Xmas Party Balloons & Christmas Decorations Decorate your Christmas or New Year Party with our colourful banners, garlands and streamers. It wouldn't be Christmas without a tree glittering with lights, tinsel and decorations with presents beneath. Add to the festive theme with a pine or holly swag and wreath. Brighten the party even more by choosing an inflatable Santa Claus or snowman. The xmas crackers and party tablebombs, confetti and confetti cannons will make the party go with a bang, and the themed tableware and table centrepieces complete the festive setting.
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Christmas Trees & Xmas Balloons & Party Decorations
Most houses in England, will have a tree of some sort or other which they will decorate and will place the presents under. The traditional tree is a fir tree but now-a-days more people buy artificial trees to 'save the earth'. The decorating of the tree is usually a family occasion, with everyone helping. The Christmas tree became popular in England in 1841 when Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert, brought a Christmas tree over from Germany and put it in Windsor Castle.

The Royal couple were illustrated in a newspaper standing around the Christmas tree with their children, and the tradition of decorating a tree became fashionable. Christmas trees, during the Victorian times, were decorated with candles to remind children of the stars in the sky at the time of the birth of Jesus. Using candles was, of course, a great fire hazard. Christmas trees were also decorated with candies and cakes hung with ribbon. In 1880 Woolworths first sold manufactured Christmas tree ornaments which proved to be very popular.

Today, Christmas trees are decorated with tinsel, lights and small ornaments which hang from the branches. Chocolate coins or chocolate shapes are also hung on the Christmas tree and the presents are put under the tree. An angel or star is usually put on the very top of the tree.In the weeks leading up to and during Christmas, people hang decorations in their homes. These decorations are made of coloured paper and foil. People will also hang greenery around the house, such as holly and ivy. The needlelike points of holly leaves are thought to resemble the crown of thorns that Jesus wore when He was crucified. The red berries symbolise the drops of blood Jesus shed.

Christmas Holiday
Christmas is both a holiday and a holy day. In England it is one of the biggest event of the year (especially for kids), and for members of the Christian religions it is an important day on the religious calendar.
businesses in England give employees one or two days off at Christmas, making it an important holiday

Christmas Gifts
The tradition of gifts seems to have started with the gifts that the wise men (the Magi) brought to Jesus. As recounted in the Bible's book of Matthew, "On coming to the house they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh."

Is December 25 really the day Jesus was born?
No one really knows. What is known is that Christian leaders in 336 A.D. set the date to December 25 in an attempt to eclipse a popular pagan holiday in Rome (Saturnalia) that celebrated the winter solstice. Originally, the celebration of Christmas involved a simple mass, but over time Christmas has replaced a number of other holidays in many other countries, and a large number of traditions have been absorbed into the celebration in the process

Yuletide
Yuletide" for "Christmastime" is a term derived from the yule log, which in olden days was a huge log used as the foundation of the holiday fires. Bringing the yule log in was, as recently as the 19th century, as much a part of the pre-Christmas festivities as putting up an evergreen tree today. "Yule" can be traced back to the Middle English "Yollen" (cry aloud) and is thought to date from early Anglo-Saxon revels in celebration of the discovery (after the winter solstice) that nights were becoming shorter.

Up until the 19th century, the custom of burning the Yule log flourished in England, France, Germany and among the South Slavs. Out of oak, families carved a heavy, wood block. They placed it into the floor of their hearth. It glowed throughout the year under the flames of household fires. Gradually it became ash.

Twelve days of Christmas? My Truelove gave to me!
What, exactly, are the 12 days of Christmas? The 12 days of Christmas are the 12 days that separate Christmas day on December 25 from Epiphany, which is celebrated January 6. Depending on the church, January 6 may mark Christ's baptism (the Catholic tradition), or it may mark the day that the wise men visited the baby Jesus with their gifts.

In the past, there was a tradition of giving gifts throughout the 12 days, rather than stacking them all up on the morning of December 25. That tradition, as you might imagine, has never really caught on. We just aren't that patient. The song, however, demonstrates that some people once stretched out their gifts (and gave some fairly elaborate gifts...) over the full 12 days.

Christmas Fancy Dress Costumes
The red and white father christmas costume suit came, actually, from the original Saint Nicholas. Those colours were the colours of the traditional bishop's robes.

Christmas Tree Lights & Party Crackers
It is said that Martin Luther began the custom of putting candle lights onto trees (see the legend, Martin Luther and the Christmas Tree Lights). Until the late 19th century candles were the only was to light a Christmas Tree. There were many experiments to create safe holders, from hoops in the 18th century to counter balanced metal holders and prettily decorated clips in the late 19th century. At the end of the century experiments with gas lights (many of which blew up!) and early electric lights were done. The first electrically lighted tree was done by Edison in America, in the 1880's. Nowadays it is quite often that christmas party crackers adorn the tree instead of lights

Father Christmas & Father Christmas or Santa Costumes - Christmas Fancy Dress Costumes
Father Christmas dressed in a Santa Suit is our version of Santa Claus. He is an old jolly man with white hair, a beard and a moustache. He is dressed in a red* suit outlined in white. Father Christmas in his santa outfit and his elves make all the toys for Christmas in his home in the North Pole. Father Christmas was originally part of an old English midwinter festival, normally dressed in green, a sign of the returning spring. Santa Claus, the man we know today dressed in red, became known in England during the 1870's. His name comes from the Dutch name for St. Nicholas which is Sinter Klaas.

In shops or at children's parties, someone dresses up as Father Christmas in a Father Christmas suit and gives small presents to children and ask them what gifts they want for Christmas. Children write letters to Father Christmas to tell him what they would like for Christmas. Some children will send their letters by post or e-mail but the more traditional way is to throw the letters into the back of the fireplace. The draught then carries the letters up the chimney to Father Christmas.

On Christmas eve Father Christmas piles all of the toys onto his sleigh and rides across the sky with his 12 Reindeer. The most famous one is Rudolf, the reindeer at the front who leads the way with his red nose.He enters our houses down the chimney at midnight and places presents for the children in stockings (large socks) or bags by their beds or in front of the family Christmas tree.

Father Christmas is based on a real person, St. Nicholas. He was a very shy man and wanted to give money to poor people without them knowing about it. It is said that one day, he climbed the roof of a house and dropped a purse of money down the chimney. It landed in the stocking which a girl had put to dry by the fire! This may explain the belief that Father Christmas comes down the chimney and places gifts in children's stockings.

Who is this reindeer named Rudolf?
Rudolf guides Santa's sleigh with the biological aberration of a red, glowing nose capable of penetrating thick fog? The whole story of Rudolf appeared, out of nowhere, in 1939. Santas at Montgomery Ward stores gave away 2.4 million copies of a booklet entitled "Rudolf the Red-Nose Reindeer." The story was written by a person in the advertising department named Robert May, and the booklet was illustrated by Denver Gillen. The original name of the reindeer was not Rudolf. The original name was Rollo, but executives did not like that name, nor Reginald. The name Rudolf came from the author's young daughter! In 1949, Gene Autry sang a musical version of the poem and it was a run-away best-seller. The Rudolf song is second only to "White Christmas" in popularity.


Christmas around the world

Many countries have their own variations of Christmas customs and traditions. Here are just a few:

Australia
Christmas here is like the typical British Christmas, but without the snow. Many Australians eat their Christmas dinner on the beach or in the bush, and since the 1930s a huge Christmas Eve carol singing event, broadcast worldwide and involving over a quarter of a million people, has become popular.

Austria
Enjoy the carol singing, the presents and the visit from St Nicholas on December 6, but watch out for his grotesque assistant, Krampus. Carp is on the menu on Christmas Eve, followed by roast goose on Christmas Day.

Belgium
Children in Belgium get two visits from St Nicholas, one on December 4, to see if they have been good, followed by presents on December 6. Children leave out their shoes, rather than stockings, or small baskets.On the sixth of December Sinterklaas or Saint-Nicholas is celebrated, which is an entirely different holiday from Christmas. Santa Claus in Belgium is called de Kerstman or le Père Noël and he does come around on Christmas day to bring children presents. There are different cultures in Belgium, the Northern part being Vlaanderen (speaking a Dutch dialect), the Southern part being Wallonie (speaking a French dialect) and the Eastern part speaking German.

Brazil
Father Christmas is called Papai Noel. Many Christmas customs are similar to USA or UK. For those who have enough money, a special Christmas meal will be chicken, turkey, ham, rice, salad, pork, fresh and dried fruits, often with beer. Poorer people will just have chicken and rice.

Chile
Chile's gift-bringer is called Old Man Christmas and he climbs through windows rather than down chimneys. The manger scene is important in all Latin American countries and the Christmas Eve meal in Chile consists of chicken soup with potatoes, onions and corn.

China
Christians in China decorate their houses with paper lanterns and their 'trees of light' with paper chains, paper flowers and lanterns. Some children put out stockings for Dun Che Lao Ren (Christmas Old Man), but the main festival in China is the non-Christian Chinese New Year, or 'Spring Festival', towards the end of January, when ancestors are worshipped and children receive new clothes and toys and enjoy luxurious meals.

Denmark
Eat up your special rice pudding in Denmark on Christmas Eve, as you may find the single almond hidden inside, bringing you good luck for the whole year. Don't forget to leave out some rice pudding for Julemanden, the bringer of gifts, as well as his reindeer and his Juul Nisse, or elves.

Finland
Finnish people believe that Father Christmas (Santa Claus) lives in the north part of Finland called Korvatunturi, north of the Arctic Circle. People from all over the world send letters to Santa Claus in Finland. (It is only fair to say that the people of Greenland say that really, Father Christmas lives in Greenland!) There is a even big tourist theme park called 'Christmas Land' in the north of Finland, near to where they say that Father Christmas lives.

France
In France, Christmas is always called 'Noël. Everyone has a Christmas tree, sometimes decorated in the old way with red ribbons and real white wax candles. Fir trees in the garden are often decorated too, with lights on all the branches.

Germany
Christmas is a big celebration in Germany, beginning on December 6 with advent wreaths, candles and calendars. On December 5 children put out their shoes and St Nicholas fills them with fruit and biscuits overnight. Christmas markets abound with lots of goodies and the Christmas tree is the centre of attention. The mother of the house decorates the tree on Christmas Eve and no-one is allowed in until it's finished. The December 25 is a family day and Boxing Day a day for visiting friends.

Greece
Easter is more important than Christmas in Greece, but there are nevertheless many Christmas traditions. Children travel from house to house singing the equivalent of carols on Christmas Eve, and are rewarded with sweets and dried fruits. There is no tree, but fresh basil, wrapped around a wooden cross, is dipped in holy water every day and sprinkled round the house to keep the Killantzaroi, or goblins, away from the house during Christmas. The hearth is kept burning for twelve days and nights to stop these goblins from making mischief, such as souring the milk or riding on people's backs. Gifts are exchanged on January 1, when all the water jugs in the house are also emptied and refilled.

Holland
Look out for Sinterklaas, the Dutch St Nicholas, who arrives by steamer on the last Saturday in November. All traffic stops in Amsterdam as people pour out to greet him and his assistant, Black Peter. He first visits the royal palace, where the children must account for their behaviour. There are usually no presents on Christmas Day, but on December 5 Sinterklaas gives presents called 'surprises', which are even more exciting because they are disguised. A small gift may be in a large box, or hidden in a vegetable or pudding. Often presents are hidden in a cellar, with clues given as to how to find them.

India
India is mainly Hindu and Muslim, so there is no official celebration of Christmas. But this time of year is seen as a time to give gifts, to tip, or to give charitable handouts to the poor. Christians in India decorate their houses with mango leaves and sometimes burn small oil lamps on the tops of walls or on flat roofs.

Ireland
Candles are put in the window on Christmas Eve to help light the way of travelers or the Holy Family. The table is set with bread and milk after the evening meal and the door left unlocked, as a symbol of hospitality to Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus.

Italy
La Befana, either a fairy queen, old crone or witch, brings gifts for the good children and punishment for the bad on January 6. Christmas feasts vary from region to region but include roasted, baked or fried eel, tortellini and cakes.

Japan
Christmas was introduced to Japan by missionaries, and is now popular. Gifts are exchanged, turkey is eaten on Christmas Day, and houses are decorated with evergreen and mistletoe. A priest or old man known as Hoteiosho carries a sack on his back, and resembles Santa Claus, apart from the eyes in the back of his head. On New Year's Eve houses are cleaned thoroughly from top to bottom and the next day people dress in their finest clothes. The father of the house throws dried beans into each room to drive out evil spirits and encourage good luck.

Latvia
Latvians believe that Father Christmas brings presents on each of the 12 days of Christmas starting on Christmas Eve. Usually the presents are put under the family Christmas tree. (What a good idea to spread Christmas out longer!)
The special Latvian Christmas Day meal is cooked brown peas with bacon (pork) sauce, small pies, cabbage and sausage.

Poland
Polish children get presents both on St Nicholas Day and on Christmas day itself. The Star of Bethlehem is the most popular element of the Polish Christmas and all the family gathers to look for it on Christmas Eve. Once the star appears, a special wafer called Oplatek is broken and shared by all. The feast consists of twelve courses, one for each Apostle, with hay under the tablecloth to remind everyone that Jesus was born in a stable. Poppy seed cake, beet soup, prune dumplings and noodles often feature on the menu.

Portugal
People pretend that Father Christmas brings presents to children on Christmas Eve. The presents are left under the Christmas tree or in shoes by the fireplace. A special Christmas meal of salted dry cod-fish with boiled potatoes is eaten at midnight on Christmas Eve.

Russia
In the days of the Soviet Union, Christmas was not celebrated very much. New Year was the important time - when 'Father Frost' brought presents to children. With the fall of Communism, Christmas can be openly celebrated - either on December 25th; or more often on January 7th. This unusual date is because the Russian Orthodox church uses the old 'Julian' calendar for religious celebration days. Special Christmas food includes cakes, pies and 'meat dumplings'.

Sweden
The most important day is Christmas Eve. A special Christmas meal is eaten on Christmas Eve - ham (pork), herring fish, and brown beans - and this is the time when families give presents to each other. Many people attend a church meeting early on Christmas Day.

Syria
On Christmas Eve, the gates of Syrian Christian homes are locked as a reminder of years of religious persecution. Candles and bonfires are lit. The way the fire spreads through the wood will determine the family's luck for the following year. Syrian children receive gifts from the Smallest Camel of the Wise Men. The camel was exhausted by the long journey to visit the baby Jesus, but refused to give up, and was blessed as a result.

USA
The USA is so multi-cultural that you will find many different ways of celebrating Christmas.

Venezuela
In Caracas, the capital city, it is customary to roller skate to the main Early Morning Mass between December 16 and 24. Before bedtime children tie one end of a piece of string to their big toe and hang the other out of the window. Next morning, the roller skaters give a tug to any string they see hanging.

New Year Celebrations
The day celebrated as New Year's Day was not always January 1. The celebration of the new year is the oldest of all holidays. It was first observed in ancient Babylon about 4000 years ago. In the years around 2000 BC, the Babylonian New Year began with the first New Moon (actually the first visible cresent) after the Vernal Equinox (first day of spring).

The beginning of spring is a logical time to start a new year. After all, it is the season of rebirth, of planting new crops, and of blossoming. January 1, on the other hand, has no astronomical nor agricultural significance. It is purely arbitrary.
In order to set the calendar right, the Roman senate, in 153 BC, declared January 1 to be the beginning of the new year. But tampering continued until Julius Caesar, in 46 BC, established what has come to be known as the Julian Calendar. It again established January 1 as the new year. But in order to synchronize the calendar with the sun, Caesar had to let the previous year drag on for 445 days.

Traditionally, it was thought that one could affect the luck they would have throughout the coming year by what they did or ate on the first day of the year. For that reason, it has become common for folks to celebrate the first few minutes of a brand new year in the company of family and friends. Parties often last into the middle of the night after the ringing in of a new year. It was once believed that the first visitor on New Year's Day would bring either good luck or bad luck the rest of the year. It was particularly lucky if that visitor happened to be a tall dark-haired man.

Traditional New Year foods are also thought to bring luck. Many cultures believe that anything in the shape of a ring is good luck, because it symbolizes "coming full circle," completing a year's cycle. For that reason, the Dutch believe that eating donuts on New Year's Day will bring good fortune.

Many parts of the U.S. celebrate the new year by consuming black-eyed peas. These legumes are typically accompanied by either hog jowls or ham. Black-eyed peas and other legumes have been considered good luck in many cultures. The hog, and thus its meat, is considered lucky because it symbolizes prosperity. Cabbage is another "good luck" vegetable that is consumed on New Year's Day by many. Cabbage leaves are also considered a sign of prosperity, being representative of paper currency. In some regions, rice is a lucky food that is eaten on New Year's Day.

The song, "Auld Lang Syne," playing in the background, is sung at the stroke of midnight in almost every English-speaking country in the world to bring in the new year. At least partially written by Robert Burns in the 1700's, it was first published in 1796 after Burns' death. Early variations of the song were sung prior to 1700 and inspired Burns to produce the modern rendition. An old Scotch tune, "Auld Lang Syne" literally means "old long ago," or simply, "the good old days.

UK Partyshop can help with your new year celebrations. Take a look at our new year balloons, new year fancy dress, tableware, party crackers, new year confetti and many other new year extras.