Five Dying Christmas Traditions

[Jeff Westover]

Once upon a time Christmas was celebrated with tinsel on trees. Tinsel is an ancient product with roots more than 400 years old where it was crafted to represent ice. Originally placed on statues and made from actual silver, tinsel has morphed over the ages to be made from other, cheaper materials. Once quite popular during the 20th century it hasn’t found a lot of love in the 21st century. In fact, it is a Christmas tradition that is dying. And the reason seems to be nothing more or less than convenience. There are so many other choices in Christmas decorating that tinsel to some seems messy – and mostly too cheap. But not all Christmas traditions are forsaken forRead more

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[tanya]

Some I can't comment on because they do not fit our weather in Australia for Christmas such as roasting chestnuts- its really hot here during Christmas so no cosy log fires for us. Occasionally I have seen chestnuts roasted on a BBQ for Christmas- does that count?

Tinsel is still pretty big here- the more shiny and sparkly the better!

Carol singing- although I have never seen singers go from house to house we do have big carols events. Ours are held in parks or beaches- where groups of families, friends etc gather to sing carols in the evening- along with picnics and candles. We call these Carols by Candlelight. In Sydney the major event attracts a crowd of about 80 000- it would be more but after that number they close the venue. My local beach-side Carols by Candlelight gets about 12 000. These are great, fun community events- where a variety of carols are sung -both religious and non religious!