Dear LPG,

We are coming up to Christmas again and I know that I am quite lucky because many people of my age have no one to celebrate with.  My daughter has taken over hosting our family Christmas dinners, but I will be collected and taken in the car on the four-mile journey to her house.  There will be pandemonium as a good proportion of the family arrives and, although I really have difficulty with lots of noise these days, it is good to see the younger ones so excited and have the opportunity to catch up with the older members of my clan that I don’t get to see nearly often enough.

That is the extent of my planned Christmas activities although I know that there are some obscure ones that take place throughout this world.   I thought, after nearly eighty years of celebrating, I knew all about the annual rituals that are to be expected but a little Googling left me quite open mouthed. The World Wide Web always has something different to offer and this list of obscure British traditions did not disappoint.

So, while most of us are sat in the warm with a bit of turkey and some Christmas pudding, I thought it might be interesting to share what I learned about some of the arguably more unusual celebrations that are likely to be taking place in other parts of the country at this time of year, if the internet is to be believed.

WD, Longfield

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