Black Friday in the UK is the Friday before Christmas. Instead of shopping, many people get very drunk!
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Robins on cards were a joke 150 years ago when postmen wore red tunics and were named after them.
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The definition of a white Christmas in the UK is for a single snow flake (perhaps amongst a shower of mixed rain and snow) to be observed falling in the 24 hours of December 25th.
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Carols began as an old English custom called wassailing, toasting neighbours to a long life.
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Christmas trees become popular in the UK from 1841 when Prince Albert erected a tree in Windsor Castle following a German tradition. Fir trees have been decorated at Christmas time in Germany since the 8th century.
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At Christmas, it is traditional to exchange kisses beneath the mistletoe tree. In ancient Scandinavia, mistletoe was associated with peace and friendship. That may account for the custom of "kissing beneath the mistletoe".
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7.6 million Christmas trees are sold each year.
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Frumenty was a spiced porridge, enjoyed by both rich and poor. It was a forerunner of modern Christmas puddings. It is linked in legend to the Celtic god Dagda, who stirred a porridge made up of all the good things of the earth.
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