During the whole year various holidays and feast days are celebrated in Britian, U.S.A. and our country- Czech republic. Some holidays are celebrated in all these countries some are national holidays. One of the biggest holidays of the year is Christmas. It is day, when Christ was born.
Christmas
In Britian
Preparations for Christmas start long before in late October or early November. That is when British housewives make their Christmas cakes. These cakes taste much better if made a month or two before Christmas. Some weeks before Christmas the streets and shops are decorated. A lot of British families have Christmas trees made of plastic. There are no candles on them but electric lights. Socks are hung up. Children believe Father Christmas will fill them. He comes on his sledge-pulled by reindeer-very early on the morning of Christmas Day. He enters the house through the chimney and puts the children’s presents into their stockings. They get their presents on Christmas Day and not on Christmas Eve. The dinner on Christmas Day is the „most important“ meal of the year. The British usually have roast turkey and roast potatoes followed by Christmas pudding (also called plum pudding). Christmas pudding is a special rich pudding made with lots of dried fruit, eggs, suet and flour. It is made well ahead before Christmas, boiled for four hours and then heated again on Christmas Day. It will keep for a long time. There is also an old custom of stirring into the pudding a coin, a thimble and a ring to bring wealth, work and a wedding to those who find it. There are plenty of carols on the radio and TV. December 26 is called Boxing Day from the custom in earlier times of giving postmen, milkmen, newspaper boys and the like small sums of money, which they collected in their Christmas boxes.
In our country
Preparations for Christmas begin four weeks before 24 December. This time is called Advent. The housewives bake sweets. Kind of sweets, gingerbread taste much better when made a month before Christmas. Gingerbread is decorated with white icing. Many people make Advent’s wreath with four candles. One of candles is lighted on in every advent’s Sunday. On Christmas Sunday all candles are lighted. During the preparation for Christmas there is a nice, friendly atmosphere. A lot of people buy Christmas tree, but many people have tree made of plastic. The most important day of Christmas is Christmas Eve.