Anything about Christmas in Britain, including Britain’s Christmas traditions and celebrations.
I have been contemplating Christmas; it must be the time of year. I normally look forward to the season, finding some joy and hope in it. Consequently, there are several festive-themed articles on A Bit About Britain and, because they are what I like to refer to as ‘evergreen content’, people look at them every
Happy Christmas, 2024 Read More »
Events
Someone remonstrated with me the other day, saying that I could do more to promote my books. Being the sort of chap that always takes advice, I have consequently embarked upon a brazen, crass, plug of the most vulgar kind. Buy one of my books! No – buy two! If I publish another, buy that
“The ten best things about Christmas” is entirely subjective; everyone has their own, unique, perception of an event. Even if you took a poll, the results would depend on who and how many participated and, anyway, ‘best’ is not something that can be determined by a majority vote. All that said, it is a good
The ten best things about Christmas Read More »
British Stuff Events
Sandringham is the private Norfolk home of their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla. Unlike the monarch’s other properties, such as Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace, which are owned by the Crown Estate, Sandringham is one of two residences that the King personally inherited from his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth – the other
The gardens at Sandringham Read More »
East of England
Ghost stories have long been popular at Christmas, and Victorians loved them. In that tradition, and by way of a change from researching a factual article, I thought I would have a go at writing a spectral anecdote. So, in the unlikely event that you have a spare five minutes, and with a degree of
A Christmas ghost story Read More »
Events
“I have endeavoured in this Ghostly little book, to raise the Ghost of an Idea, which shall not put my readers out of humour with themselves, with each other, with the season, or with me. May it haunt their houses pleasantly, and no one wish to lay it.” And so Charles Dickens modestly introduces us
A Christmas Carol – a ghost story of Christmas Read More »
British Stuff Events
Every Christmas Eve, millions of people all round the world tune in to their TVs or radios to listen to carols from King’s – or ‘Nine Lessons and Carols’ – from King’s College Chapel, Cambridge. The broadcasts are an essential part of Christmas for many; for some, they mark the beginning of the Christmas celebrations,
A version of this feature is included in the book, ‘A Bit about Britain’s High Days and Holidays’. Of course, Christmas is Christmas and the basics are ubiquitous in any country with a Christian tradition. That said, everybody celebrates it, if they celebrate it at all, in their own way. Each family seems to have
The A-Z of Christmas in Britain Read More »
British Stuff Events
Don’t think I haven’t noticed that people are talking about Christmas. In our local, The Olde Ruptured Duck, decorations started to appear weeks ago and nearby houses are lit up like, well, Christmas trees. I’ve seen things on TV too, since about October: y’know, shops and what-not, each flogging their own version of seasonal perfection
Christmas at Liberty Read More »
London
In the dying moments of 1914 and the opening days of 1915, remarkable stories began to circulate in Britain’s newspapers. The stories came from France and Belgium, where great armies were locked in mighty conflict, and told of a truce between British and German soldiers. At this time of peace and goodwill, it was said
The Christmas Truce of 1914 Read More »
British Stuff Events History
Do you believe in Christmas magic? Some years ago, when my children were very small, I was dismayed to hear my son pipe up that little Johnny at school said that his dad had told him there was no such person as Santa Claus. I knew the family kept Christmas and wondered how such a
We take traditions for granted but, when you think about it, some of them are pretty weird. Amongst the more bizarre British Christmas customs are Christmas crackers. I refer, not to dry biscuits eaten with cheese and pâté, but to short tubes of cardboard covered with coloured paper, twisted at both ends, each typically containing
The custom and origins of Christmas crackers Read More »
British Stuff Events