Back in the 4th century, Christmas began as a religious celebration to commemorate the birth of Jesus. Nowadays we expect Christmas Day to come without any fuss, and everybody aims to have a joyful but fairly normal day. If you have ever suffered from the stress of buying gifts, writing cards, Christmas cooking, or the gut-wrenching decision of which in-laws to spend lunch with, a simple holiday like that has its appeal.

However, like it or not, Christmas has evolved into a massive event involving weeks (or months!) of preparation before the big day. Mechanised nativity scenes in stores, Christmas pudding mixes on sale as early as August, ads on TV making you feel guilty if you haven’t bought the latest gifts for your loved ones – does it all seem a bit too much sometimes?

The plus side is that if we don’t go overboard, family get-togethers can be fun. The best way to tackle the last week of December is with a relaxed approach, which is what the people of the Northern Hemisphere would probably have had in pre-Christian days, when they celebrated the Winter Solstice on December 21.

This was the time the people of Northern Europe held the ancient midwinter feast of Yule to help them get through the darkest days of the year. The Yule log was burned in the hearth and for 12 days the people celebrated the return of the sun and light. At around the same time, December 17, the Romans celebrated Saturnalia for a week, in honour of the deity Saturn.

In celebrating Christmas, many of our customs have come from the ancient festivals, such as lighting candles and the Yule log, gift-giving and merrymaking, greenery, and feasting on special foods. The custom of exchanging gifts also relates to the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh which were presented by the Magi to the baby Jesus.

So let’s make the most of the season of goodwill, have a peaceful holiday and try to take the stress out of Christmas shopping. Look no further than our Christmas Gift Guide here.

I hope you and your loved ones enjoy these festive months, however you celebrate them.

Happy Christmas!