CHRISTMAS is reassuringly infused with comforting traditions. Cards start fluttering in, Father Christmases appear soon after, a tree is erected and the celebrated (or despised) pudding is finally consumed on December 25. Remarkably, a great deal of these traditions stem not only from one era, but also from the same source: the Victorians practically invented Christmas as we know it. Mix that with a bit of paganism and capitalism to get a uniquely British celebration of a Christian festival.
The need to brighten up our homes during the dark season is probably as old as humanity. Our pagan ancestors used evergreen twigs and lights during the winter months as a symbol of life and hope. These qualities made the same decorations a suitable representation of the birth of Christ, marked at about the time of the winter solstice. Thus, early Christians use the outward manifestations of their heathen feast when celebrating an important date in the calendar of their newly adopted religion.
The use of an entire fir tree as Christmas decoration is much more recent and is first documented in 1539, when a group of German Lutherans set one up in Strasbourg. The custom spread throughout the Rhineland. From here, the Hanoverian monarchies, more specifically Queen Charlotte, introduced the first 'Christmas tree' to the British Isles. In preparation for a children's party at Queen's Lodge, Windsor, in 1800, she had one placed in the centre of the room decorated with candles, sweets and toys. Considering the cost of candles alone, this must have seemed a terribly lavish gesture.
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Put some graphite in your pencil
Once used for daubing sheep, graphite went on to become as valuable as gold and wrote Keswick's place in history. Harry Pearson inhales that freshly sharpened-pencil smell
Dulce et decorum est
Michael Sandle is the Wilfred Owen of art, with his deeply felt sense of the futility of violence. John McEwen traces the career of this extraordinary artist ahead of his 88th birthday
Heaven is a place on earth
For the women of the Bloomsbury group, their country gardens were places of refuge, reflection and inspiration, as well as a means of keeping loved ones close by, discovers Deborah Nicholls-Lee
A haunt of ancient peace - The gardens at Iford Manor, near Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire The home of the Cartwright-Hignett family
After recent renovations, this masterpiece of Harold Peto's garden-making must be counted one of the finest gardens in England
It's the plants, stupid
I WON my first prize for gardening when I was nine years old at prep school. My grandmother was delighted-it was she who had sent me the seeds of godetia, eschscholtzia and Virginia stock that secured my victory.
Pretty as a picture
The proliferation of honey-coloured stone cottages is part of what makes the Cotswolds so beguiling. Here, we pick some of our favourites currently on the market
How golden was my valley
These four magnificent Cotswold properties enjoy splendid views of hill and dale
Mere moth or merveille du jour?
Moths might live in the shadows of their more flamboyant butterfly counterparts, but some have equally artistic names, thanks to a 'golden' group, discovers Peter Marren
The magnificent seven
The Mars Badminton Horse Trials, the oldest competition of its kind in the world, celebrates its 75th anniversary this weekend. Kate Green chooses seven heroic winners in its history
Angels in the house
Winged creatures, robed figures and celestial bodies are under threat in a rural church. Jo Caird speaks to the conservators working to save northern Europe's most complete Romanesque wall paintings