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Preparing for Christmas. Stir Up Sunday. One of the first things that is prepared for Christmas in the UK is the Christmas Pudding. A Christmas Pudding should be made a month in advance of Christmas to allow the flavours to develop properly. Stir Up Sunday is the 5 th Sunday before Christmas.
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Stir Up Sunday • One of the first things that is prepared for Christmas in the UK is the Christmas Pudding. • A Christmas Pudding should be made a month in advance of Christmas to allow the flavours to develop properly. • Stir Up Sunday is the 5th Sunday before Christmas. • This year it would have been 20th November.
Traditionally on this day everyone in the family stirs the Christmas Pudding and makes a wish. • A Christmas Pudding has 13 ingredients, symbolic of Jesus and his 12 disciples. • It should be stirred East to West in honour of the three wise men who came to visit baby Jesus. • A coin is normally cooked in the Pudding, and it is believed that whoever gets this on their plate on Christmas Day will have a wealthy year.
Advent • Advent begins on the last Sunday of November. This year it was November 27th. • This is a Church tradition and celebrates the coming of light in to darkness and the arrival of Jesus. • In less religious families Advent is seen as the official start to the festive season and normally signals the start of carols, Christmas shopping and decorations.
Advent Calendars • Most children in the UK will have a chocolate advent calendar. • For everyday in December until Christmas Eve you get to open one window on your Advent Calendar and have a small chocolate. • This is a countdown until Christmas.
Christmas Cards • Most people in the UK will send Christmas Cards to their relatives, neighbours and friends. • These are to wish them a happy festive season and a good New Year. • Every Christmas in the UK there are special edition Christmas stamps.
Christmas Shopping • Most people in the UK start their Christmas shopping at the beginning of December. • Christmas is the busiest time of the year for shops and they always have special displays for Christmas. • All the main shopping centres and streets have huge Christmas decorations.
Special Events • All over the country there are special events just for the Christmas season. • There are many in London and something that is extremely popular is ice skating. • For this reason there are many temporary ice skating rinks in London from the end of November to the end of January.