Last year, Christmas was a different celebration as the result of Covid-19 restrictions in place, this year we are hoping that Christmas will be much more like previous years (thank goodness!) At David Phillip Estate Agents we are looking forward to the start of the Christmas season and have lots of things planned, including the Lily’s of Bramhope Christmas event, visits to Castle Howard for their Narnia spectacular, Harlow Carr Garden’s Glow and Harewood House (I think we will go in the evening this year when the house is lit up) plus our seasonal visit to York.
Today the John Lewis advert has launched and Betty’s are advertising their delicious mince pies – all really traditional, which made me wonder what other traditions might be taking place this Christmas around the world. Here are a few
Mince Pies, inspired in the Middle East and brought back by the crusaders. Early mince pies contained meat, fruit and spices. They commonly had 13 ingredients that were thought to represent Christ and the Apostles and were a large oval shape to represent the manger. Meat had disappeared from the recipe by Victorian times.
Mistletoe, hanging mistletoe in the home is a pagan practise, but I hadn’t realised that for each kiss a berry had to be plucked until none remained!
The Christmas tree has been around for many years in Northern Europe, but when Prince Albert put up a tree at Windsor Castle in 1841 he started the evergreen trend.
In Sweden – there is the Yule Goat made from straw, who is believed to guard the Christmas tree. In the Swedish city of Gavle the community comes together to build a 43 foot tall goat at the start of advent – this has happened every year since 1966, although since this tradition started the goat has been burned down 29 times – the last time in 2016!
Straw is commonly used for decorations in Scandanavian homes because it reminds them that Jesus was born in a Manger.
In England, the turkey is the star of the festive feast – Turkeys were first brought to the UK by William Strickland in 1526, and although the bird became fashionable in high society in the 19th century, it was enjoyed by the masses when Edward VII made it de rigueur as part of the Christmas Dinner.
Imagine though if you live in Greenland, the traditional Christmas dish Kiviak takes a full 7 months to prepare and begins with hollowing out a seal skin and stuffing it with small sea birds known as auks to ferment. On Christmas day the treat is served straight from the seal!
Spiders are considered to be the symbols of goodness and prosperity in Poland which is a perfect sentiment for the Christmas season – Spiders webs are common on Christmas trees because, according to legend a spider wove a blanket for baby Jesus.
In Iceland there is a tradition known as Jolabokaflod – people exchange books on Christmas Eve and then spend the rest of the night reading and eating chocolate – as a result, Iceland publishes more books per capita than any other country.
In Norway, people hide brooms in a safe place on Christmas Eve, as it is believed that witches come out to look for the brooms to ride on.
In Venezuela, the residents of Caracas head to church on roller-skates on Christmas morning – the main roads are shut to allow for this tradition to take place.
So, that covers some of the world’s more unusual Christmas traditions Whatever your plans are this year, we hope everyone is enjoying making the most of the Christmas in North Leeds, and if you are thinking of celebrating Christmas in a different home next year and live in Bramhope, Adel, Cookridge, Otley or Pool-in-Wharfedale then please give us a call for a free market appraisal with David Phillip FRICS t: 01134 676 400 or visit our website davidphillip.co.uk a: 86, Leeds Road, Bramhope, Leeds