with fighting. Long ago, people filled church alms boxes with donations for the poor. Then on December 26, the boxes were distributed. Now people often use this day to give small gifts of money to the mail carrier, news vendor, and others who have helped them during the year.