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Christmas in the United Kingdom
Christmas is a traditional Christian holiday. On that day, people celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. In the United Kingdom, it is celebrated on the 25th of December, it is one of the biggest and most popular holidays in the country.
Although Christmas is a religious holiday, it is celebrated by everyone, not only religious people. Nowadays for many people Christmas is just a family holiday when they can get together, have a special dinner and give presents.
The celebration of Christmas is preceded by the Season of Advent, it begins about one month before Christmas Day. People spend Advent in different ways. It is a quite important period for some religious people, they spend it preparing for Christmas. For a lot of people, it is just a period when they prepare for the celebration. There is a lot of things a family might need to do before Christmas Day, such as decoration, shopping for presents, writing cards, making special meals, sending out invitations. It is traditional to buy Advent Calendars for children or even grown-ups. An Advent Calendar is a calendar where each day until Christmas Day is represented by a small box. Children are supposed to open one small box every day. Usually, there is a treat or just something nice in it.
Christmas Day is a public holiday in the United Kingdom, and many people see it as a day they can spend with their families and friends. In December most families buy Christmas trees, put them up in their houses and decorate them. Usually, the decorations include tinsel, baubles, paper snowflakes. The top of the tree is decorated with an angel or star. People also send cards to their friends, the cards usually say ‘Merry Christmas!’ or ‘Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!’