Christmas is a time for us to come together and enjoy our friends´company. We celebrate the season with gifts, food, lights and beautiful decorations and carols.
The main difference between a Spanish Christmas ans the Anglo Saxon style is the importance of the 6th of January. In Spain this is when presents are given and the Three Magic Kings give the presents, not Father Christmas. Recently, we have started to give our children their presents on Christmas Eve because they have to go back to school on the 7th and they don't have time to play with their toys. Most families have a "Belén" (nativity scene) on display in our house but also a Christmas tree.
What´s Christmas like in England?
One of the most famous Christmas traditions is the sending of Christmas cards. Some people nowadays send e-cards, but traditional paper cards are still very popular. The cards show winter scenes, religious scenes, scenes such as Santa Claus, Frosty the Snowman or Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer.
You can write many different messages inside the cards like the ones below:
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
Wishing you a very merry Christmas.
Happy Holidays
Happy Christmas
Season’s Greetings
Warm wishes for a happy Christmas
Have a holly jolly Christmas
Peace on Earth, good will towards men
I hope your fire is warm and your family near
Wishing you the best Christmas ever
May Christmas find you in a warm and cozy place
1. Where was it once illegal to celebrate Christmas?
a. Scotland b. Massachusetts c. Bombay d. Yorkshire
2. Since when has Christmas been celebrated on 25th December?
a. 1AD b. 120AD c. 320AD d. 520AD
3. The historical figure who inspired the Santa Claus myth is St. Nicholas. Where was he born?
a. Britain b. Germany c. Russia d. Turkey
4. When were electric lights first used to decorate a Christmas tree?
a. 1882 b. 1902 c. 1906 d. 1916
5. Who was the first British monarch to have a Christmas tree?
a. Queen Elizabeth I b. King Charles II c. Queen Victoria d. Queen Elizabeth II
6. Which spacecraft was lost on Christmas Day 2003?
a. Beagle 2 b. Enterprise c. Apollo 13 d. Mars Explorer
7. What did Harry Potter get for Christmas the first year he was at Hogwarts School?
a. Nothing b. A magic potion c. An invisibility cloak d. Five pairs of socks
8. The Romans also had a mid-winter festival around the same time as Christmas is now celebrated. What was it called?
a. Invernalia b. Saturnalia c. Solstizia d. Winternia
9. Every year another nation gives a Christmas tree, which is placed in Trafalgar Square in London, to Britain. Which nation?
a. Canada b. Russia c. Finland d. Norway
10. Who was the author of the novel A Christmas Carol, in which a miserly old man called Scrooge is visited by the ghosts of Christmas?
a. Charles Dickens b. Jane Austen c. J.K. Rowling d. D.H. Lawrence
11. Where does Father Christmas live?
a. Iceland b. The South Pole c. Lapland d. Alaska
12. Which of the following is not the name of one of Father Christmas' reindeer?
a. Blitzen b. Prancer c. Rudolph d. Bobtail
