Christmas in The City
EVER SINCE CHARLES DICKENS’ A CHRISTMAS CAROL, THE CITY OF LONDON, HAS BEEN IRREVOCABLY LINKED TO CHRISTMAS AND THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT. AT THIS MAGICAL AND JOYOUS TIME OF THE YEAR, EXPERIENCE ALL THE CHILD-LIKE WONDER AND EXCITEMENT THAT CHRISTMAS HAS TO OFFER IN THE GLITTERING ENGLISH CAPITAL.
A child’s eyes shone with uncontrollable excitement when she crossed the threshold of The Christmas Shop in London, which devotes itself to selling Yuletide paraphernalia all year-round. It was as if the sight of all the tinsel, baubles, lights and glitter had set off a chain reaction in her brain. “I love Christmas!” she exclaimed to the world.
Christmas is a serious business in London and not just for children. Owner of The Christmas Shop, David Thompson, says: “It never ceases to amaze me, when someone comes into the shop in June, they get so excited about a new bauble, declaring they just have to buy it.”
After running the shop for 16 years, David knows a thing or two about this most special of pagan/Christian festivals. He told me he has even learnt to cater to the needs of Muslim customers who want to take back an inoffensive souvenir to their countries.
Ever since 1846, when Charles Dickens’ London-inspired novel A Christmas Carol was published, the city has been closely associated with all things Christmassy in the English-speaking world and beyond.
Much of what defines our notions of traditional Christmas now stem from Dickens’ time. Around December, Christmas cards depicting a snow-covered 19th-century London drift up on our doormat. And the holiday television schedule would not be complete without at least one version of A Christmas Carol, whether it is a traditional or a modern retelling such as Scrooged or the Muppet Christmas.
These days, of course, Christmas is no mere traditional matter. Indeed in London as elsewhere it has become an orgy of commercialism and self-indulgence. From 1 November retailers intent on whipping us into a frenzy of gift buying bombard us with adverts featuring synthesised bell jingles, fake snow, and fake Santas chuckling “Ho Ho Ho”. Meanwhile millions of office workers drink themselves silly at the Christmas party only to regret it the next day.
But don’t be put off, there is an abundance of tasteful and traditional ways of celebrating in the capital. And if you like shopping you won’t find anywhere in the world with more choice and quality on offer. In fact people come from all over the world to do their Christmas shopping right here.
Oxford Street is London’s great shopping hub. The range of choice on this huge road is astounding and it has a John Lewis, Britain’s best value department store, and Selfridges simply Britain’s best department store. When they turn on the lights on Oxford Street-arguably the most spectacular-you know that Christmas has begun in earnest. You’ll never be alone though - expect massive crowds at any time in December.
Regent Street is Oxford Street’s more exclusive sister with some fabulous shops. These include Liberty-probably my favourite London shop-which has its own beautifully-presented Christmas department, and Hamleys, the world’s most famous toy shop which is like a little fantasy world all to itself and a must visit if you have kids.
Those seeking some of London’s finest and most expensive goods will head for Bond Street and Jermyn Street, near Regent Street. And since you are in the area, you really ought to drop into historic Fortnum and Masons in Piccadilly to feast your eyes upon its rows of fine, festive foodstuffs or just pick up one of its splendid Christmas puddings (you’ll be in good company, as this is where the Royal Family stock up on their holiday grub). Further west is the even more famous Harrods in Knightsbridge which claims to be able to sell you anything that money can buy. Harrods is huge, opulent and very expensive (though at times verging on the naff). This year it organised its own extravagant Santa Parade with real live reindeer walking the streets of central London and an enormous snow machine on the roof! Harrods also has its own spectacular Christmas World department open for six months a year.
For somewhere a little cheaper but still sophisticated you could try Covent Garden with its covered market full of funky shops and street entertainers. Spitalfields market is a great place for Christmas shopping on a budget and it holds a special Christmas Fair throughout December (see below). The flower market on Columbia Road is also an atmospheric place to check out around December with its rows of Christmas trees and seasonal flower displays.
The spending doesn’t stop there - oh no. Exhibition organisers are in on Noel in a major way and if you check the press when you get into town there is sure to be a Christmas exhibition or two. For example at the time of writing the ‘Spirit of Christmas’ event held at the Grand Hall, Olympia Exhibition Centre in Hammersmith, is host to more than 500 companies selling gifts, gourmet food and wine plus ideas for festive decorations, celebrity cooking demonstrations and expert talks. It even has an ice rink and a champagne bar!
When your money has all been spent, don’t worry there are plenty of more whole some Yuletide activities to help soothe you aching wallet. (And anyway, if you’ve read your Dickens you’ll know that Christmas is about charity not shopping and eating. Got that?)
From groups of carol singers on street corners to world-famous choirs in the city’s magnificent cathedrals, it wouldn’t be Christmas in London without a good singsong. I particularly remember two Christmas concerts that I have attended in the last few years. The first was in Westminster Abbey and featured a large schoolboy choir singing carols by Benjamin Britten accompanied by some heavenly harp music. The other was in St James, a small church in Piccadilly where I went to hear the wonderful 100-voice London Oriana Choir, one of Britain’s leading amateur choirs. Both were genuinely moving experiences.
According to Londontown.com, the pick of this year’s events will be the Advent Carol service in the world-famous St Martin-in-the-Fields on 1 December when the first candle of Christmas is lit; Candlelit Carols at picturesque Sutton House, one of the oldest stately houses in London; the ‘Christmas by Candlelight’ festival in St John’s Smith Square; and similar events at the Royal Albert Hall; Osterley Park; Shoreditch Church; and the Royal Festival Hall.
And let’s not forget how it all started - I mean the birth of Christ not Daniel Beddingfield turning on the Oxford Street lights. Christmas-time church services are always joyful occasions. Atmospheric Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services such as Eucharist and candlelit midnight mass are held in churches across the capital, many of them worth a visit at any time. If its grandeur you’re after, Westminster Abbey, next to the Houses of Parliament, and the awe-inspiring St Paul’s Cathedral both hold services on the 24 December.
While you are in the centre of town, be sure to visit the newly-renovated and now semi-pedestrianised Trafalgar Square which is home to a huge Christmas tree - a gift from Norway each year. Carol singers gather around the tree every evening.
Out-door winter ice skating has become extremely popular in London over the last few years. This year the picturesque courtyard at Somerset House will once again become a romantic ice rink from 27 November to 25 January. And from 27 December to 1 January, Hampton Court Palace will open an outdoor ice rink at this famous Thameside residence of King Henry VIII. Ancient Frost Fayre traditions have also been revived here and you can sip a soothing hot chocolate or glass of mulled wine at the rink side cafe.
If that’s not chilly enough for you, the Peter Pan Cup swimming race on Christmas Day morning involves a plunge into the icy cold waters of the Serpentine Lake in Hyde Park and racing for 100 yards. This great British competition was founded by Peter Pan author JIM Barrie in 1864. Brass monkeys provided.
Elsewhere in the city there are a seemingly limitless number of organised events. The following is just a tiny sample of December fixtures, compiled with the help of visitLondon.co.uk. And if you can’t make it to London in December, remember you can always visit friendly Mr Thompson at the Christmas Shop to soak up a bit of authentic London Christmas Spirit, or read up on Christmas traditions and buy baubles.
