Christmas Customs

[sixret]

Split from 'Christmas Reading'.


When you usually open your presents?

What if you don't like the presents?

How much cost have you spent on presents? For how many people?

Does the person who has received the present is expected to give present in return?

I have always wanted to ask the questions regarding presents during Christmas.

Do you visit your relatives during Christmas?

Do you go to church during Christmas?

Is Christmas is more religious basis or culture basis nowadays?

Hope my questions are not sensitive. Christmas time features in many Enid Blyton stories and I have been intrigued by the whole Christmas culture.

[Fiona1986]

Most of those are fine (even if they don't really belong in a thread on Christmas reading) but it's usually considered a bit rude to ask how much people have spent on gifts!

Now moved from 'Christmas Reading'.

[sixret]

Apologies for the question regarding the cost spending on Christmas presents.

[sixret]

One more question- do you really put Christmas presents below the Christmas tree that has always been depicted in films and Enid Blyton stories?

[Fiona1986]

When you usually open your presents?

On Christmas morning

What if you don't like the presents?

If the person gifting it is present you smile and say thank you as sincerely as possible. If they're not there you are free to react however you like. I rarely return or exchange gifts unless I simply need a different size.

Does the person who has received the present is expected to give present in return?

Generally (in my experience) you don't often get surprised by gifts. You buy for your friends and family and generally receive from the same people you give to. If someone unexpected gave you a gift through, you would probably feel obligated to get them something in return.

Do you visit your relatives during Christmas?

We used to visit both sets of grandparents on Christmas morning (the whole family would) but now my grandparents have all passed away, we tend to have smaller family gatherings. I will go and visit my parents (my sister will be there) and my fiance's parents (his sister, her partner and their daughter will be there) and after Christmas we try to get together with some of my aunts, uncles and cousins etc.

Do you go to church during Christmas?

I sometimes have gone to the Christmas Eve carol service but that's all. Religious people often do go to church.

Is Christmas is more religious basis or culture basis nowadays?

It's mostly a culture or tradition to do Christmas in the UK. An awful lot of people are not doing it for religious reasons now.

One more question- do you really put Christmas presents below the Christmas tree that has always been depicted in films and Enid Blyton stories?

We do - but those are mostly gifts for other people we have wrapped, or gifts given in advance to us by people we won't see on Christmas day.

[Rob Houghton]

In answer to the last question - yes - we have always put our presents under the Christmas tree. As a child we had a sack of toys (rather than a stocking!) by the bed, and family presents from aunts and uncles, cousins, sister, brother, grand parents etc were put under the tree to open after breakfast.

[Machupicchu14]

Exactly the same in my family Rob!!!

[Machupicchu14]

When you usually open your presents?
First thing when we wake up (it would be impossible to wait more time!)

What if you don't like the presents?
Say a Big Thank You.

How much cost have you spent on presents? For how many people?
Hmmm...

Does the person who has received the present is expected to give present in return?
Not exactly, but it would be nice to give other people presents as well.


Do you visit your relatives during Christmas?
I used to spend the day after Christmas with my grandparents, cousins, uncles, etc. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were spent with just close family (parents, siblings)

Do you go to church during Christmas?
Yes.


Is Christmas is more religious basis or culture basis nowadays?
It has now become more Marketmas in many countries, people just think in Santa Claus and shopping yet the main and most important thing is that Christmas is about the birth of Jesus.

[KEVP]

In the USA, different families have different customs. I am pretty sure there is at least some connection to what countries their ancestors came from.

I am now an adult with no children. My brother has two children, but some christmasses ago I suggested to him that we make a rule that Christmas presents are only for children. (I don't really need anything).

In my family, when I was a child, our custom was that we would open presents from friends and family on Christmas Eve, and then we would go to bed, and Santa Claus would deliver more presents while we were sleeping, which we would then open first thing on Christmas morning.

We were carefully trained by our parents to always act like we liked the presents, even if we didn't. And I would try to do so even as an adult if someone gave me a Christmas present I didn't like.

Americans spend a LOT on Christmas presents. I think if you search hard enough on the internet, you can find a precise number. There is an old saying that the American economy is built on war and Christmas. That is, all of this spending on Christmas presents--like spending on the military--is what keeps our economy going.

Generally, Christmas presents are mutually exchanged. Husbands and wives (or boyfriends and girlfriends), siblings, children and parents. An exception might be something like a teacher getting presents from all their students, the teacher wouldn't be expected to get a present for each student! Or like a minister getting presents from lots of different members of their church.

I will be visiting my married brother and his family at Christmas. If I was married and had children of my own, I probably wouldn't.

In the USA, churches usually have special services on Christmas Eve and on Christmas. Both the Roman Catholics and the various Protestant denominations (with one or two exceptions). The Christmas Eve services are usually the most crowded all year. Some Americans only go to church on special occasions like Christmas.

There is a HUGE argument in the United States about how much Christmas should be religious based or culturally based (or as I was saying above, commercially based). The sides in this argument often match the sides in our recent presidential election.

I don't know if this information will help you much with Edith Blyton, however.

[KEVP]

In my family growing up in the USA, we would put the presents from friends and family under the Christmas tree, but then the presents delivered by Santa would appear in stockings we had hung by the fireplace, or if they were too big to fit in the stockings (and there always were some big presents!) they would appear just generally in the vicinity of the fireplace.

[Katharine]

When I was a child we had a stocking and then our presents were in a pillow case at the end of our bed. Some years we would all get into bed with our parents and open our presents, but as we got older my parents would stagger bleary eyed into one of our rooms, and then we'd all bring our pillow cases into that room and open them.

My husband's family had a different arrangement. His parents' present was given to them first (I think in their rooms), then my mother-in-law would dish out presents from under the tree as and when she thought fit during the rest of the day. So a compromise had to be reached with our own children.

Father Christmas now leaves a few small presents in a stocking at the end of their beds which they are allowed to open whenever they wake up - regardless of what time it is, on the condition they don't wake anyone else. He is a very sensible chap and normally leaves something like a book in there for them to read, rather than anything that would make a noise or require adult intervention. The rest of the presents are under the tree, and are opened whenever people want to during the day. No rules, sometimes the children want to open everything straightaway, other times they like to stagger them through the day and even leave one or two until the evening. No rules of whose are opened first either. So even if I'm simply dying for them to open that special surprise from me, I keep quiet and wait until they are ready.

As it's usually just the 5 of us opening presents, then anything that's not to our taste can be freely groaned over. Of course, letters are written thanking people later - regardless of whether the gift has ended up in a charity shop!

As for cost, well that's usually a personal matter, but I do know that compared to many others, we don't spend a great deal, but hopefully what I do buy is always exactly what someone wanted.

Generally we only buy for people who are buying for us. My brother and sister decided several years ago to keep it just for the children, which at the time I felt a bit guilty about, as my sister only had one child, and my brother none, whereas I had 3, however it was their suggestion. Now my sister does have 2 more, so it's more even, but my brother still seems ok with that situation. I do buy small gifts for people like swimming teachers, brownie leaders etc., and obviously wouldn't expect to get anything in return. In a similar vein, I've received small gifts for helping at the school, and when I worked in a play group.

I'm lucky that my family all live very close, so no need to go and stay or have people here. I like to have a fairly low key Christmas day. It has changed over the years, for many of them we went to my in-laws from mid-afternoon on wards and I didn't see my family unless they just popped in for half an hour. More recently we've popped up to my parents and the children have 'helped' them open their presents.

I always go to church. That's partly why the present opening gets staggered throughout the day, as we don't have time to open them all before we go. In recent years I've been twice, as my older children like to go to Midnight Mass, so I go with them, and then I go again in the morning with my youngest daughter. Although I think last year I just went to Midnight Mass and got my father to take the little one with him when he went so I could have a lie in - the year before I was zonked out on the settee by 5 o'clock.

I don't know if anyone has mentioned family traditions? I have a couple, one is going up the road to my parents' house about 8 o'clock to collect the turkey. They normally collect mine when they get theirs from a local farm shop, and keep it at theirs because they have more room. The other tradition is to go for a walk early evening with my children to try and work up an appetite for tea after a big dinner, and also to see all the decorations in people's houses. Fortunately lots of people leave their curtains open, so we have a quick peek as we pass to see their trees etc.

[Francis]

When I was a child, my father and mother would decorate the Christmas tree with candles and my father would then light each candle. With the lights off the tree looked magical with the bells and baubles dancing with light.

[Courtenay]

My family isn't religious, so Christmas for us has always been just a fun family gathering. We always had a Christmas tree with all the presents kept under it until Christmas morning (we never had stockings or pillowcases for gifts at all). When my sister and I were little we were strictly not allowed to start opening our presents until we'd got dressed and had our breakfast first! (Which was annoying in the extreme, but it meant prolonging the excitement and also ensured we wouldn't be sitting in our pyjamas all morning.)

We very rarely had extended family members come over on Christmas day or went to visit them; it was always mainly a day for immediate family (Mum and Dad, my sister and me, and our grandma who lived next door). We'd have a huge big lunch that would last most of the afternoon, with Dad cooking lots of delicious things on the barbecue and Mum making all sorts of salads. Of course Christmas in Australia is in summer, which makes it very different from the traditional northern hemisphere Christmas! But now that I live in England, I've come to really appreciate the idea of having Christmas in winter. Right when the days get dark so much earlier (and can be so much colder) than I've ever known before, it's quite special to have all the Christmas lights in the streets and town squares, shining in the darkness.

[Julie2owlsdene]

Christmas for me in the 50's when Father Christmas visited, was superb. About a month before Christmas I'd write my present list and post it up the chimney. Then on Christmas Eve I'd go to bed quite early, and the next morning when I woke, there would be a pillow case full to bursting of presents all wrapped in Christmas paper, sitting on my bed. I'd then start to open them, and Mum would come into my bedroom and she'd watch me open up all the presents. Then my Dad would take them all downstairs once I'd had the joy of opening them.

Our Christmas Tree was an artificial one and would always sit by the window in the front room, covered with lights and baubles. Our living room would be decorated with the paper chains and paper bells that used to open up and sit on the wall. On Christmas Evening the whole family would come around and we'd be in the front room where the tree was.

I only ever started putting presents under the tree after I was married, even in my teens my Mum or Dad would put my pressies by the bedside for me to open on Christmas morning when I woke.

And so when I had my daughter, Sarah, I used to do the same as I had when a child. We'd slip into her room once she was asleep with a pillow case to place on the end of her bed. So when she woke and we heard her scream in glee, we'd both pop in and watch her opening the presents. Memories of childhood are always special I think, and I wanted Sarah to have the same special memories I had.

[Rob Houghton]

Interesting to read all the different traditions people had! As kids, my sister and I had 'sacks' - a bit like pillow cases, really, but made of plastic with pictures of Father Christmas or snowmen on them. These were always delivered by Santa to our bedrooms, but the gifts in them were never wrapped, just placed in the sack for us to find in the morning. I used to sit up in bed and delve into the sack in great excitement. Usually there would be annuals, a selection box, some small toys, perhaps one big toy (the best I remember was a toy 'Corgi' circus, which I still have!) We always had a drawing book, colouring book, and a wonderful new pack of felt pens!

I remember one year I had a 'Cassio' organ, which I can remember sitting up in bed and trying to play, very early. My parents heard me playing the 'prerecorded sample music' on it and thought they had a child genius in the family, lol!

Downstairs, around the tree, were all the other presents, wrapped in Christmas paper, which we opened after breakfast. It was the tradition that my sister and I handed out the presents to everyone, reading the labels out loud as we did so.

Christmas dinner was always around 1:00 pm - usually chicken when we were kids, and turkey as I grew older. At night we always went to my nan and grandad's (my mom's parents) for Christmas Day tea, which was usually meat and salad type meal. My cousins would go too, and we would have a chance to show off the 'best' presents we had had, and it was also a tradition that the whole family played 'Bingo' with my grandad's Bingo set for a penny a game. It was a real thrill to win a handful of pennies - usually the winnings were about 12p a game!! We'd have Christmas music on, and us kids would often have a dance too. This was where I first did 'The Birdie Dance' which became quite popular.

I often wonder how I survived the day, as I might not go to sleep until quite late on Christmas Eve, and was usually awake by 4:30 or 5:00 opening my Christmas sack!

On one Christmas, as I left my nan and grandad's, we opened the door to six inches of snow - the only time I ever remember it snowing heavily on Christmas day - when I was about 8 or 9.

My nan died when I was 10, and after this we always went to Christmas Tea at my Auntie's house instead, carrying on the same tradition.