The Christmas holiday is inextricably linked with the United Kingdom in my imagination. It may come from my family’s tradition of watching the movie version of Dylan Thomas’ 1955 poem A Child’s Christmas in Wales. It was made in 1987 and is a timeless classic in my estimation. It stars Denholm Elliot, who is most famous for his role as Dr. Marcus Brody in the Indiana Jones movies. My family started watching it the year it came out and watched it every subsequent year. It taught me about the British Christmas traditions of Christmas pudding, Christmas crackers, and how the holiday is the same there but also subtlety different. My grandparents on my mother’s side are English and my mother attended primary school there. She is every bit the anglophile and she instilled that in me.
Later in life I was lucky enough to visit London during the holiday season and I will always remember it fondly. There is something nostalgic about a city at Christmas time. Storefronts glow with lights and the streets bustle with people doing their holiday shopping. In Trafalgar Square a colossal Christmas tree dominates the scene. Despite people these days getting down on the “commercialism” of the holidays I always enjoy that time of year, consumerism and all. The movie Love Actually does a good job depicting this time of year in London, which is the reason I tell myself I like it, but it’s probably just because I’m a sap.
It doesn’t snow much there and its generally not a white Christmas in the south of England, but there are still some great winter time activities to take part in. The Tower of London has an ice skating rink that is actually in the moat of the tower. Pink lights light up the walls of the castle and the atmosphere is awesome. This is generally the coolest ice skating rink in London but this year it may be trumped by the rink being set up for the ten year anniversary of the London Eye. It is a 300 meter rink on the South Bank of the Thames. It should be very impressive!
The Christmas experience in the UK is not limited to London. From Cornwall to the North Country there are festivities to enjoy. Get out there and start making your own memories. Arrange a car rental in England today!
