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Christmas being a festive season, it is no wonder that people all over the world consider music to be a huge part of the celebrations. Can you just imagine Christmas without all those happy and cheerful songs playing all throughout the season? That would be plain boring. Something would definitely be missing.
So where did Christmas carols come from? Great Britain holds this honor. In fact, the origin of carols can be traced back to the Middle Ages when beggars sang songs on the street in order to beg for food, drink, and money. This was dubbed caroling or literally, singing carols in the street. This was also accompanied by dancing and other theatrical acts. As time went by, the meaning evolved and carols became mainly associated with Christmas songs.
Want to know some trivia about Christmas carols?
-During Oliver Cromwell’s time, singing Christmas carols was banned. This was from 1647 to 1660. The leader’s rationale was that Christmas ought to be a solemn period, not prone to revelry.
-Carol singers got into the habit of going from one house to another because of Cromwell’s banning the carols from the churches.
-The word carol is derived from the Greek word choros, which means to dance in a circle. It is also a derivation of the old French word carole, which means a song to accompany dancing.
-The highest selling Christmas carol is White Christmas, written by Irving Berlin. Even people from places which never see snow sing this song every Christmas.
The spirit of Christmas is all about giving and sharing – not only gifts but time well spent with the ones that matter to you most. What better way to get together than over a sumptuous feast? Much like other people in different parts of the world celebrate Christmas Day, the English get together on the day itself for a huge meal. Christmas Dinner is usually the main event and is held in the middle of the day or in the early afternoon.
Each family has its own version of the Christmas Dinner but the traditional fare includes roast turkey, brussel sprouts, roast potatoes, and of course the renowned English pudding for dessert. Serving turkey on Christmas Day can be attributed to Henry VIII, who is said to have first eaten the bird on this day. A tradition associated with turkey for Christmas Dinner is the pulling of the wishbone by two people. The person who gets the larger part of the wishbone can then make a wish and wait for it to come true.
Today, there are countless variations to roast turkey. A huge favorite among many is to stuff it with a rich and nutty concoction. Of course, there has to be enough cranberry sauce as well as bacon strips and lots of hot gravy.
Another traditional associated with the Christmas Dinner is the placement of crackers alongside each dinner plate at the table. These crackers are meant to be a joke – you pull on them and colorful tokens come out.
The Twelve Days of Christmas is widely known all over the world, thanks largely to the Christmas song that we all hear. But not many know about its origins. In fact, the Twelve Days of Christmas was first celebrated in England in the 16th century. It was in the 17th century – the first year, actually, that Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night premiered in the court of Elizabeth the First.
The Twelve Days of Christmas is marked by the Saint Steven’s Day, December 26. It ends on the 6th of January. As compared to the Advent (the first of December, which is not really that much celebrated in England), the beginning of the Twelve Days of Christmas is traditionally a time to celebrate and be merry. It is the time for families to get together and to light candles on the window sills in as a sign of welcome.
Another belief during the Twelve Days of Christmas is that the log in the fireplace should never stop burning. This log is what is known as the Yule log. Its significance further extends to the idea that as long as it’s lit, it will bring luck throughout the New Year. With the more common use of electric and gas for fireplaces today, though, the custom is rarely followed.
Supposedly, eating mince pies will also bring you good luck – as long as you eat them during the Twelve Days of Christmas. Ancient belief is that the number of mince pies you eat during this period will bring you good luck in the same number of ensuing months.
No matter what you believe, the fact remains that The Twelve Days of Christmas is something to look forward to.
People love to read and hear poetry and other literary arts. Some would listen and learn from their message to the reader while some would simply be amazed at how they were constructed with such enthusiasm and imagination. Whatever the case may be, English literature has been known to be rich and capable of rubbing on people who try their hand on poetry and prose.
Much can be traced to the ancestry of English literature and arts. A lot of the famous writers trace their roots to the homelands of England. Charles Dickens for one, is a famous poet that everyone is particularly familiar with. Among his famous works include that of Oliver Twist, David Copperfield and the seasonal holiday tale of the Christmas Carol.
To this day, much of the familiar prose that people read would be immediately associated with the famous writers such as Dickens. It is not surprising to note why this came about considering that England is indeed rich in the arts and culture.
[tags]oliver twist, charles dickens, literature, prose, poetry[/tags]
Everyone is familiar with having desert at the end of a good meal. Deserts can take the form of ice cream, cakes and other known sweets to top of an appetizing meal. In Britain, pudding is something that is known as a common desert to consume. Pudding is usually composed of bread, or other forms of cakes, paired with various add-ons such as raisins, alcohol and vanilla. Pudding is prepared in different ways, and the variants would depend on what the server would normally want to offer to their customers.
Pudding can be paired with other deserts as well. It is in particular that ice cream is normally the first option to be paired with it. Fruits are also another good addition to the normal pudding servings. Some also make unique sauces to complement the pudding served, making it something different from the usual cakes and pastries that are offered as deserts for people after a hearty meal.
[tags]pudding, british food, british desert[/tags]
Things to know about English Practice and Tradition
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Posted on Sep 3, 2007 by Jodie in English Culture, English Life, English News, English TraditionsOne of the remarkable things about English culture is finding out more about local practices and events that are usually of interest to most people today. Through proper searches, the help of affordable search engine optimization by Los Angeles SEO has been a big boost to ensure that people can rely on a list of informative and static list of sites that aim to please the need for such data today.
English has a wide array of things to offer. This can include areas of local traditions, current practices and events, and historical occurrences which most companies differ in more occasions. While studying their local traditions and practices may be of great need to students today, it remains that reliable and consistent content will be a big help to people wanting to learn more about different cultures.
For sure, the primary interested groups would come from students and potential tourists anywhere in the world today.
Why Students Dream of Education in England
Comments Off Posted on Aug 2, 2007 by Jodie in English Culture, English Education, English Language, English Life, English TraditionsFor students, the desire to be able to study in England is among the dreams that would be a good investment for their future. Rich in culture, history and customs, prestigious colleges, garnering the level of education from England is world-renowned and achieving such a feat shall surely be a good feather in the cap of successful students.
England is best related to the works of Shakespeare, one of the famous writers that people know and whose works have been portrayed in different plays all throughout the world.
A lot of the educational focus would be focused on their artistic and theatrical knowledge, tagged as being unique and unlike that of others in the whole world. With its rich pool of resources in castles and religious beliefs, it is not hard to notice why England has gained much headway into one of the more famous destination points to which people would visit or perhaps rant for educational opportunities today.
[tags]england education, career, arts, shakespeare, sciences, diploma[/tags]
Fish and chips can be traced under the English tradition of providing quality food snacks catered to serve people on occasions. Much of this widely famous served meal has been found in various parts of the world especially in restaurants where it has evolved into one full meal as well.
Fish and chips meals were originally conceptualized to be served in alleys and stand similar to the concept used by America’s world famous hotdog stand. Fish and chips, a meal where fish classes as cod, haddock and placie are deep fried in a flour batter and paired with chips to become what it is known today.
The usual wrapping would be that of used newspapers for people to easily hold them. This same English meal is a common site in recreation parks and events like baseball where the meal is consumed while they are watching or socializing at times to hit the spot in their bellies.
[tags]fish and chips, food, english cuisine[/tags]
Anyone for English Toffee?
Comments Off Posted on May 3, 2007 by Jodie in English Cuisine, English Culture, English Life, English TraditionsToffee traces is roots from the English and the Americanized descent. Toffee is usually known to be that buttery and chewable like candy that people would love to sink their teeth in, especially the people with the proverbial sweet tooth. Toffee is made up of sugar or molasses along with butter and milk.
It is a widely known sweet coating that is used to cover such other ingredients and elements like apples, almonds, nuts and raisins. Put altogether, they produce the usual candy bars that consumers would purchase from candy stores and supermarkets anywhere.
Toffee has been known to be in demand in various parts of the world. One of the better issues surrounding toffee is with regards to its point of origin since American and English type of preparation differ a lot. A lot of creations have been made around this usual candy or chocolate coated bar but its identity for being chewy is something that people with strong teeth will surely enjoy.
[tags]english toffee, candy, chocolate, almonds, raisins, sweets[/tags]
All About English Economics
Comments Off Posted on Apr 22, 2007 by Jodie in English Culture, English Education, English Life, English TraditionsThe economics of any country is a telling factor with its carried success of handling the infrastructure and needs of its region. England for its part, holds the second largest economy in Europe and fifth largest economy in the world. England is known to be the leader in pharmaceutical, technical aerospace and the arms industry. Everyone is well aware that such industries are among the highly demanded innovations and needs of people today.
England follows the Anglo-Saxon Economic Model. This capitalist model follows a macroeconomic model where taxes are low and the government offers lesser services. Given a free market type of an economy, this has been the ticket for a growing and stable economy to which England has been flourishing and ranked among the best economies other countries are quite envious about.
This can be seen with their obvious exchange rates with other currencies where the Pound Sterling offers better exchange rates to which people from other countries are aching to find jobs to have better opportunities and better compensation and financial aid for themselves and their families.
[tags]economics, england, pharmaceutical, technology, business, exports, imports, taxes, anglo-saxon economic model[/tags]
