Winter Holidays, Customs and Traditions Throughout the UK
By Ferne Arfin, About.com Guide to United Kingdom Travel
Britain sparkles and blazes throughout the winter holiday season. There are wonderful Christmas markets, colorful Diwali celebrations, amazing fire festivals and totally mad New Year's celebrations. Here's where you'll find out about the music, foods, shopping and celebrations of the UK Festive Season.
- Festive Shopping and Seasonal Events
- Seasonal Traditions and Holiday Music
- Hogmanay and New Year's Celebrations
- Festive Food and Drink
Festive Shopping and Seasonal Events
Christmas markets spring up all over the United Kingdom. There's something irresistably festive about shopping for exotic goodies and sipping mulled wine from stalls dressed with twinkly lights, often in the shadow of ancient Cathedrals and city walls.
- The Best Christmas Markets in the UK
- Yuletide York
- Frankfurt Christmas Market in Birmingham
- Lincoln Christmas Market
- Holiday Gifts and Gadgets for UK Travelers
Seasonal Traditions and Holiday Music
Some of the world's greatest cathedral choirs perform during the holiday season. Stately homes put on their finery and people take to the streets for lights, fun and festivities. Share a mince pie with Shakespeare's ghost or set a lantern ablaze on Brighton Beach. The British make a right royal fuss over the holiday season. They even celebrate an extra Bank Holiday for Christmas.
- Christmas Customs in the UK - What's Cooking for Christmas
- Boxing Day in the United Kingdom
- The Burning of the Clocks - Brighton Celebrates the Winter Solstice
- The Twelve Days of Christmas
- A Shakespearean Christmas
- Christmas at King's College Chapel, Cambridge
- Christmas Carols at English Cathedrals
- Christmas in Stately Homes - Celebrations with the National Trust
Hogmanay and New Year's Celebrations
If Christmas is a spectacular holiday in England and Wales, it's New Year's Eve, or Hogmanay, that is the biggest seasonal celebration in Scotland. Huge street parties, fireworks, bonfires, and more bizarre fire festivals serve to chase away the winter darkness and last for days.
- Hogmanay In Scotland - Where New Year's is Four Days Long
- Bring Scotland Home for New Year's With Auld Lang Syne
- Where to Find Hogmanay Celebrations in Scotland
- Edinburgh Hogmanay - The Best New Year's Eve Party in the World
- Winter Fire Festivals in England and Scotland
- The Stonehaven Fireball
- Up Helly Aa - Shetland's Wild Winter Viking Festival
Festive Food and Drink
From great pubs to find Christmas dinner to inspiring pictures and recipes for traditional British Christmas treats, check out what's cooking for Christmas right here.
