Christmas traditions in England

Our Christmas journey begins in the southwest of England, in Gloucester. In a little old town called Tetbury. The market house where the Christmas market is being set up is 350 years old. Tetbury is a pretty place to visit. And not only at Christmas. People have a good sense of humor here. The little hotel is called “The Snooty Fox”. It is cold and damp here in December but it only snows in the shop windows. Father Christmas is in very good spirits today. Happy Christmas everyone! And happy Christmas again. Not far from Tetbury is the Westonbirt arboretum, a fine place to get a Christmas tree. And a fine place to watch people getting a Christmas tree. I have to stand up and hold every single tree before she decides the right one for her. She cannot get an instant one, like a man can. See I would buy this one right away because it is the first one. No, but this is the best one as well, sees? You wouldn’t really have bought this one. You would have bought a bald one which is completely lopsided. This is a man thing. Merry Christmas! In one of the arboretum’s pavilions, ladies are creating seasonal decorations. Why is it that there is so much red and green at Christmas? Red and Green is the holly. The green are the foliage and the red are the berries, so then you really feel traditional. You feel comfortable with that, and it’s a nice contrast on the color wheel. Red and green on the color wheel is opposites and so it looks perfect. Here in England anyway the birds eat the berries. We very rarely get holly with berries on it in this time of the year. So really that’s what gives it a feeling of tradition the red and the green. And to give the feeling of snow, the white, being Christmas. We actually in this country don't get snow at Christmas very often. Very very rarely we have snow at Christmas, but we do sometimes use a spray and put artificial snow, to make you think it is winter wonderland. We dive back to Tetbury to ask Father Christmas about evergreen plants like hollies and Christmas trees. Evergreen plants keep their leaves or needles in winter. They are regarded as symbols of enduring life. Holly can be found everywhere in England at Christmas, though not always with such pretty berries. Holly is deeply rooted in English Christmas customs. As these old pictures show. And as Father Christmas explains. The early Christian church took the old pagan festivals and changed them slightly to fit in with the Christian view. Christmas to a great degree is based on taking images, such as the holly and the Christmas trees. They are all derived from old pagan celebrations. Mistletoe is another evergreen plant that can be found everywhere in England at Christmas. Mistletoe is hung above the threshold. People standing under it are supposed to kiss. So be careful where you stand at Christmas time in England or at least be sure you are standing there with the right person. The custom of setting up a Christmas tree in your house came to England from Germany. The story begins about 250 years ago when Princess Sophia Charlotte von Mecklenburg Strelitz married King George the 3rd. These were the grandparents of famous Queen Victoria. Victoria’s great great great grandson is Prince Charles; he lives quite close by to Tetbury and is here today to turn on the Christmas lights. We return to the “Snooty Fox” to warm up at the fireplace in a cozy Christmas setting.