Christmas (part 3) - Christmas in the UK

I was lucky enough to be asked on as a guest to “The Place” podcast by the New Covenant Group – you can watch it here.

It's two hours long but worth a watch.

I did try to explain some of the differences between the UK and USA expectations and experiences of the season, particularly Christmas Day but it was 2.30am and I'd like to clarify some of the points that I made.

Firstly – music. We do have a tradition of playing festive music in shops in December (and even late November), but eventhough there are pop songs that include religious themes they are not played very often.

The sort of songs that you might hear are

:: PPL's Top 20 most-played Christmas tracks of the decade:
1. All I Want For Christmas Is You - Mariah Carey
2. Last Christmas - Wham!
3. Fairytale Of New York - The Pogues feat. Kirsty MacColl
4. Merry Xmas Everybody - Slade
5. I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday - Wizzard
6. Do They Know It's Christmas? - Band Aid
7. Driving Home For Christmas - Chris Rea
8. Stop The Cavalry - Jona Lewie
9. White Christmas - Bing Crosby
10. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! - Dean Martin
11. I Believe In Father Christmas - Greg Lake
12. Wonderful Christmas Time - Paul McCartney
13. Merry Christmas Everyone - Shakin' Stevens
14. Step Into Christmas - Elton John
15. The Power Of Love - Frankie Goes To Hollywood
16. Happy Xmas (War Is Over) - John And Yoko
17. Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree - Brenda Lee
18. Winter Wonderland - Darlene Love
19. Stay Another Day - East 17
20. 2000 Miles - The Pretenders

source

and the two songs that I mentioned by Cliff Richard

“Mistletoe and Wine" by Cliff Richard

“Saviours Day” ditto

The most common time for an argument on Christmas Day is actually 10.13am - source. Indeed Christmas Day for alot of people is a very sad time and many do get depressed - source.

I would argue that "Mistletoe and Wine" is not very popular because it tells people how their Christmas should be and loads the event with a great deal of expectation that ends up unfulfilled and the Fairytale of New York is popular because it does the opposite and admits that the event often begins with a mix of hope and regret, and will include a raging row.

Next, I ought to explains Nativity Plays - and the way that although they appear to be explicitly religious they are actually far less so and instead, because of the need to be as inclusive as possible, the cast will include characters that are simply not mentioned in the Bible, often to the wry amusement of parents in the audience. Nonetheless, it is a popular event and a rite of passage for Primary School children.

Finally, the Pantomime is another Christmas tradition and is a musical comedy play based on children's stories such as Babes in the Wood, Cinderella, Snow White and Dick Whittington. The key features are audience participation ("He's behind you !", "Oh no he isn't", celebrities, awful jokes and garish costumes.

In summary, the UK Christmas experience is different to the USA and is not as overtly religious.

We are indeed two nations separated by a common festival.