Christmas In Scotland

The Christmas holidays in Scotland wasn't exactly the same many years ago as they are now. Christmas itself was until recent times a purely Religious festival (the New Year, now called Hogmanay, was and still is the main holiday for Scots). It was forbbiden to celebrate Christmas until 1950'. This ban lasted for about 400 hundred years because of John Knox, the religious reformer in Scotland, who had a big influence on Scottish Church, and probably because of him the ban was strictly enforced in law. Until the sixties last century Christmas wasn't even a public holiday so people barely celebrate it. Adults were working although the children had their presents. It looked as if you could almost say: "Wanna have a real traditional Scottish Christmas? Go to work on Christmas day!" But most of people didn't like that and nowadays Christmas looks pretty much the same as the US version.

And Scottish Christmas are a mixture of different customes from Europe and USA. In result, everything goes around shopping, food, Christmas tree and decorations.

Shopping heat starts very early - just before Hallowe'en when shops start filling up with a variety of gift ideas. Shopping centres are decorated with fairy lights putted not just into the trees but almost everywhere. And also as in America Santa appears in shopping centre and children can stand in the queue to tell him what they want for a Christmas gift, and are given a small toy. One of the signs that the Christmas are coming is that the neighbours are decorating their houses. They are doing it usually with light up musical Santas climbing into windows and fake snow being rolled out across roofs. The smallest one can join in the countdown by using advent calendars, which have little doors that opens for every day in December with a little chocolate in it and picture behind. The calendar is ending on Christmas Eve. Of course on this day children are thrilled with excitement of waiting for presents, usually left under the Christmas tree. Sometimes kids can find their gifts the next day - in stockings filled by Santa as children were sleeping. On Christmas day all family is gathering around the table, eating turkey, pudding or chocolate cake (swedish Yule log), drinking wine or champaigne, and hopefully waiting for snow.

So as you can see it looks just as in any country in Europe or in USA. The things that are unique for Christmas in Scotland are beliefs associated with scottish Christmas like "Bees leave hives Xmas Mornining" or a Black Bum cake. There are also scottish gifts. Only in Scotland you might get for a present: original scotch whisky, wool kilts (in Tartans or in solid colors), and even picnic blankets or a Scotland's Unique Cat Breed - the Scottish Fold. And also specific is that the presents are opened very carefully to make sure that the wrapping paper can be used once again.