Member Article

A-Z Holiday Season List

Just one week to go until the big day. There are many aspects that make up Christmas, from preparation, to the actual day and right up the New Year.

A is for Amazon

As of the 2nd December 2017 Amazon.com has over 300 million users. It is one of the most popular platforms for purchasing Christmas presents, as delivery is effortless with Prime.

B is for Baubles

Christmas trees were first decorated with apples, white candy canes, heart, flower and star shaped pastries. Between 1550 and 1609 the first glass baubles were made in Lauscha, Germany by Hans Greiner.

C is for Christmas Pudding

Christmas pudding has been given different names and contains a range of ingredients as centuries have past. It was originally known as mince pies in the middle ages consisting of partridge, pheasant, poultry and rabbit. The UK is known to spend £48 million on Christmas Puddings.

D is for Decorations

Christmas lights originated from the 17th century with the tradition of lighting the tree with small candles that were attached with pins or melted wax. During the 1880 Christmas season Thomas Edison introduced the first official outdoor electric Christmas light display to the world. Edward Johnson, who was an inventor under the supervision of Thomas Edison, created the first string of Christmas lights a couple of years later.

E is for Eggnog

Eggnog originated from the early medieval Britain “posset”, a hot, milky, ale-like drink. By the 13th century, monks were known to drink a posset with eggs and figs. Milk, eggs, and sherry were foods of the wealthy, so eggnog was often used in toasts to prosperity and good health. It was the Americans who adopted it for the holidays.

F is for Fruitcake

Fruitcakes are the traditional cake served at Christmas, they can vary in colour, texture and shape and are typically covered with marzipan and icing, which is commonly decorated with models of houses, fir trees or Santa Claus etc.

G is for Gifts

£330 is the average amount a UK adult spends buying Christmas presents. One of the main reasons we have the tradition of giving and receiving of presents at Christmas is to remind us of the presents given to Baby Jesus by the 3 Wise Men.

H is for Holly

Holly, Ivy and other greenery such as Mistletoe were originally used in pre-Christian times to help celebrate the Winter Solstice Festival and ward off evil spirits and to celebrate new growth. Holly has become a representation for the crucifixion of Jesus with the prickly leaves signifying the crown of thorns he wore and the berries being the drops of blood shed by Jesus because of the thorns.

I is for Icy

Come December people have to scrape ice from their car and wrap a scarf around their mouth and nose, to stop their breath escaping in white clouds as the weather turns colder. Many consumers hope for a white Christmas decorating their houses in icicles, snowflakes and even fake snow.

J is for Joy

Christmas usually fills people with joy, as they are surrounded by love ones, making new memories and sharing old ones. Many people will also feel happy due to the food and adult beverages they consume.

K is for Kris Kringle

Kris Kringle, Santa Claus, Father Christmas…The legend can be traced back hundreds of years to a monk named St. Nicholas. Much admired for his piety and kindness, St. Nicholas became the subject of many legends. Gift-giving, mainly centred around children, has been an important part of the Christmas celebration since the holiday’s rejuvenation in the early 19th century.

L is for Live Chat

When buying gifts for loved ones, many consumers will welcome the instant nature of live chat. They are digitally connected to a customer service representative and have their enquiry answered in real time. This is particularly useful when leaving Christmas shopping to the last minute!

M is for Mince Pies

The ingredients for the modern mince pie can be traced to the return of European crusaders from the Holy Land. Middle Eastern methods of cooking, which sometimes combined meats, fruits and spices, were popular at the time. Pies were created from such mixtures of sweet and savoury foods; in Tudor England, shrid pies (as they were known then) were formed from shredded meat, suet and dried fruit, with the addition of spices such as cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg.

N is for North Pole

The centre of Santa’s operations occurs in the North Pole, this was created by German-born American cartoonist Thomas Nast, who submitted images of a more robust and jolly version of Santa. Alongside these images was Santa’s home, which remain a part of the legend we know today.

O is for Occasion

At the beginning of the 19th century Christmas was hardly celebrated. Many businesses did not even consider it a holiday. However by the end of the century it had become the biggest annual celebration and took on the form that we recognise today.

P is for Pine Tree

The evergreen fir tree has traditionally been used to celebrate winter festivals (pagan and Christian) for thousands of years. Pagans used branches of it to decorate their homes during the winter solstice, as it made them think of the spring to come. The Romans used Fir Trees to decorate their temples at the festival of Saturnalia. Christians use it as a sign of everlasting life with God.

Q is for the Queen’s Speech

The Royal Christmas message is a broadcast made by the sovereign of the Commonwealth realms to the Commonwealth of Nations each Christmas. The tradition began in 1932 with a radio broadcast by King George V on the British Broadcasting Corporation’s Empire Service. Since 1952, the message has been read by Elizabeth II; today, it is broadcast on television, radio, and the Internet via various providers.

R is for Reindeer

Reindeer are located in the Arctic regions of the world, and can survive the harsh cold conditions, so are perfect for Santa’s headquarters. The original eight reindeers (Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen) first appeared in American Literature ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas’ and were gifted to Santa. Rudolph was created in 1939 by Robert L. May whose employer wanted a Christmas story.

S is for Stocking

A Christmas stocking is an empty sock or sock-shaped bag that is hung on Christmas Eve so that Santa can fill it with smaller presents and chocolate/sweets, known as stocking fillers when he arrives.

T is for Turkey

Turkey is still the most popular choice for Christmas dinner, the average household expects to spend £174 on food and drink for 25th December alone. Turkey is a relative newcomer to the Yuletide table - it was a luxury right up until the 1950’s when they became more widely available.

U is for Unwrap

There’s not a better feeling than handing over a self-wrapped present or watching children dive into a mountain of presents, however to be able to place the gift(s) under the tree, Brits spend 31 million hours wrapping! 83 square km is the amount of wrapping paper sold in the UK every Christmas.

V is for Visitors

Over the Christmas holidays many people will make arrangements with family and friends, even making time to see distant pals and relatives that they may only meet up with this time of year. Christmas can include extra costs such as purchasing airbeds and extra bedding to be able to accommodate guests.

W is for Wreath

Wreaths have been used as a decorative sign of Christmas for hundreds and hundreds of years. The wreath is made of evergreens, most often pine branches or holly and has significant meaning for the season. It’s circular shape represents eternity, for it has no beginning and no end.

X is for Xmas

We see Xmas written nearly everywhere, from holiday advertisements to Christmas cards. In the Greek alphabet, X is the symbol for the letter ‘chi.’ Chi (or X) is the first letter in the Greek word for Christ.

Y is for Yule Log

The Yule log stretches all the way back to the Iron Age, people would feast to celebrates the days finally becoming longer, signalling the end of the winter season. They would burn logs decorated with holly, pinecones or ivy to cleanse the air of the previous year’

Z is for Zzz

And finally Z is for the afternoon nap after filling up on Christmas dinner. We hope you enjoyed reading through this festive list and would like to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Author bio: Gemma Baker is the Marketing Executive for UK web chat system provider, Click4Assistance, with a range of digital knowledge within PPC advertising, SEO practices, email campaigns and social media.

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmasornament https://www.thefactsite.com/2012/12/facts-about-christmas-pudding.html http://www.highcountrylights.com/fun-activities/christmas-light-history.html http://time.com/3957265/history-of-eggnog/ https://www.whychristmas.com/customs/hollyandivy.shtml http://www.history.com/topics/christmas/santa-claus http://mashable.com/2015/12/20/how-to-go-to-the-north-pole/#BJaDW07A4aq3 http://www.click4assistance.co.uk/chatintegrationoptimisesconsumerbrowsingduringtheholidays https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mincepie http://www.bbc.co.uk/victorianchristmas/history.shtml https://www.whychristmas.com/customs/trees.shtm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RoyalChristmasMessage

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