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CHRISTMAS AT ST MATTHEW’S WESTMINSTERTuesday 9th December, 5.00 pm-7.00 pmChristmasCommunity FestiveCelebrationTuesday 16thDecember, 7.00 pm ChristmasCarol Service byCandlelightWednesday 24thDecemberChristmas Eve11.00 pm First Massof Christmas Thursday 25thDecemberChristmas Day8.00 am Mass 11.00 am Mass of the IncarnationSt Matthew's Church, 20 Great Peter Street, SW1P 2BUT: 020 7222 3704 www.stmw.org

ST PETER’S EATON SQ.Friday 19th December 9.30am School Carol ServiceSunday 21st December 8.15, 9.45, 11.15 Morning services

6.30pm Parish Carol ServiceWednesday 24th December Christmas Eve 4.00pm Crib Service for families 11.30pm The First Eucharist of

Christmas(Midnight Mass)Thursday 25thDecemberChristmas Day 8.15 am HolyCommunion (Bookof CommonPrayer)9.45 am FamilyEucharist11.15 am SungEucharistSunday 28thDecember8.15 am HolyCommunion

(Book of Common Prayer) 10.30 am Parish EucharistSunday 4th JanuaryTHE EPIPHANY Services at the usual times (8.15, 9.15 & 11.15)Sunday 11th January THE BAPTISM OF CHRISTMorning services at the usual times4.00pm Christingle Celebration

Pimlico & Belgravia Eye Christmas 2014 2

CHRISTMAS CRACKERS are a traditional Christmas favorite in the UK. They were first made inabout 1845-1850 by a London sweet maker called Tom Smith. Hehad seen the French 'bon bon' sweets (almonds wrapped in prettypaper). He came back to London and tried selling sweets like that inEngland and also included a small motto or riddle in with the sweet.

They did not sell well, however, while sitting in front of a log fire, hebecame very interested by the sparks and cracks coming from thefire. Suddenly, he thought what a fun idea it would be, if his sweetsand toys could be opened with a crack when their fancy wrapperswere pulled in half.

Crackers were originally called 'cosaques' and were thought to benamed after the 'Cossack' soldiers who had a reputation for riding ontheir horses and firing guns into the air!

When Tom died introduced the hats into crackers and he also travelled around the world looking fornew ideas for gifts to put in thecrackers.

The company built up a

range of 'themed' crackers.There were ones for bachelors and

spinsters where the gifts were things likefalse teeth and wedding rings! There were also

crackers for Suffragettes, war heroes and even CharlieChaplain! Crackers were also made for special occasions likeCoronations. The Royal Family has special crackers made for them!Very expensive crackers were made such as the 'Millionaire'sCrackers' which contained a solid silver box with a piece of gold andsilver jewerly inside it!

The Christmas Crackers that are used today are short cardboardtubes wrapped in colourful paper. There is normally a Cracker next toeach plate on the Christmas dinner table. When the crackers arepulled - with a bang! - a colourful party hat, a toy or gift and a festivejoke falls out! The party hats look like crowns and it is thought thatthey symbolise the crowns that might have been worn by the WiseMen.

Crackers are famous for their very bad jokes! Here are some badChristmas themed Cracker jokes!

The world's longest Christmas cracker measured 207ft long and 13ftin diameter and was made by the parents of children at Ley HillSchool and Pre-School, Chesham, Bucks on 20th December 2001. The biggest Christmas cracker pull was done by 1,478 people at anevent organised by Honda Japan at Tochigi Proving Ground, Tochigi,Japan, on 18th October 2009.

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Pimlico & Belgravia Eye is now the only free monthly publication covering key areas of Pimlico, Belgravia andWestminster, including Victoria, Millbank and Petty France. Each issue is also available to see on-line.If you have a planned promotion requiring your material, leaflets or brochures to be delivered locally, we are your firstchoice. We have been printing and delivering Pimlico & Belgravia Eye to local residential and business addresses since July1989. We have detailed knowledge on how to cover the area and we provide maps showing where your material isdistributed. See: Pimlico and Belgravia Eye http://www.eye group publications.co.uk

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THE IDEAL GIFT FOR A CAT LOVERThe new 65-minute DVD celebrating Britain's favourite domestic animal.

Buy online with a debit or credit card at www.thecatDVD.co.ukOrder by 17th December for Christmas.

See the trailer and buy online at http://www.thecatDVD.co.uk/ or by sending a cheque for £13.49 (£11.99 plus £1.50 p&p)to: ‘Bessborough Productions’, Bessborough House, Fostall, Hernhill, Faversham ME13 9JG

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ROMANIAN CULTURAL INSTITUTEFollowing a much acclaimed British debut in the role of Sophiewithin the new production of Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier at the

GlyndebourneOpera Festival thisyear, dashingsoprano TeodoraGheorghiu returnsto England to offera Gala Recital onthe occasion of theNational Day ofRomania. Praisedby RupertChristiansen inThe Telegraph andby AndrewClements in TheGuardian for herastonishingGlyndebourne per-formance, TeodoraGheorghiu is compared to along line of exqui-

site Romanian sopranos who, along the years, graced the Britishtop stages. Teodora Gheorghiu’s musical destiny was directly influenced by the great Jose Carreras who persuaded her to

change flutefor cantoand supportedher firststeps in theworld ofopera. Agedonly 25, shewas alreadyinvited toperform at

Vienna Staatsoper where, in her own words, she experienced“pure joy” of working with opera superstars and being recognizedas one of the world’s most exciting young talents.

Thursday 4th of December at 7.00 pm. Free entry, but please book going online at www.icr-london.co.ukRomanian Cultural Institute, 1 Belgrave Square , SW1X8PH,


CHRISTMAS IN NORWAY Christmas Eve is the time when presents are exchanged. The giftsare sometimes brought by Santa Claus (called 'Julenissen' inNorway). Present are also brought by the small gnomes called'Nisse'. There are also hobgoblins (Nisse) decorations. Children pickup the presents from under the Christmas Tree and read the cardson the presents out loud.

A sheaf of wheat is often left out for the birds to eat over Christmas.Also a type of rice porridge is sometimes left for the 'Nisse' who isbelieved to guard the farm animals.

In some parts, children like to go carol singing and most children do!Often children will dress up as Shepherds and Wise Men, and gosinging from house to house in their local neighbourhood. Sometimesthey carry with paper stars on them.

Another tradition is that families light a candle every night fromChristmas Eve to New Year's Day. Christmas wasn't celebrated inNorway until about 1000 or 1100, when Christianity first came to thearea. Before this people celebrated jul or jòl in the middle of winter. Itwas a celebration of the harvest gone and a way of looking forwardto the spring. Lots of beer was brewed and drunk.

Maybe the most famous custom about Christmas in Norway is thebig Christmas Tree that Norway gives to the UK every year. The treeis a 'thank you' for the help that the people of the UK gave to Norwayduring World War II. The tree can be seen in Trafalgar Square.

A traditional Norwegian Christmas Tree decoration are small paperbaskets called 'Julekurver' which made in the shape of a heart. It'ssaid that the writer Hans Christian Andersen might have inventedthem in the 1860s!

Many different types of cakes and biscuits are eaten over theChristmas period in Norway. One of the most popular is a specialbread called 'Julekake' that has raisins, candied peel and cardamomin it. Here's a recipe for Norwegian Hole Cake. Rice Porridge is eatenon Christmas Eve either as a meal at lunchtime (served with butter,sugar and cinnamon) or as a dessert to the main evening email (withwhipped cream mixed in!). If you find an almond in your portionyou're traditionally given a pink or white marzipan pig.

The main meal is normally pork or mutton ribs served with 'surkal'(white or red cabbage, finely chopped and cooked with carawayseeds and vinegar) and potatoes.

A very popular song at Christmas time in Norway is the Musevisa(The Mouse Song). The words were written in 1946 by Alf Prøysen.The tune is a traditional Norwegian folk tune. It tells the story of somemice getting ready for Christmas and the Mother and Father micewarning their children to stay away from mouse traps! It became popular very quickly and is now as popular as ever in Norway.In Norwegian Happy/Merry Christmas is 'God Jul' or 'Glædelig Jul'.

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ST GEORGES SQUARE FIREWORK EXPLOSIONA £750,000 third storey flat in St Georges square was gutted whena stray rocket firework flew through a window and set it on fire.Flammable material by the window caught fire and spread causingextensive damage to the flat, with images showing blacked outwindows, burned furniture and flame-scorched chairs.

Twelve people living on the other floors were able to leave the

building before the fire brigade arrived. It is not believe anyonedeliberately targeted the flat, but witnesses reported hearing fire-works exploding “within inches of their windows” moments beforethe blaze began. Members of the public waiting at a nearby busstop called 999 after spotting the fire raging inside the flat.

POLICE ASK FOR WITNESSES following the shotting of a 25 year old man in Alderney Street,Pimlico. The victim was found with a gunshot wound to his leg afterpolice were called at about 9.40pm to Tintern House, on 19thNovember.

A number of men were seen running away towards Warwick Wayand one man was arrested at the scene on suspicion of grievousbodily harm and possession of a firearm.

Police are asking for witnesses to come forward. and say injuriesare not described as life-threatening.

Detectives from the Met’s Trident Gang Crime Command areinvestigating the incident and are asking anyone with information tocall police on 020 8785 8580 or Crimestoppers anonymously on0800 555 111.

A REWARD of £25,000 is being offered for information about a£1.5 million jewellery burglary in Belgravia. The victims in UpperBelgrave Street watching TV at around 7pm on October 18 anddidn’t realise robbers had broken in and stolen 20 pieces of veryvaluable jewellery.

If you have any information, please contact police on 101 or viaCrimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, quoting reference6546319/14.


PADDINGTON BEAR VISITS KNIGHTSBRIDGEPaddington Bear statues designed by the likes of David Beckham,Emma Watson, Boris Johnson and Stephen Fry have been unveiled.The 3ft 6ins models are among 50 which are located as far west as

Heathrow and eastas the O2 and willbe found nearsome of London'smost famous landmarks. ThePaddington Trailwill run until theend of the year.

Visitors will be ableto follow in thefootsteps of thefamous Peruvianbear, by travellingaround London.

On December 10,the statues will beauctioned off onlineby Christie's and itis hoped millions

will be raised for the NSPCC from their sale.

PAPER London, recently the recipient of the British Fashion Council’s Contemporaryaward, is a modern British brand focusing on creating clean, sharpsilhouettes with an emphasis on graphic and bold intarsia knits. Thecollections have a crisp, confident edge. Inspired by the personalityof luxurious textured fabrics and the use of vibrant colour palettes,PAPER London is modern sleek. Taking pride in the manufacturingexcellence of its British roots, each garment is produced in London.The current AW14 collection is available now in the pop-up shop at 9 Kinnerton Street, London SW1X 8EA.

DEMOCRATIC QUEUESOn Sunday 16th November hundreds of Romanians citizens lined upoutside the Romanian Cultural Institute on Belgrave Square, to takepart in the presidential elections.


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THIERRY NOIR: STREET ART ON BELGRAVE SQUAREOn 9th November 1989 the seemingly impossible happened: after28 years the borders between East and West Berlin were opened.The Berlin Wall, the defining symbol of the Cold War, had ceasedto divide the world.

In 1984, the artist Thierry Noir started to paint mile upon mile of theBerlin Wall almost every day between 1984 and 1989. He covered

the wall with bright, vivid colours. His aim was not to embellish thewall, but to demystify it. Despite their vibrant colours and playfulnature, the murals left a lingering sense of melancholy - as Noirsays. “I did nothing but react to its sadness”.

In association with the Howard Griffin Gallery, Noir undertook a

major commission to paint his trademark images both inside andoutside the German Embassy buildings over the course of severaldays. Noir completed his work on the morning of 6th November,before taking part in a panel discussion on the 25th anniversary ofthe Fall of the Wall at the German House.

A VICTORIAN CHRISTMASWith the arrival of Christianity, pagan festivals became mixed withChristmas celebrations. One of the leftovers from these pagandays is the custom of bedecking houses and churches with evergreen plants like mistletoe, holly and ivy to protect us from evilspirits, as well as to encourage the return of spring.


Before Victoria's reign started in 1837 nobody in Britain had heardof Santa Claus or Christmas Crackers. No Christmas cards weresent and most people did not have holidays from work. The wealthand technologies generated by the industrial revolution of theVictorian era changed the face of Christmas forever. Sentimentaldo-gooders like Charles Dickens actually encouraged richVictorians to redistribute their wealth by giving money and gifts tothe poor. The wealth generated by the new factories and industriesof the Victorian age allowed middle class families to take time offwork and celebrate over Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

On Boxing Day servants and working people opened the boxes inwhich they had collected gifts of money from the "rich folk". The

railwayallowedcountry folkwho hadmoved intothe townsfor work toreturnhome forChristmas.

Christmas Day did not become a holiday in Scotland until manyyears after Victoria's reign and it has been within the last 20-30years that this has been extended to include Boxing Day.

Factoriesproducedchildren’stoys, gamesat affordableprices formiddle classkids. Poorchild's stock-ing becamepopular fromaround 1870, contained an apple, orange and a few nuts.

From the 1870's Sinter Klass became known as Santa Claus andwith him came his unique gift and toy distribution system - reindeerand sleigh.

The penny stamp paved the way for the sending of the firstChristmas cards. Sir Henry Cole printing a 1000 cards in 1843 forsale in his London shop at 1 shilling each. The sending of cardswas helped by a halfpenny postage rate in 1870 and the railways.

Chicken and turkey were previously too expensive for most peopleto enjoy. In northern England roast beef was the traditional fayrefor Christmas, in London and the south, goose was favourite. Manypoor people made do with rabbit.


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CHRISTMAS OR XMAS? Some people don't think it's correct to call Christmas 'Xmas' as thattakes the 'Christ' (Jesus) out of Christmas. (As Christmas comesfrom Christ-Mass, the Church service that celebrated the birth ofJesus.)

But that is not quite right! In the Greek language and alphabet, theletter that looks like an X is the Greek letter chi / Χ (pronounced

'kye' - it rhymes with 'eye') which is the first letter of the Greekword for Christ, Christos. The early church used the first two lettersof Christos in the Greek alphabet 'chi' and 'rho' to create a mono-gram (symbol) to represent the name of Jesus. This looks like an Xwith a small p on the top: ☧

The symbol of a fish is sometimes used by Christians (you mightsee a fish sticker on a car or someone wearing a little fish badge).This comes from the time when the first Christians had to meet insecret, as the Romans wanted to kill them (before EmperorConstantine became a Christian). Jesus had said that he wantedto make his followers 'Fishers of Men', so people started to usethat symbol. When two Christians met, one person drew half abasic fish shape and the other person drew the other half of thefish. The Greek word for fish is 'Ikthus' or 'Ichthys'. There are fiveGreek letters in the word. It can also make up a sentence ofChristian beliefs 'Ie-sous Christos Theou Huios So-te-r' which inEnglish means "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour". The secondletter of these five letter is X or Christos!

So Xmas can also mean Christmas; but it should also be pro-nounced 'Christmas' rather than 'ex-mas'!

CHRISTMAS POSTING GUIDELINES3rd December Asia, Far East (incl Japan), New Zealand4th December Australia5th December Africa, Caribbean, Central & South America,

Middle East8th December Cyprus, Eastern Europe, Greece9th December Canada, Poland12th December USA13th December Western Europe (excluding Greece, Poland)


A RELOCATION SALE NOT TO BE MISSEDEstablished in 1949, the renowned shirtmakers and gentlemen’s outfitters, Harvie and Hudson are relocating from their store at 55Knightsbridge.

A relocation sale not to be missed, find the prefect Christmas presentwith both classic and slim-fit shirts reduced to £20 from £69.50.Visit the store at 55 Knightsbridge, for some incredible bargains andgift inspiration for the coming festivities.

After almost thirty successful years in the area, Harvie and Hudsonwill be located on Jermyn Street and online, The store is open until Saturday 20th December and is open fromMonday to Saturday, 9.30am to 6.00pm.

Harvie and Hudson,55 Knightsbridge, SW1X 7RA. Tel: 0207 235 2651www.harvieandhudson.com

EVENTS AT PIMLICO LIBRARYTuesday 2 December, 6.00 - 7.30pmHave you considered writing? Have you a story to tell or a topic ofinterest? Do you want to develop your potential to create your ownart and tap into the creative economy?Then this FREE TASTER SESSION with Bella Enahoro may be for you.

Bella is the Director of WriteBounty, a Fulham-based Creative Writingorganisation designed to empower individuals through creativity. Thisyear they have successfully organised writing workshops in Fulham,Hammersmith, Shepherd's Bush and Enfield libraries.

To book your place, email: [email protected] or telephone 020 7641 1856 Admission Free. Opportunity for Networking.

Wednesday 10 December, 10.30 amA professional photographer will take your child’s picture and then thechildren will decorate their own picture frames. Let’s make it a specialChristmas present! Free event but booking required.

Monday 15 December at 10.30 amChristmas Bells - Under Fives' Christmas eventChristmas songs, stories and crafts for the little ones. A visit fromSanta as well. Places must be booked. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

Tuesday 16 December, 6.00 - 7:30 pmWriters' Workshop with author Don KenefickCome and meet Don Kenefick and discuss his richly observed andthought provoking novel The Captive Shadow.

WWEE MMEEAANNBBUUSSIINNEESSSSPimlico & Belgravia Eye is now the only free

NON property publication being hand carried to

private residential & business addresses across Pimlico, Belgravia, Victoria, Petty France & Millbank.

Pimlico& Belgravia Eye started its monthly publication inJuly 1989, and has a detailed knowledge of the area, itsreadership and clients.

If you have a promotion requiring your leaflets, brochures to be delivered, we are NOW your first choice.

A display in the publication costs from £50 for 10,000copies.Find out more on www.eyepublications.co.ukor call 020 7351 4831.

CHRISTMAS CAROLS were first sung in Europe thousands of years ago, but these werenot Christmas Carols, but pagan songs, sung at the Winter Solsticecelebrations as people danced round stone circles. The word Carolactually means dance or a song of praise and joy! Carols used tobe written and sung during all four seasons, but only the tradition ofsinging them at Christmas has really survived.

Early Christians took over the pagan solstice celebrations forChristmas and gave people Christian songs to sing instead of

pagan ones. In AD 129, a Roman Bishop saidthat a song called "Angel's Hymn" should be

sung at a Christmas service inRome. Another famous early

Christmas Hymn was written in760AD, by Comas of

Jerusalem, for the GreekOrthodox Church. Soon after this many composers

all over Europe started to write 'Christmas carols' mostly in Latin.St. Francis of Assisi, in 1223, started his Nativity Plays in Italy. Thepeople in the plays sang songs or 'canticles' that told the story during the plays. These carols were normally were in a languagethat people could understand and join in!

The earliest carol, written in 1410, was about Mary and Jesus meeting different people in Bethlehem. Most Carols from this timeand the Elizabethan period were loosely based on the Christmasstory, about the holy family and were seen as entertaining ratherthan religious songs. They were sung at homes rather than church.

When Oliver Cromwell and the Puritans came to power in 1647, thecelebration of Christmas and singing carols was stopped, but stillsung in secret. Carols remained mainly unsung until Victorian times.

There were sometimes official carol singers called 'Waits' so calledbecause they only sang on Christmas Eve (This was sometimesknown as 'watchnight' or 'waitnight' because of the shepherds werewatching their sheep when the angels appeared to them.), when theChristmas celebrations began.

At this time, many orchestras and choirs were being set up in citiesand people wanted Christmas songs to sing, so carols once againbecame popular. Many new carols, such as 'Good King Wenceslas',were also written in the Victorian period.

New carols services were created and became popular, as did thecustom of singing carols in the streets. One of the most populartypes of Carols services are Carols by Candlelight services. Herethe church is only lit by candlelight and it feels very Christmassy!Carols by Candlelight services are held all over the world. The mostfamous type of Carol Service might be a Festival of Nine Lessonsand Carols, where carols and Bible readings tell the ChristmasStory.


CHRISTMAS IN ICELAND is often known as 'Yule' or 'Jól'. This comes from the ancient winter solstice celebrations, that were taken over by the earlyChristians. Yule also include the New Year celebrations.

The Yule season consists of the following days:Þorláksmessa - St. Thorlakur's Day - December 23rdIceland's major Saint is 'heilagur Þorlákur Þórhallsson', or 'St.Thorlakur Thorhallsson', the Bishop of Skálholt. December 23rd,

is the day on which hedied. On St. Thorlakur'sDay, the main custom iseating of a simple mealof skata or skate. TheYule (or Christmas) treeis usually decorated onthis day. This is also abig shopping day withstores remaining openuntil midnight.

Aðfangadagur -Christmas Eve / Yule EveCelebrations start at6.00 pm. This may havecome from old Icelandictradition, when a newday started at 6.00 pmnot midnight. Icelandicchildren open their pres-ents after the eveningmeal on Aðfangadagur.This is when the meal iseaten. This is when Yulecelebrations really start!

Jóladagur - Christmas Day / Yule Day is celebrated with theextended family. The main Yule meal is 'Hangikjöt', a leg of roastlamb. Sometimes 'Rjúpa' (Rock Ptarmigan a sea bird) is alsoeaten. Another Yule meal speciality is 'Laufabrauð' or leaf bread.This is made of thin sheets of dough cut into patterns and fried.Annar Jóladagur - Boxing Day is another day for visiting friendsand family and eating lots more! Public entertainment is considered inappropriate on Yule Eve and Yule Day, and it is onBoxing Day that dancing is again allowed in public!

Gamlárskvöld / Nýársdagur - New Year's Eve / New Year's Dayis one of the most important nights of the year with several traditions. Cows are meant to be able to talk, seals take onhuman form, the dead rise from their graves, and the Elves movehouse. Bonfires have been lit. There are big fireworks displays tobring in the New Year. This is called 'sprengja út árið' or 'blowingout the year'.

Hallgrímskirkja Church, Reykjavík


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Santa and his Reindeer, Carol Singers, Christmas Lights and the best of Festive Shopping

Sparkling their way through two of Belgravia’s most beautifulstreets, Father Christmas and his live reindeer will makeChristmas come to life in one of London’s best loved villages.

On Sunday 7th December, Elizabeth Street and PimlicoRoad will be transformed into a winter wonderland, thrivingwith festive hand-made craft stalls andboutique markets, balloon modellers,choirs, brass bandsand delicious festivefood and drink.

A haven from thebusy high streetBelgravia is the ultimate Christmasdestination for discerning shoppersand diners alike.Belgravia has an array of boutique retailers with bars andrestaurants, designer and luxury fashion, delicious gourmettreats and beautiful homewares.

Shoppers throughout the day will be treated to some live entertainment in the form of Christmas music, jugglers andchoir performances. Father Christmas will also be stoppingoff to wish young shoppers the tidings of the season.

PIMLICO ROAD & ELIZABETH STREET PARTIES7TH DECEMBER 2014

WHY IS CHRISTMAS DAY ON THE 25TH DECEMBER? No date is given in the Bible for the birthday of Jesus. The birthof Jesus probably didn't happen in the year 1AD but slightly earlier. The first recorded date of Christmas being celebrated onDecember 25th was in 336AD, during the time of the ChristianRoman Emperor Constantine. Later, Pope Julius I officiallydeclared that the birth of Jesus would be celebrated on the 25th.

An early Christian tradition said that the day when Mary was toldthat she would have a very special baby, Jesus (called the

Annunciation) was on March 25th -and it's still celebrated today on the25th March. Nine months after the25th March is the 25th December! December 25th might have alsobeen chosen because the WinterSolstice and the ancient paganRoman midwinter festivals. TheWinter Solstice is the day with theshortest time between the sun rising and the sun setting. It happens on December 21st or22nd. To pagans this meant that

the winter was over and spring was coming and they had a festival to celebrate it and worshipped the sun.

The Roman Festival of Saturnalia took place between December17th and 23rd and honoured the Roman god Saturn. EarlyChristians might have given this festival a new meaning - to celebrate the birth of the Son of God 'the unconquered Son'!

The Jewish festival of Lights, Hanukkah starts on the 25th ofKislev (the month in the Jewish calendar that occurs at about thesame time as December). Hanukkah celebrates when the Jewishpeople were able to re-dedicate and worship in their Temple, inJerusalem, again following many years of not being allowed to.Jesus was a Jew, so another reason that helped the early Churchchoose December the 25th for the date of Christmas!

Christmas had also been celebrated by the early Church onJanuary 6th, when they also celebrated the Epiphany (whichmeans the revelation that Jesus was God's son) and the Baptismof Jesus. Now Epiphany mainly celebrates the visit of the WiseMen to the baby Jesus.

When the switch was made to the 'Gregorian Calendar' fromJulian Calendar 10 days were lost, so that the day that followedthe 4th October 1582 was 15th October 1582. In the UK thechange of calendars was made in 1752. The day after 2ndSeptember 1752 was 14th September 1752.

Many Orthodox and Coptic Churches still use the Julian Calendarand so celebrate Christmas on the 7th January (which is whenDecember 25th would have been on the Julian calendar).

FATHER CHRISTMASis the traditional British name for a figure associated withChristmas. The term is also used in many English-speakingcountries outside Britain. In Canada and France (Père Noël),Spain (Papá Noel, Padre Noel), in almost all Hispanic SouthAmerica (Papá Noel), Brazil (Papai Noel), Portugal (Pai Natal).

In England the earliest known personification of Christmas doesnot describe him as old, nor refer to him as 'father'. A carol attributed to Richard Smart, takes the form of a sung dialoguebetween a choir and a figure representing Christmas, variouslyaddressed as "Nowell", "Sir Christemas" and "my lord Christemas".

The depictionof Christmasas a merry oldman emergedin the 17thcentury.Thosewriting in support of thetraditional celebrationsoften personifiedChristmas asa venerable,kindly old gentleman,given to goodcheer but notexcess. Theyreferred to thispersonification

as "Christmas", "Old Christmas" or "Father Christmas".

In early references, Father Christmas, although invariably an oldand cheerful man, is mainly associated with adult feasting anddrinking rather than the giving of presents. Since the mid-Victorian era however, Father Christmas has gradually mergedwith the pre-modern gift-giver St Nicholas and associated folklore. Nowadays in Britain the figure is often called SantaClaus but also often referred to as Father Christmas: the twonames are synonyms.

Nowadays Father Christmas appears as a large man, around 70years old, dressed in a red suit trimmed with white fur, often girdled with a wide black belt, a matching hat, often long andfloppy in nature, and dark boots. He carries a large sack filledwith toys on his back.

Father Christmas comes down the chimney to put presents underthe Christmas tree or in children's rooms, in their stockings.Some families leave a glass of sherry or mulled wine, mince pies,biscuits, or chocolate and a carrot for his reindeer.


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