Some Christmas Traditions from Around the World

People around the world are gearing themselves up to celebrate Christmas in one way or another.  Many Christmas traditions revolve around gift giving in some form, but some traditions are very different from the way decorations are put up to a ritual which is observed yearly.

Take Finland for example, the home of the great Santa Clause himself, here the festivities begin on Christmas Eve.  Being Santa’s first stop presents are delivered on Christmas Eve.  In the morning families share a traditional meal of creamy rice pudding topped with cinnamon, sugar and spices, or a sauce made of dried prunes.

In the town of Turko, in Southern Finland “The Declaration of Christmas Peace” is read after the cathedral bell strikes 12-noon.  As well as celebrating with family and the giving of gifts, at Christmas time many Finnish families use this time of year to visit graves of relatives and lighting candles at the grave-sides.  There are even memorial areas in the cemeteries where people can light candles for loved ones buried elsewhere. 

Christmas decorations vary around the world.  People celebrating in India decorate banana or mango trees with decorative things that they find.  Whilst a folklore story in the Ukraine, sees Christmas trees decorated in spider webs.  The story tells of a poor woman who couldn’t afford to decorate her tree.  Her children woke the next morning to see that their tree was covered in cobwebs.   When the first light of Christmas touched the webs they turned into silver and gold and the family were never wanting again.

In the UK we are accustom to children hanging a stocking out on Christmas Eve night for Santa to vist, but not every child does this.  Children in the Philippines leave highly polished shoes and fresh socks on their window sills, in wait for the Three Kings to leave them a gift when they pass the house.  In Haiti, children leave their straw filled shoes on the porch in wait for Santa to remove the straw and leave presents in and around their shoes.

In contrast to some of the wholesome traditions, there are some darker characters linked with Christmas, like Krampus known in Germany and Austria as a demon thought to be the anti-Santa.  Krampus is used as a reminder for children to be on their best behaviour, otherwise they will be punished.  The Icelandic Yule cat Jólakötturinn is thought to eat lazy people who do not do their chores, this folklore story was originally used by farmers to encourage their workers to complete their work processing Autumn wool before Christmas  Workers who took part would be given new clothes, those that didn’t could be identified by the and preyed upon by the Yule cat.

On a lighter note, the Japanese tradition of eating Kentucky Fried Chicken for Christmas brings a commercialised smile to the face.  This tradition starting after the fast food chain promoted their fried chicken as a Christmas meal.

Another, slightly off the wall tradition started in 1966 in the town of Gavel in Sweden.  A 13 metre tall goat made of straw was built.  At midnight on Christmas Eve the goat was lit.  Every year since the goat has been built, but it has fallen foul at the hands of vandals on many occasions.  Most commonly it had been torched before Christmas Eve, but one year it’s legs were destroyed and on another occasion it was hit by a car.  We hope 2014 goes without incident!

However you will be celebrating, enjoy and be merry and remember to stay on Santa’s Nice List, because I don’t know about you but I don’t like the sound of Krampus one bit!

Christmas Collection Dates

At last December is here, it is without question a magical time of year, but without planning it can cause a fair amount of stress!

Let us help you to avoid a last minute panic with details of last collection times, along with a few other tips to get our deliveries through safely.

Don’t worry if you have missed other postal and delivery cut off times, there is still plenty of time for CSM to make sure your parcel arrives in time for Christmas.

To get your parcel to its destination by Christmas Eve you will need to order your collection by 10.30am on the following dates:

Date	Destination
Tuesday 23rd December*	UK (including remote areas) and New York
Monday 22nd December*	Europe and America

It is worth remembering that we can’t rely on the weather and adverse weather conditions can affect both the UK and International deliveries, so please allow as much time as possible when planning to send your parcels.

We’ve mentioned in a previous blog post the importance of packing your parcel so as to protect your goods inside, here is a link to the post, feel free to use it as a reminder, we want to help you get your deliveries through in the best possible condition.

*The collection dates given above are for CSM's Express Service.

Thanksgiving Day, what is it all about then?

I’ve always known that America celebrates Thanksgiving, and it’s a big national holiday, but I’ve never taken the time to see what it is about.  So, I’ve been reading all about it, and as I do, I wish that I could experience a true American Thanksgiving for myself, as it sounds so welcoming.

The essence of Thanksgiving is one of sharing, community, gratitude and compassion for others, which is a really important message; I find it refreshing to think that families come together to celebrate this reason.

The tradition of Thanksgiving goes back to 1620 where the Pilgrims left Plymouth, England in search civil and religious liberty in the New World.  They journeyed by sea until they saw land, which saw them arriving in Massachusetts, they searched for a suitable landing place and before they left the ship they signed the Mayflower Compact, which was America’s document of civil government.

The Pilgrims built shelter, but the harsh winter, illness and starvation took the lives of around half of their number before Spring.  With the help of neighbouring Native Americans, they enjoyed a plentiful harvest the following summer

On 13^th December the Pilgrims then declared a three day feast to give thanks to God and to celebrate with their Native American friend.  There were so many people celebrating that the Pilgrims didn’t have enough food for everyone, so the Native Americans brought some of their own food to the feast including turkey, duck, deer, berries, squash and cornbread.  This feast would see America’s first Thanksgiving Festival.

These days it would seem that Thanksgiving is about families coming together to share a Thanksgiving dinner of turkey, mash potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, seasonal vegetables and gravy, and commonly pumpkin pie is shared. 

Being thankful is such an important thing, which can be easily forgotten so I think it is a brilliant idea to set aside some time to be thankful.  I read a quote recently that, in my opinion summed up Thanksgiving and it was by W. Clement Stone, it is:

“If you are really thankful, what do you do?  You share”

Beautiful!

CSM’s New e-Com+ Delivery Service

Introducing our latest e-commerce solution, eCom+, the new low cost way of sending your parcels. You can now ship up to 5Kg to any UK destinations for just £3.75 + VAT.

Our new service, designed specifically with online retailers in mind, offers a fully trackable 3-4 day delivery service, with the capability of text message alerts or e-mails on delivery. 

Our new eCom+ service covers the entire UK for the £3.75 fee; no additional charges will be made for deliveries to the Scottish Highlands and Islands, the Isle of Man, the Isle of Wight or the Scilly Isles.

We have proven success with seamless links with existing online retailers, to our online delivery booking system.  This developed feature is ready and available for new clients, potentially cutting down hours of website development time.

Alternatively, delivery data can be imported to your records via an import routine.

Our eCom+ rates join our range of next day delivery services giving our customers a wider range of delivery options with the same personal service they have come to accustomed to.

You can register your interest online by clicking here, alternative you can call your closest CSM branch to discuss your requirement, click here for the list of branches.

We are so excited to be able to offer this new service, we hope it can be of benefit to your business too.

Remembrance Day Explained for Children

Have you had a child ask you about Remembrance Day recently?  I have, and although I know the basics, I wanted to give a full reflection of what it is about.  So I turned to the internet in search of a child friendly explanation of what the day is about and how it came to be, and I must say I really struggled to find an appropriate account.  So if you are in the same position maybe this would help.

Remembrance Day is also known as Armistice Day, and is commemorated every year on 11^th November, to mark the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany.  An armistice is a formal agreement between warring sides to stop fighting. 

World War I started in 1914 and ended in 1918, and this year marks 100 years since the start of the war.

Each year, at 11am on 11^th November, the country holds a two minute silence as a mark of respect and remembrance for all soldiers who lost their lives through war.  The tradition of the silence was introduced four days before the first anniversary of World War I by King George V, when he announced that a two minute would be observed.

Remembrance Sunday, is a day to remember British and Commonwealth soldiers who died during the two World Wars and all wars after these.  Remembrance Sunday is held on the second Sunday in November, and ceremonies are held at local war memorials in most cities and towns where wreaths of remembrance poppies are laid on the memorials and a two minute silence is held.

A national ceremony is held on Remembrance Sunday at a war memorial in London called The Cenotaph.  During this ceremony poppy wreaths are laid by the British Royal family along with the Prime Minister and leaders of other major political parties, the Foreign Secretary, the Commonwealth High Commissioner and representatives from the Army, Navy and the Air Force.  The two minute silence at this ceremony begins by the firing of a field gun on Horse Guards Parade with the sound of a bugle call, and is ended with a second bugle call.

In 1921 a senior British officer called Field Marshall Douglas Haig and the Royal British Legion took the poppy emblem as a symbol of remembrance.  Known today as the Poppy Appeal, paper poppies are made in The Poppy Factory in Richmond, London, and are sold by members of the Royal British Legion.  The money raised by this appeal goes to support ex-servicemen and their families who are in need.