How do they celebrate Christmas in the United Kingdom?
Posted on Dec 22, 2025 / History
In the United Kingdom, Christmas is a major holiday combining religious traditions with charming cultural customs. Homes and streets are decorated with lights, holly, mistletoe and Christmas trees in the weeks leading up to Christmas Day. Families typically exchange gifts on the morning of 25 December, after Santa Claus (Father Christmas) has visited the night before. A traditional Christmas dinner includes roast turkey with all the trimmings, followed by Christmas pudding — often steamed weeks in advance with a coin hidden inside for luck. Many people attend church services on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day to celebrate the religious meaning of the holiday. The Queen’s (now King’s) Christmas broadcast is a long‑standing national tradition watched by millions. Christmas crackers — paper tubes that “pop” to reveal small gifts, jokes and hats — are pulled at the dinner table. Boxing Day (26 December) follows Christmas as another public holiday for sport, shopping and visiting friends.
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