Christmas

History of Christmas
This video gives a brief history of many people's favourite festival: Christmas.

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Christmas: the good, the bad and the ugly
1. Use the following questions to discuss Christmas with a partner.

Do you like Christmas? What do you think of the commercial aspect of Christmas? Do you enjoy Christmas shopping? Do you have a real Christmas tree? If so, how do you clean up the needles? Do you like Christmas fairy lights? Are there any Christmas songs you like? Do you like Christmas office parties? Are there any Christmas films you like? Christmas is a time for families. Do you agree? Do you celebrate Christmas? What is a traditional Christmas in your opinion?

2. Read the article about Christmas and say whether the following statements are true or false.

1. The writer doesn’t like Christmas. 2. He doesn’t like the commercialization of Christmas. 3. It’s not really so difficult to clean up the needles from a real Christmas tree. 4. The technology of Christmas fairy lights impresses him. 5. He doesn’t like any Christmas songs. 6. He mentions two kinds of parties he doesn’t like. 7. He thinks the film Love, Actually is realistic. 8. Christmas should be a time for visiting your family. 9. He thinks cranberry source goes well with turkey. 10. He enjoys Christmas shopping. 11. He seems to prefer a rather traditional Christmas.

Christmas is one of those holidays which means very different things to different people.
It can be a spiritual time, a family time, a time for giving, a time for partying or a time for just over-eating. Most people (in those countries where it is the main religious festival of the year) find something to enjoy about Christmas, whether they are Christians or not. But hasn’t Christmas in the consumer age become just a bit too big? And a lot too commercial?

I think so. The secret of a good Christmas is to be selective. Here is my personal list of the things Christmas (at any rate, Christmas in Britain) would be infinitely better without. Let’s get rid of ...

Plastic Christmas trees
Fussy people don’t like trees that drop their needles on the carpet. Surely, in the age of vacuum cleaners, this is not a problem any more? Worst of all are those plastic trees that come with their own decorations already attached, so depriving children of the great pleasure of hanging the decorations themselves. __Replace with__: Real fir trees, from sustainable forests.

Fairy lights that don’t work
We have sent people to the moon. Computers have changed our lives. On the Internet, huge amounts of information travel all over the world at the speed of light. So it shouldn’t be too difficult to put a few coloured light bulbs in a row, so they last until New Year without breaking down. __Replace with__: Candles. And fireproof fir trees.

Slade’s Merry Christmas Everybody
A stomping, two-chord song from the dark days of 1970s rock. Played endlessly in British pubs and on the radio through December. It is the musical equivalent of jumping up and down with heavy boots on and trying to drink beer at the same time. I remember once, at a Christmas party, picking up my beer and taking a sip - to find out someone had used the can as an ashtray. And this song is the theme tune of that kind of party. __Replace with__: The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl’s Fairytale of New York : a great, soulful Christmas song.

Bing Crosby’s White Christmas
While we’re on the subject of Christmas songs, let’s not forget that this sentimental 1950s tune is the biggest selling single of all time. It’s ideal for falling asleep in an armchair but finally just too nostalgic. And very annoying. __Replace with__: Silent Night, a beautiful German carol known all over the world.

Office parties
Doesn’t a computer decorated with tinsel, and an office with paper chains hanging from the ceiling, look just a tiny bit depressing? And office Christmas parties are worse. Under the influence of cheap wine in paper coffee-cups, strange things happen with the photocopier. Rude messages are faxed to clients. Most people can’t relax in the office. And those that can will probably do something they’ll regret later. __Replace with__ : an extra afternoon off work.

British Christmas Weather
In Richard Curtis films (like the recent hit Love, Actually), it always snows at Christmas in London. The city is covered with a beautiful white blanket, the perfect setting for a romantic happy ending. What’s the reality of Christmas weather in the South of England? Grey skies with a good chance of cold drizzle in the late afternoon. __Replace with__: Russian Christmas weather.

TV
It’s a fact that we spend more time in front of the TV at Christmas than at any other time of year. The TV schedules are filled with old films, comedy “Christmas Specials”, soap operas with Christmas-related plots, and of course hundreds of adverts. Switch it off and visit your relatives instead. __Replace with__: log fires, board games.

Turkey with Cranberry Sauce
In Britain, the usual Christmas dinner is turkey with cranberry sauce – although ultra-traditionalists may prefer goose. Cranberry sauce is basically a kind of jam. We don’t put jam on meat at other times of year, so why at Christmas? Replace with: No cranberry sauce.

Consumerism
You know what I mean. Adverts for toys on children’s TV. Department stores which put out Christmas decorations as early as September. The stress of Christmas shopping. Everywhere the message is spend, spend, spend. Christmas is a Christian religious festival, to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. It’s not just an excuse for making money. __Replace with__: Midnight carols at church, peace on earth, and goodwill to all men.

So that’s my advice. Avoid these things and you’ll have a good chance of having a truly Merry Christmas. Which is what I wish you now. And a happy new year.

By Keith Sands

For this article and many others that provide good reading practice on a wide range of non-business related topics visit the British Council's **[|LearnEnglishCentral]** website.

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