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?

Haven’t read the full thread but Father Christmas POSTDATES Santa Claus.
Saint Nicholas was 4th century (evolved into Santa Claus in 18th century ) originally was a monk but became associated with gift-giving to children in 18th century .
Father Christmas was a specifically English notion and the personification of Christmas and had nothing to do with gifts (and was a 15th century notion).
Santa has 10 centuries on Father Christmas…

Maybe it was milk growing up for SIL and she wants to pass that on? Or maybe it is like some pp's have suggested in that they don't think it's a good idea to encourage DC to leave alcohol for Santa.

They don't really need a reason though because it's really no big deal at all.

I don’t mind Santa but I draw the line at ‘cookies’ and milk. How’s that going to keep him warm delivering all those presents?

I don't think I'd fancy a party where adults liking elf on the shelf and calling FC santa was considered 'a laugh'.

Father Christmas is not a British tradition, but an English one. I’m 70, Scottish, and it was always Santa. Just to add, Xmas wasn’t a big deal in Scotland when I was v young. Dad worked Xmas day and had New Year off. England had the opposite and I remember newsreels bemoaning mass absenteeism on New Year’s Day in England. It’s good to remember Great Britain comprises three countries and the United Kingdom four, each with different traditions…

Is the problem less 'Americanisms' and more that your DIL does things differently?

Agree about the elf but has always been Santa or actually Santy in NE

I find it funny as someone living in the U.S. that British people complain about the Americanization of Christmas because IME Christmas is a far bigger deal in the UK! People put a lot more focus on prioritizing spending on food and gifts than anyone I know in the U.S. and also stress out about it more. I’ve never even hear of a Christmas Eve box except on Mumsnet. Also mince pies are vile so Father Christmas would much rather have a cookie IMO!

Very true. My dad worked Christmas day too when I was a child in the 1950s. We did go to my gran’s for Christmas dinner, often turkey, or chicken, followed by ‘clootie’ dumpling, the Scottish equivalent of Christmas pudding. We had it on birthdays too.

New Year was the major event North of the Border. First footing was mandatory!

But the op was moaning about her Dil (not son though ) not doing Christmas to her Standard of father Christmas and Brandy.

Much to my dads disgust when I was about 5 I refused to leave whiskey for Santa because he couldn’t drink and drink the sleigh (I assume I had seen some sort of advert on tv about drink driving!) I left milk every year after that. That was 40 years ago, ds always left milk or juice!

Best not look up the tradition of a Christmas tree OP

That'll blow your mind about British traditions

Well Christmas gets earlier and earlier every year…

Brandy is expensive and I neither of us like it so he gets Baileys or milk in our house. And a mince pie and a Christmas biscuits we baked. And you forgot about Rudolphs carrot. Also we call him both names.

Asdf

Yes, I was thinking about it and we use both names interchangeably. Probably because he was Santa in my house growing up and Father Christmas in DH’s (he is much posher than me!). Our kids don’t seem scarred by us using both names.

Always Santa to me and my family and everyone I know. Even mil who tried to put in a posh persona says Santa (yer fae Yoker hen, drop the posh accent).

People always say this and Halloween are American imports whereas I went out ‘guising’ 40+ years ago and my 73 year old mother went out guising too when she was young. We left whisky (my Dad was a functioning alcoholic) so he drank that plus the rest of the bottle. It was just a biscuit, whatever we had-Jaffa cake or something and a carrot which I think was fed to the dog as she adored raw carrots and used to steal them from the vegetable rack.

For me it all started going wrong when we stopped living in caves and doors were invented.

Why did you edit your post agreeing with the OP to nonsense?

I am with the OP in that I don't want us culturally to become the 51st state. I don't see traditions in the UK dying out quite in the way described though, more things being added to try to get people to spend more money over the Christmas period. Though that's not the only time of year that happens, just remember all the Halloween merchandise.

I do think Christmas has become over expensive and over complicated (that bloody elf on the shelf thing, Christmas Eve boxes etc).

My friend did one year and we all massively judged her.

I miss the Christian element, even though I no longer practise. All the decs in the shops are nutcracker, Alice in wonderland etc. My DDs literally cannot find a nativity set or a beautiful angel for the top of their trees. I’m not usually a nostalgic person - I wonder whether it’s because I no longer have parents or grandparents, I miss that connection with my past 😔

Welp, I guess DIL, naturally enough, is either making her family's traditions with them, or she is handing down the traditions she enjoys from her childhood with her family. No doubt, she is the one putting in the hard yards to create her family's Christmas, so she gets to choose how and what they do. Just like you did with your family, OP.

No one is being nasty to you, you’re being challenged and disagreed with because you’re talking nonsense. You clearly mean English traditions as opposed to British and are acting all wide eyed and disingenuous when told by numerous posters that Santa is NOT an American import.

As for brandy and mince pies, I’m 60 years old and neither of these items would ever have been in our house. Santa was left a kitkat and a glass of milk as far back as 1971 in my childhood home.

Really? I’ve seen loads of lovely Nativity sets around this year! I was tempted by a couple but I already have two (one that was my grandmas, and one I bought the year my eldest child was born).