All Christmas

England is one of the greatest countries on earth. The country has created waves in innumerable industries and has been at the forefront of many activities. The capital of England i.e. London is home to the British Royal family. London is the largest metropolitan city in Europe and boasts an astounding population.

A multicultural city, London is a finance giant and one of the richest cities in the world. The city is abundant in must visited historical buildings and landmarks and attracts millions from different parts of the world every month. London's museums, art galleries, theatres, cafes and restaurants are among the best in the world and pull a huge visitor rush every day of the year. In addition to that the various festivals and carnivals celebrated in London around the year are attended by a huge number of domestic and international visitors, especially during the Christmas season.

Christmas festivities are an intrinsic part of Britain's culture. A number of traditions are celebrated during the yuletide period around the country and serve as major attractions for visitors. In fact, British Christmas festivities have a numbers of interesting features attached to them.

One such feature is that England was the first country where the tradition of posting Christmas cards was started. It was in the 1840s that first Christmas card was posted in the country and later more and more people and public houses followed the tradition. Today, Christmas card posting has become such an important activity with locals that more than one billion cards are posted every year in the UK. Many private and public houses sell Christmas cards to aid charities.

Many people in the world still do not know that every year, London plays host to the world's largest Christmas tree. The tree is installed in the heart of the city i.e. Trafalgar Square. In addition to that Christmas trees are installed at hundreds of other locations around England. In the British royal household, the first-ever Christmas tree was brought in by Queen Charlotte, wife of King George III. Later in the 1840s, Queen Victoria's husband Prince Albert popularized the tradition.

Another traditional feature of British Christmas festivities is singing of carols and chorals at the various cathedrals and churches. In London, carol singing sessions at St. Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey and St. Martin's in the Fields pull a huge crowd. Visitors can also join sing along corals by candlelight at the Royal Albert Hall and the Royal Festival Hall. Many popular choirs, musicians and orchestras enthrall the audiences at these famous halls every year.

Traditional Christmas festivities in Britain encourage participation by children via pantomimes. Pantomimes are being hosted at many popular London theatres for a long time now and are enjoyed but both young and adult. These are theatre shows sans any dialogues and aim at offering enormous hilarity to audiences. The actors express their feelings and emotions through their actions on some background music.