Customes and traditions in Britain

Customs and traditions of celebrating Christmas: 
There are some interesting traditions and customs connected with Christmas in Great Britain. British people are very proud of them and try to observe them carefully. Today we will tell about some of these traditions. Christmas is a happy holiday. Families prepare for this holiday weeks before. They decorate their homes with wreaths of holly, ivy, evergreens and mistletoe. Holly is an evergreen plant with sharp-pointed leaves and red berries. People use it to decorate their homes. It is a very old tradition. Long ago people began to put holly in their homes during the dark cold winters. They liked to look at this plant and think about the spring and the sun. Holly is one of the most popular evergreens. It is a symbol of good luck, just like the horseshoe. By the way the word “holly” comes from the same word as “holy”. A holly bush planted in the garden is said to keep the house safe from lightning. Farmers used to hang a sprig of holly in their cowsheds on Christmas Eve to make sure they had a good supply of milk and healthy calves during the coming year. Ivy, which is a soft and clinging plant, was once thought to be a symbol of woman. Holly, with its tough and leathery leaves, was supposed to be a symbol of man. Entwining holly and ivy in a Christmas decoration was supposed to ensure peace in the home between a husband and a wife in the year ahead. Mistletoe is an evergreen plant with small leaves and small white berries. Mistletoe was a special plant for the Druids, who lived in Britain before the days of Christianity. If it is to flourish, it needs the support of a tree, such as an oak. The oak was a sacred tree to the Druids, who believed that the evergreen mistletoe kept the spirit of the tree alive during the winter months. This evergreen plant became a symbol of peace and friendship. 
On Christmas Eve there is a bunch of mistletoe in every house. The traditional colors for this holiday are red and green; and poinsettia is considered the Christmas flower. It has been a Christmas symbol since the 1820s, when Joel Poinsett, the American minister to Mexico, brought it to his country. Let’s listen to a story about this wonderful flower. Poinsettia is called the “Flower of the Holy Night”. There is a legend that tells about a little peasant girl who, on Christmas Eve, wanted to go to a Midnight Mass with a gift for Jesus. She had nothing to give, but angels appeared and told her to pick some weeds and take them into the cathedral. As she went in, everyone laughed at her. Suddenly, the top leaves on each stem burst into a flame of scarlet. The people fell to their knees and the little peasant girl marched proudly forward to make her offering at the crib. The shape of poinsettia is often compared to the mythically symmetrical Star of Bethlehem. 
The most popular of all the Christmas evergreens is the fir tree. The idea of bringing a fir tree indoors at Christmas occurred in the 16th century. Fir trees decorated with fruit, sweets, cookies, wafers and candles have been popular in Germany ever since. By the 17th century they were known as “Christ trees”. The Christ tree remained largely a German custom until the nineteenth century, when it was taken to England by German merchants and popularized by Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert. Ever since, it has been an essential ingredient of the Christmas season. No family which takes a properly enthusiastic view of the festival could possibly imagine Christmas without a Christmas tree. It just would not be the same! Children decorate the Christmas tree with 'tinsel, toys, shining balls and flags. They place a shining star at the top of the Christmas tree. Sales of artificial trees are booming too. Particularly popular are the silvery tinsel affairs made of aluminum-coated artificial fibre. They are very attractive and there is always an advantage that they can be folded up and put away till next year. 
At Christmas

Sprigs of holly. Traditionally a coin is placed into the pudding. It brings good luck to a person who finds it. It used to be the custom to bake a special rich cake for Twelfth Night, the last day of Yuletide. Yuletide begins in the middle of December and ends on the 6th of January. Today a lighter Christmas cake is made and eaten throughout the Christmas period. It is a succulent fruit iced cake. 
It is a custom in Britain for everybody to send Christmas cards to their friends and relatives just before Christmas. There is usually a pretty picture of some kind on the card, and a few words such as "Best wishes for a happy Christmas" or simply "A Merry Christmas». John Calcott Horsley, an English artist, is generally considered the creator of the first Christmas card. This innovation took place in 1843, when a certain Henry Cole asked the artist to design a card that he could send to each of his friends. That card sold perhaps a thousand copies at a shilling each. Very often the card brings good wishes for the New Year too, and then it will say: "A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year». There are also special cards for the New Year, but in Britain only those people usually send them who have forgotten to send a Christmas card. One can often see a robin on Christmas cards. Robins have been a popular image on Christmas cards since Victorian times. Many years ago postmen had bright red coats. They looked like robins. At Christmas they brought a lot of Christmas cards. And people began to think about a robin as a Christmas bird. It is also a custom in Britain to give friends and relatives presents on the day after Christmas Day. People call this day Boxing Day. Listen to a story about this day and you will learn why it has such a special name. Boxing Day is on the 26th of December. It is the second day of Christmas. This day is a bank holiday. People do not go to work on that day. They visit friends or go to the theatre. Everybody gives and receives Christmas cards and Christmas boxes. Traditionally people put their Christmas presents into boxes. That is why the day on which they give and receive these boxes is called Boxing Day. A Christmas box is wrapped in bright colored paper with ribbons.