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YULE LOG
The Yule log, Yule clog, or Christmas block is a specially selected log burnt on a hearth as a Christmas tradition in a number of countries in Europe. The origin of the folk custom is unclear. Numerous scholars have observed that, like other traditions associated with Yule, the custom may ultimately derive from Germanic paganism.
After the Christianization of Scandinavia, it may have been incorporated into the Christian celebration of Christmas there, with the pagan significance no longer remaining. However, as there are no reliable existing references to a Christmas log prior to the 16th century, the burning of the Christmas block may have been an early modern invention by Christians unrelated to the pagan practice.

YULE LOG (CAKE)
The original Yule log recipe emerged during the 19th century. It is traditionally made from a genoise, generally baked in a large, shallow Swiss roll pan, iced, rolled to form a cylinder, and iced again on the outside. The most common combination is basic yellow sponge cake and chocolate buttercream, though many variations that include chocolate cake, ganache, and icings flavored with espresso or liqueurs exist.

ROBERTA GABRIELLI

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Doing shopping in London is one of the most popular Britain Christmas traditions.
People literally storm the shop in this period for buying the last minute present or for getting themselves  a whim. The most popular and famous department store in London is harrods, an authentic wonderland for the food shopping lover. In this place you can found the better brands with a very low price but with a great quality.
But the real wonderland for everyone is without doubts is hamley. Hamley is the greatest toys shop in Britain and is a very gold place for every Britain children and not only.

Marco Bertolini

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Christmas in England begins in November when the children begin to write Santa Claus letters with gifts they wish to receive under the tree. Unlike Italy, in the Anglo-Saxon culture do not use the Christmas Eve dinner, but traditionally children hang in the evening the socks accompanied by milk and Mince Pie (typical Christmas cake) to thank Santa Claus of the gifts he will bring. On December 25th, the gifts brought to Santa Claus during the night are opened and the family is celebrated with a lunch based on turkey, Christmas Pudding and Christmas cake. Before starting the lunch each guest will have to "blow" the Christmas Cracker that will find in his plate or a tube there paper packaged as a candy that will make a bang release the content that can be a little object, a joke to read and the indispensable paper crowns that everyone should wear on Christmas day. But Christmas in England does not end with lunch, in fact, even this day can not miss "the afternoon tea", which on this occasion is served true at 18.00 with various sweets including just the Mince Pie. Finally, on December 26th we celebrate the "Boxing Day", which is a long and intense shopping day.

Maraglia Nicoló

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Advent, which is the Arrival, is the period of four weeks preceding Christmas. It is part of the Christmas cycle and is a period of preparation for Christmas.
The peoples of Christian religion who celebrate the birth of Christ prepare for Christmas during Advent with fasting and prayer.
The Advent calendar is a tradition of the countries of Northern Europe, which is spreading also in Italy.
A simple Advent calendar can be a sheet where the Nativity is illustrated. 24 boxes are hidden in the sheet, one for each day that separates from Christmas. Every day of the calendar corresponds something like a little sweet, a chocolate or a small biscuit. Children open the box of the day and thus discover sweet reflections and intentions.
EDOARDO CARDILLO

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In the United Kingdom  two weeks before Christmas, the houses and the tree are being decorated.

Each house is adorned with Christmas wreaths of holly, ivy, mistletoe and pine and with a Christmas tree. Christmas wreaths are used as decorations for doors, windows, fireplaces and on tables.

It was thought that the mistletoe, considered sacred by the British druids, had miraculous powers. From this belief comes the tradition of kissing under the mistletoe.

The tradition of decorating the Christmas tree, was born in England in the second half of the 1800 introduced by Prince Albert of Saxony, who decorated the tree for his wife Qeen  Vittoria.

The Christmas tree is a symbol of life and rebirth and Its decoration is usually a family occasion, with the help of everyone. It is decorated with coloured lights, glass baubles, tinsels and bows.

Christmas crackers can not  be missed on any English Christmas table, they are used as place cards and they are opened before you start eating.

In American homes the external decorations consist of many lights of different colors and intermittently placed on the front of the house, as a frame of doors and windows, on the railings, on the terraces and in the gardens,  puppets and inflatable characters of the protagonists of Christmas.

Nucchi Nicola

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PUDDING
The Christmas pudding or plum pudding is a typical English Christmas cake with a round shape and is based on eggs, almonds, candied fruit, rum and spices, prepared, according to tradition, during Advent and brought to the table on December 25th.

MINCE PIES
La mince pie is a traditional English dessert that is consumed in the period between Christmas and New Year. It is a cake made of sweet shortcrust pastry or puff pastry filled with fruit.
According to popular tradition, mince pies are Santa's favorite food. For this it is necessary to leave a plate with a cake on the edge of the fireplace (accompanied by a glass of brandy or sherry and a carrot for the reindeer) as a thank you so that the Christmas stockings are well filled with gifts.

CANDY CANES & GINGERBREAD
The sticks of sugar are a type of hard and elongated candy, the shape of a stick, traditionally made up of two bands of white and red intertwined with the taste of mint or cinnamon, were used to calm the children during the religious masses. While gingerbread is a mixture obtained by mixing a mixture of honey or molasses and beet or cane sugar, flavored with ginger and cinnamon. Gingerbread does not appear in its normal form but is served as a biscuit.

Maria Laura Trasatti

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THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SANTA CLAUS AND FATHER CHRISTMAS

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THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SANTA CLAUS AND FATHER CHRISTMAS

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Santa Claus or Father Christmas? Regardless of what you may call him by name, he is widely known for spreading Christmas cheer. During this time of year, children all over the world look forward to Santa or Father Christmas’ visit, but have you ever wondered what the difference between the two is? Or how Christmas in America is celebrated compared to Christmas in England?

Santa Claus and Father Christmas might be considered distant cousins as they both find their roots drawn from the real-life Saint Nicholas of Myra, who lived during the 4th century. Father Christmas first appeared during the ancient British mid-winter festivals; at the time he was not called Father Christmas, but was known as a pagan figure that was the bringer of spring. Then while under Saxon rule, this pagan figure morphed into King Frost (well known for visiting people’s homes during the holidays and if people were nice to him, it was believed that he would give them a present in return).

During the Viking invasion of Britain, Father Christmas once again took on new characteristics… an elderly old man, with a long white beard, a long blue hooded cloak and an eight-legged horse, who travelled all over the world from the 20th to 31st of December, giving out presents to the good and punishments for the bad. But it wasn’t until the Norman invasion, Britain was introduced to Saint Nicholas and combined with Christmas traditions of the past, Father Christmas or Father Noel was born. Yet, his character was once again revived during the Victorian age. This version of Father Christmas was not associated with disturbing gifts to children, but instead was believed to deliver the Christmas Spirit and encouraged those around him to eat, drink and be merry during the Christmas season.

However, Americans have their own version of Father Christmas and they call him Santa Claus or Kris Kringle. Thanks to the stories and traditions of St. Nicholas brought over by Dutch and German settlers and the 19th century works of Clement Clarke Moor, Santa Claus was created. Santa Claus is described as a big-bellied, jolly old man that dons a white beard and a red and white coat. He is well known for traveling from the North Pole in his sleigh powered by 8 reindeer, while carrying gifts for all the good little boys and girls all around the world, of course made by Santa’s helpers.

Mariusz Marturini

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Father chiristmas in the night between 24 and 25 December brings many gifts.
For the English he comes down from a fireplace and it is tradition to Leave him a carrot for Radolph, a glass of Sherry and a slice of mince pie.
The English love spende the Eve going to the pub for drink something.
For the Americans the traditions are different.
For first of thing call “Babbo Natale” Santa Claus, they leave him a carrot, Biscuits and milk.
The Americans, unlike the English, spend their Eve with the family

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Christmas crackers are festive gifts that make a snapping sound when opened.

They consist of a segmented cardboard tube wrapped in a brightly decorated twist of paper with a prize in the middle, making it resemble an oversized sweet-wrapper.

There is a "banger" inside, when pulled by two people will create a loud snapping "Crack" or "Bang" produced by the effect of friction on a shock-sensitive, chemically impregnated card strip. One chemical used for the friction strip is silver fulminate.

Christmas crackers were invented by Thomas Smith, a London pastry cook in 1846. It was during a visit to Paris, where he came across the bob-bon, a sugar almond wrapped in tissue paper (with a twist on either side of the centrally placed sweet).

Smith included a romantic message inside his early crackers which he marketed in Britainas "Kiss Mottos". However the product enjoyed only limited success until Smith devised a way to make the cracker "pop" when pulled apart.

Crackers are very popular in England and accompany many meals over the Christmas period, but especially on Christmas Day and they are sold in boxes of three to twelve. These typically have different designs usually with red, green, and gold colours.

Making crackers from scratch using tissue paper and the tubes from toilet rolls is a common activity for children.
LAURAELISA CARGIOLLI

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Boxing Day is the day after Christmas, it’s celebrated on December 26 each year and it is a national holiday in the UK. Boxing Day is primarily a British tradition, and it was exported to Australia, Canada and New Zeland. The origin of the name is that the day after Christmas because when servants of the wealthy were given time off to visit their family , as they were needed to work on Christmas Day. So each servant would be given a box to take home with food and gifts. Boxing Day is a time to spend with family or friends, it also a day to eat left over turkey. In modern times the day has become associated with sports, particularly football and rugby. This day is also a time when the British people show all kinds of bizarre traditions like swimming the ice cold English Channel or fun runs and charity events.                    YURI GIORGINI

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Carol is a religious folk or popular hymn, particularly one associated with Christmas.
The Christmas songs originate from the English oral tradition of the late Middle Ages and then revived in the second half of the 16th century, a period in which foreign compositions were also translated and imported.
Before carol singing in public became popular, there were sometimes official carol singers called Waits'. They were called 'Waits' because they only sang on Christmas Eve, when the Christmas celebrations began.
One of most famous christmas carol is “Silent Night”.
There is a legend associated with the carol that says, Fr. Mohr wanted the carol to be sung by the children of the village at the midnight Christmas Eve service, as a surprise for their parents.
They learnt the carol so well that they could sing it on its own without accompaniment.

Letizia Vatteroni

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On Christmas Day all the Royal family move to Sandringham. Queen Elizabeth on December 25 at 15:00 broadcast the Royal Xmas message by TV. With this message she wishes here Kingdom happy Christmas and she speaks about some important events. The Queen make also nice presents for all hiere relatives.
GABRIELE RICCI

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Non Twelfth Night is a festival in some branches of Cristianity marking the coming of the Epiphany. Different traditions mark the date of Twelfth Night on either 5 January or 6 January; the Church of England, Mother Church of the Anglican Communion, celebrates Twelfth Night on the 5th and "refers to the night before Epiphany, the day when the nativity story tells us that the wise men visited the infant Jesus". In Western Church traditions, the Twelfth Night concludes the Twelve day pf Christmas; although, in others, the Twelfth Night may refer to the eve of the Twelfth Day. A belief has arisen in modern times, in some English-speaking countries, that it is unlucky to leave Christmaa decorations hanging after Twelfth Night, a tradition originally attached to the festival of Candlemas (2 February), which celebrates the Presentation of Jesus al the Temple. Other popular Twelfth Night customs include singing Christmas carols, chalking the door, having one’s house blessed, merrymaking, as well as attending church services.
Ilaria Achilli

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The traditional illustrated cards that each year are sent to friends to wish them a happy Christmas and a serene new year, are a recent Western tradition. In fact the first notes were printed and put on sale in 1843 in England. Since the 19th century, many families and individuals have chosen to make their own Christmas cards. Many families make the creation of Christmas cards a family endeavour and part of the seasonal festivity, along with stirring the Christmas cake and decorating the tree. Over the years such cards have been produced in every type of paint and crayon, in collage and in simple printing techniques such as potato-cuts. Such homemade cards include personal touches such as family photos and holidays snapshots. Crowdsourcing, another trend enabled by the Internet, has allowed thousands of independent and hobbyist graphic designers to produce and distribute holiday cards around the world.
Sofia Nanti

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Mistletoe
Mistletoe is an evergreen bushy plant also called "plant of the moon" because its berries are white and shine in the dark. The tradition of mistletoe was born with the Druids, celtic priests, who lived in the III B.C. .The Druids used these plants to celebrate the arrival of winter and to decorate their houses, because they thought that it had beneficial powers. The mistletoe protected the residents of the house and it brought happiness to the family. Today the lovers kiss each other under the mistletoe. This custom was born with a legend. Today mistletoe is a symbol of protection, love and fortune.
Holly
Holly is a good luck charm and the christian tradition sees in its hard and thorny leaves the symbol of strength and defence against evil, and in its berries the light of Christmas because these are symbol of happiness. The berries are also a symbol of fertility and abundance for the next year.
Evy
People used evy and holly to decorate the door of house and the fireplace during Christmas time, because they thought that kept away elves since they loved to play jokes.
Christmas tree
The traditions of Christmas tree was born in Germany in the 16th century and symbolizes the rebirth of life and the power of nature: the german people decorated the fir trees with roses, apples and tapes. Prince Albert, queen Victoria's husband, imported this tradition to England in 1841 and in the castle of Windsor was prepared the first Christmas tree. After a few years, almost all the English houses had one. Initially, the Christmas tree was decorated on Christmas Eve and was removed on January 5th .Today the Christmas tree is in the centre of squares and it symbolizes the modern Christmas.
Francesco Matellini

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In the UK every country has own traditions for the arrival of the New Year

LONDON: In the capital, thousands of people come from all parts of the world to celebrate the new year and to see the fireworks show near the panoramic wheel. In the first day of the new year there is a great parade where thousands of people walk in the West End.

ENGLAND: To celebrate the new year they make a lot of group games. The first pearson that enter in the house in the new year it must be male and beautiful and he needs to bring money, salt, coal and bread and he is called First Footer.

SCOTLAND: During the new year's eve, people clean their homes and they eat biscuits, cakes and they drink whiskey.

GALLES: The young people go from house to house with an evergreen branch to take luck to other people.

IRELAND: In the first day of the new year the girls go to bed with mistletoe under the pillow to dream their future husbands.

Cardellini Nicola

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The typical English Christmasdinner begins with a turkey stuffed with pork, aromatic herbs and bread served with a blueberry sauce. Said "King Turkey" is the main dish of the English Christmas gastronomy. Next to the turkey there are several side dishes including the sauce made with the same broth of the meat or wild mushrooms, pumpkin soup or roast potatoes.
Afterwards there are several desserts including chistmas pudding or mince pie.

Manuel Tonelli