Where are our British Christmas traditions going?

[RabbitsNBears]

I can’t help but feel ever so sad about the wonderful Christmas traditions we grew up with are disappearing. It's like we are raising our young ones in the USA. Who is “Santa”? In my day he was called Father Christmas. What is this elf on the shelf nonsense, as far as I can tell he teaches our grandchildren that misbehaving is amusing, not the old fashioned lessons of behaving as Father Christmas knows if you’ve been good or bad. And don’t even get me started on how my DIL had the grandchildren leaving “Santa” cookies and milk. What’s wrong with a glass of brandy and a mince pie?

I think "santa" John is my new favourite thing who needs Father Christmas 😀

Sneaky eh 😂

In the Raymond Briggs sequel "Father Christmas Goes on Holiday" he travels to several holiday destinations.
A small child always seems to spot him and points him out using the local language name for him (ie while in France it's "Papa Noel").
It's lovely to see the different names.

and you sound like you're quick on the uptake given you have provided almost exactly the same reply as the second response over 18 hours and 250 replies later.

No carrot for the reindeer in your house?

I did milk, mince pie and carrot because kids know you can’t drink alcohol and drive.

How much brandy gets made in the British Isles anyway? I have had Somerset apple brandy but that’s just calvados by another name….

I’m not new here, but when I was growing up, my mum said that Santa delivered all the presents, but they were from her, and this is what I thought everyone here meant.

And again, England is not the UK.

Yes I know which is why I distinguished it from places who did have the tradition now I've been told it has roots in Scotland and Ireland.

Hardly an American import whatever google says.

OK? I'm not sure how you expect people from places other than Scotland and Ireland to know the entire background of trick or treating. The American's made it famous GLOBALLY. And everyone thinks it's an American tradition (even google which is apparently wrong!) so that's not really my fault...

I am reading classic Christmas murder stories, one written in 1936 refers to santa klaus and another says that (some) people stopped saying Father Christmas during world war 2 due to its links with Germany

so santa klaus has been around for a while

The American's made it famous GLOBALLY. And everyone thinks it's an American tradition (even google which is apparently wrong!) so that's not really my fault...

Given the Scots and Irish made Halloween famous in America and Australia, and in parts of England where they went in large numbers (Corby for example), it would be them that made it famous "globally" surely?

Only some English people think it's an American tradition (in the way some dismiss Mom as being American, when it's actually English).

Most people realise that most of the so-called "American traditions" went to America with immigrants and therefore are traditions of other countries.

You keep the traditions you want to keep. Not interested in Elf on the Shelf? Them don’t do it. Want to say Father Christmas/Happy Christmas (though this is not a hill I’d die on and think it’s regional anyway).
We never had stockings growing up. Some of my friends did, some had pillow cases at the end of their bed or on the door knob, some had presents all under the tree. So even in the same part of the country traditions are different.

Daddy Winter only visits the naughtiest girls 😉

🤮🤮🤮

We give santa wine 🥂

Im English (NE) and father Christmas was definitely NOT our tradition. Santa. Santa Claus or as pp reminded me, Santy!!

Also NEVER use squash, diluty pop. Fizzy pop is a definite use.

"Santa Claus" comes from the Dutch for St Nicholas.

Are you aware that Christmas trees are a German tradition imported to the UK? Come to that, "German Christmas Markets" have a whiff of foreign about them, you'd better stay clear of those.

Turkeys are American, I hope that you've never served anything but traditional goose for Christmas dinner.

Most of our "traditions" only date back to the Victorians anyway.

I'm 62 and Santa and Father Christmas have always been interchangeable in my house. I like the fact that traditions evolve, I've avoided the elf, but a few years ago started doing a Christmas Eve box for my now grown up DS, and love having chocolate, new pyjamas and a book that evening. Change can be good 🙂

54 yea old scot , living in England now, always been Santa / Santa Claus in my home ,much to MIL annoyance. Father Christmas is just wrong to me. Brandy and mice pie with a carrot for rudolph still left out by Dd 18!

You clearly need to get out and explore your own country a little. You'll find that 'Father Christmas' is a very SE regional name for the jolly old fellow, and that he's always been Santa Claus across wide swathes of the UK.

There's nothing offensive about cookies and milk, surely? Is every British home supposed to be equipped with a bottle of brandy? What if Santa prefers a G&T?

I'll give you the dratted Elf on the Shelf though. What a load of cobblers. This is an opinion shared by many of my American friends, fwiw, though they wouldn't use that expression.

No, it was the millions of Irish and Scottish emigrants to every corner of the globe who made it famous (think of the ubiquitous Irish Pubs, and St Patrick's Day parades all over the world if you want confirmation of the reach of the Irish and all things Irish).

Also, Scotland and a big chunk of Ireland are part of the UK. I don't understand how Britons don't make it their business to know this stuff about their own country and their own countrymen.

Oy vey...

I have so far left fuck all out for Santa. Poor guy.

I have a 5 year old so I might let him choose something to leave out next week. We don’t have brandy or mince pies though so won’t be those.

But do you understand that England is only one part of the big, beautiful mosaic that calls itself The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?

They’re going down the tubes thanks to people getting wild and subversive on the 25th and having things like beef and lamb instead of the traditional turkey and over boiled vegetables. Absolute anarchists. They’ll be setting fire to Buckingham Palace next.

I think of the Kingdom as being more like a solar system, with England being the sun around which Scotland, Wales, and NI revolve.🤣