Christmas Greetings from Dunalley Primary School England UK

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Christmas Greetings from Dunalley Primary School
England UK
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Christmas Trees. We put these up in our houses
and at school, they are fir trees. We decorate
them with baubles, tinsel and lights. At school
the Christmas Tree is put up on December 1st. We
are looking forward to decorating a tree with our
European decorations this year.
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History of the Christmas Tree
The Christmas tree became popular in England in
1841 when Queen Victoria's husband, Prince
Albert, brought a Christmas tree over from
Germany and put it in Windsor Castle. The Royal
couple were illustrated in a newspaper standing
around the Christmas tree with their children and
the tradition of decorating a tree became
fashionable. They decorated the tree with
candles, candies, fruits, and gingerbread.
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Holly and Ivy

• Holly and Ivy were originally from the time
  before Christianity to celebrate the winter
  solstice festival and to ward off evil spirits.
  When Christianity came to western Europe some
  people wanted to keep the plants to give it
  Christian meaning. The UK and Germany were the
  main countries to keep the greenery.

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Meanings of holly and Ivy

• Ivy
• Ivy has to cling to something for
• support itself as it grows, this
• reminds us that we have to
• cling to god for support in our
• lives.
• Also a
• piece tied to the outside of a
• church is supposed to protects
• it from being struck by lightening.
• We make wreaths of holly, ivy and mistletoe and
  hang them on our front doors in England.

• Holly
• The spiky leaves represent the
• crown of thorns that Jesus wore
• when he was being crucified. The
• berries are the drops of blood that
• where shed because of the thorns.
• In pagan times, holly was thought
• to be a male plant and ivy a
• female plant. An old tradition from
• the Midlands in England says that
• whatever one was bought into the
• house first tells you whether the
• man or the woman would rule that
• year.

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Christmas crackers
Illustration of children pulling a cracker from
'The Graphic Christmas', 1878 http//www.bbc.co.uk
/history/british/ten_ages_gallery_06.shtml
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Christmas crackers
Christmas crackers were invented by Thomas Smith
in 1846. During a visit to Paris he came across
the bon-bon, a sugar almond wrapped in tissue
paper (with a twist either side of the centrally
placed sweet). Thomas decided to try selling
similarly wrapped sweets in the lead up to
Christmas in England. His bon-bons sold well at
Christmas but not at other times of the year.
In the early 1850s Thomas came up with the idea
of including a motto with the sweet. As many of
his bon-bons were bought by men to give to women,
many of the mottos were simple love poems. In
about 1860, Thomas added the banger, two strips
of chemically impregnated paper that made a loud
noise on being pulled apart. At first these
novelties were called 'cosaques', but they soon
became known as 'crackers'. Unfortunately for
Thomas, his 'cracker' idea was copied by other
manufactures and so he decided to replace the
sweet with a surprise gift. When Thomas died his
two sons took over the business. The paper hat
was added to the cracker the early 1900s and by
the end of the 1930s the love poems had been
replaced by jokes or limericks.
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Advent Calendars
What is an advent calendar? This starts the
countdown to Christmas. We open a door on the
calendar each day.
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Types of Advent Calendars
There are many different types of advent
calendars we enjoy the ones with chocolates in
them.
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Snowmen. In England we get very excited if we
have snow as it is not very usual. Most snowmen
we see are on Christmas cards and as decorations.
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Snowmens History

• The first recorded snowman was made in 1380 but
  people dont know who made it.
• Snowmen are a popular theme for Christmas and
  winter decorations and also in childrens books,
  films and TV at Christmas time.

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How to make a snowman

• In England you would need
• .1 big snowball, 1 medium snowball,1 small
  snowball.
• .6 small pebbles (eyes and mouth)
• .1 carrot (for the nose)
• .1 hat and 1 scarf to keep it warm.
• (its not like that in other countries)

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Christmas dinner

• As a traditional English Christmas dinner we
  would have roast turkey, roast potatoes,
  stuffing, parsnips, brussel sprouts, gravy, bread
  sauce, Christmas pudding and rum sauce or brandy
  butter. This would be eaten at midday on
  Christmas Day.
• At school we all have a Christmas dinner together
  in the last week of the term.

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History

• A special meal has been eaten in the
  middle of winter for a long time. Certain foods
  e.g. Christmas pudding are only eaten then to
  keep it special. Turkey was first discovered in
  Mexico by the Spanish invaders in 1521 and taken
  to Europe. It has been said that the Yorkshireman
  William Strickland brought the first turkey into
  England in 1525 which meant he could have a
  turkey on his family crest. In 1851 Queen
  Victoria had a turkey for Christmas and so many
  people wanted to copy her. As it is a big bird
  there is plenty to eat for everyone. As well as
  all this there is a tradition of pulling the
  turkeys wish bone. Its shaped like a Y so two
  people grab either side and when it snaps the
  person with the biggest piece left makes a wish.
  

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History

• A special meal has been eaten in the
  middle of winter for a long time. Certain foods
  e.g. Christmas pudding are only eaten then to
  keep it special. Turkey was first discovered in
  Mexico by the Spanish invaders in 1521 and taken
  to Europe. It has been said that the Yorkshireman
  William Strickland brought the first turkey into
  England in 1525 which meant he could have a
  turkey on his family crest. In 1851 Queen
  Victoria had a turkey for Christmas and so many
  people wanted to copy her. As it is a big bird
  there is plenty to eat for everyone. As well as
  all this there is a tradition of pulling the
  turkeys wish bone. Its shaped like a Y so two
  people grab either side and when it snaps the
  person with the biggest piece left makes a wish.
  

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Christmas Pudding
What is a Christmas pudding?
What ingredients are in a Christmas pudding?
Who has tried Christmas pudding?
Who likes Christmas pudding?
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How Christmas pudding began

• TRADITION
• Traditionally a six pence coin was hidden inside
  the Christmas pudding. It was meant to bring good
  fortune to whoever found it when the pudding was
  cut.

• The Christmas pudding began as a Christmas
  porridge called frumenty a dish made up from
  wheat or corn boiled up in milk. As time went on
  other ingredients were added such as dried
  plums, prunes, eggs and lumps of meat to make it
  more interesting . This dish became known as the
  plum pudding.

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When to make Christmas pudding

• The traditional time to make Christmas pudding is
  on stir up Sunday at the beginning of advent. A
  proper Christmas pudding is always stirred from
  east to west in honour of the three wise men and
  is traditionally made with 13 ingredients to
  represent Christ and his disciples.

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Christmas Pudding
The Christmas pudding is a brown pudding with
raisins, nuts and cherries. It is similar to
fruitcake, except that pudding is steamed and
fruitcake is baked. Traditionally silver coins
were hidden inside the Christmas Pudding. A
silver coin brought good fortune to whomever was
lucky enough to find it when the pudding was cut.
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Christmas Pudding Ingredients
These are some of the ingredients for a Christmas
pudding- currants sultanas raisins glacé
cherries nutmeg mixed spice butter brown
sugar eggs
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Christmas rum sauce

• Ingredients
• 75g butter
• 60g plain flour
• 570ml whole milk
• 50g caster sugar
• 4-5 tablespoons dark rum (or more)
• 1 tablespoon double cream
• Method
• Place 60g of the butter in a saucepan with
  60g flour, pour in the milk, then, using a
  balloon whisk, whisk everything vigorously
  together over a medium heat. As soon as it comes
  to simmering point and has thickened, turn the
  heat right down to its lowest setting, stir in
  the sugar and let the sauce cook for 10 minutes.
  After that add the rum, the remaining 15g butter
  and 1 tablespoon cream. Pour the hot sauce into a
  jug, then cover the surface with clingfilm and
  keep warm until required.

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Mince Pies

• Mince pies should traditionally have a star on
  top to represent the Christmas star which led the
  shepherds to baby Jesus in Bethlehem.
• Mince pies usually include three spices cinnamon,
  cloves and nutmeg for the three gifts given to
  baby Jesus.
• It was thought to be lucky to eat mince pies on
  the twelve days of Christmas ending with epiphany
  6th January . Refusing to eat one would be bad
  luck.
• Children traditionally would leave one or two
  mince pies on a plate at the foot of the chimney
  along with brandy, sherry or milk and a carrot
  for the reindeer as a thank you for filling there
  stocking.

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MINCE PIES

• Ingredients
• 225g cold butter, diced
• 350g plain flour
• 100g golden caster sugar
• 280g mincemeat
• 1 small egg
• icing sugar, to dust
• Method
• To make the pastry, rub 225g cold, diced butter
  into 350g plain flour, then mix in 100g golden
  caster sugar and a pinch of salt. Combine the
  pastry into a ball dont add liquid and knead
  it briefly. The dough will be fairly firm, like
  shortbread dough. You can use the dough
  immediately, or chill for later.
• Preheat the oven to 200C/gas 6/fan 180C. Line 18
  holes of two 12-hole patty tins, by pressing
  small walnut-sized balls of pastry into each
  hole. Spoon 280g mincemeat into the pies.
• Take slightly smaller balls of pastry than before
  and pat them out between your hands to make round
  lids, big enough to cover the pies. Top the pies
  with their lids, pressing the edges gently
  together to seal you dont need to seal them
  with milk or egg as they will stick on their own.
  (The pies may now be frozen for up to 1 month).
• Beat 1 small egg and brush the tops of the pies.
  Bake for 20 minutes until golden. Leave to cool
  in the tin for 5 minutes, then remove to a wire
  rack. To serve, lightly dust with icing sugar.
  They will keep for 3 to 4 days in an airtight
  container.

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Christmas cake recipe
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Ingredients

• 225g/8oz of plain flour
• ¼ tsp of salt
• ½ tsp of mixed spice
• ½ tsp of ground cinnamon
• 200g/7oz of butter
• 200g/7oz of dark brown sugar
• 2 tbsp of black treacle
• 1 tbsp of marmalade
• ¼ tsp of vanilla essence
• 4 free range eggs, lightly beaten

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• 800g/1 ¾ lb of mixed fruit
• 100g/ 3 ½ oz of chopped mixed peel
• 150g/ 5oz of glace cherries, halved
• 100g/3 ½ oz of blanched almonds, chopped brandy.
• To decorate
• 200g/7oz of marzipan
• 1-2 tbsp of apricot jam
• For royal icing
• 3 free range egg whites
• 600g/1lb 5oz of icing sugar

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• 1 ½ tsp of liquid glycerine optional
• 1 tbsp of lemon juice
• Preparation time 30 minutes- 1hour
• Cooking time over 2 hours
• Preparation method
• 1.Heat the oven to 150c /300f/gas mark 2. Grease
  a 20cm/8 inch round or a 18cm/7inch square tin
  and line the bottom and sides with baking
  parchment.
• 2. Sieve the flour, salt, mixed spice and
  cinnamon into a bowl.
• 3. Cream the butter and sugar in a large mixing
  bowl and then mix in the sugar, treacle,
  marmalade and vanilla essence till light and
  fluffy.

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• 4. Mix the eggs a little at a time into the
  mixture and add a tbsp of flour with the last
  amount.
• 5. Fold in the remaining flour mixture until well
  mixed and mix in the dried fruit, mixed peel,
  glace cherries and the almonds.
• 6. Turn the mixture into the prepared tin and
  make a slightly hollow centre.
• 7. Bake in the oven for 3 hours and then test
  with a skewer. If not ready bake for up to
  another hour testing every 20 minutes until the
  skewer comes out clean.
• 8. Remove from the oven and leave it in the tin
  to cool for 15 minutes

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• 9. Turn out on the wire rack and leave to cool.
• 10. Once cool make a few holes in the cake with a
  skewer and pour over 3-4 tbsp of brandy. Let the
  brandy soak into the cake.
• 11. Store the cake wrapped in foil in an airtight
  container or plastic container hole side up.
• 12. Optional for a rich moist cake, spoon over a
  few tbsp of brandy each week until your ready to
  ice and decorate your cake.
• 13. To decorate the cake, place the cake on a
  foil board or cake plate.
• 14. Dust your hands and work on a surface with a
  little icing sugar and knead the marzipan until
  soft.

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• 15. Roll out half the marzipan to fit the top of
  the cake and roll out the other half into strips
  to fit on the side of the cake.
• 16. Brush the cake all over with warm apricot jam
  and then place the marzipan on top and around the
  cake.
• 17. Cover the cake with a clean tea towel then
  leave in a cool place for at least one day.
• 18. To make the icing, lightly whisk the egg
  whites adding the sugar at intervals. Beat well
  until the icing reaches soft peaks add the
  glycerine if using it and the lemon juice.
• 19. Spread the icing all over the cake either
  flat iced using a clean ruler or by forming soft
  peaks.

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How did Reindeer become associated with Christmas
?
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It all originated from goats and Thor the god of
thunder. Ancient Norse mythology tells of the god
Thor and that he was known to fly around the
stormy skies in a chariot. The chariot was
pulled by two magical goats named Gnasher and
Cracker. Over time Scandinavians winter festivals
that later became associated with Christmas. In
England we leave out carrots for the reindeer to
eat on Christmas Eve.
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Cards and Presents
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Our Christmas tradition of presents

• facts

• One main reason we receive presents to remind us
  of the presents that given to Jesus by the wise
  men Frankincense, Gold and Myrrh.
• Frankincense was a perfume used in Jewish
  worship and, as a gift it showed that people
  would worship Jesus

• Gold was associated with Kings and Christians
  believe that Jesus is the King of Kings
• Myrrh was a perfume that they put on dead bodies
  to make the bodies smell nice and, as a gift, it
  showed that Jesus would suffer and die.

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Gifts and cards

• facts

• facts

• Presents can be left In different places, in the
  UK presents are sometimes left in stockings,
  often left hanging by the fire place. The custom
  of stockings comes from the story of St.
  Nicholas. We open our presents on Christmas Day.

• The custom of sending Christmas cards was started
  in 1843 by Sir Henry Cole . Sir Henry had the
  idea of Christmas cards with his friend John
  Horsley, who was an artist. They designed the
  first and sold them for 1 shilling each.
  Christmas cards became much more popular and were
  produced in a large numbers from about 1860.
• At school we send cards to each other and make
  them to send to our families. We have a post box
  at school to put them in.

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In England we have Father Christmas. He comes
down the chimney on December 24th. We leave a
stocking or pillow case for him to put presents
in. We leave a drink and a mince pie for Father
Christmas and a carrot for the reindeers who pull
the sleigh. Often it is difficult to sleep on
Christmas Eve as we wait for Father Christmas.
Now a days we can track where he is on the
Internet.
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Track Santa Claus
Click to open up web page.
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Father Christmas

• Father Christmas has two addresses, Edinburgh
  and the North Pole. Letters addressed to Toyland
  or Snowland go to Edinburgh but letters addressed
  to the North Pole have to be sent there because
  there really is such a place.

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Did you know

• Santa is also known as Saint Nickolas
• Santa has a white beard and a red suit with cuffs
  , a white collar and a black belt. He also wears
  a red hat and black boots
• Santa Claus is believed to bring gifts to all the
  good boys and girls on the night of Christmas Eve
• Throughout the year Santa Claus keeps to lists of
  good and bad boys and girls
• Santas sleigh travels at the speed of light.
  That is about 186,282.4 miles per second or
  617million miles per hour

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What are the names of father Christmass
reindeers?

• Santas reindeers are called Dasher, Dancer,
  Prancer , Vixen, Comet, Cupid and Rudolph. These
  are the reindeers which are all well known .

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WE HOPE YOU ENJOYED FINDING OUT ABOUT OUR
CHRISTMAS TRADITIONSYears 4,5 and 6 have made
the Christmas decorations. They designed and made
them by themselves, most are made from felt and
sewn together others are made from paper and
cardboard. We had fun making them. We hope you
enjoy the one you receive.

• HAPPY CHRISTMAS FROM EVERYONE AT DUNALLEY PRIMARY
  SCHOOL.