Guest Author - Susan Keeping

Christmas celebrations in Scotland and really no different today than many in countries around the world. However, Christmas celebrations were officially banned in Scotland until the 1950s. During the Protestant Reformation in 1652, Christmas was banned and went underground and was celebrated mainly by Catholics. Hogmanay (New Years Eve) became a much bigger deal for the Scottish. Even today, many Scots consider Christmas to be a solemn holiday not to be celebrated.

Personal recollections

When I was a child in Scotland we always celebrated at Christmas. We would get a real, probably Scots Pine, tree and decorate it with glass ornaments, paper streamers and lots of tinsel. On Christmas Eve, while my sisters and I slept, my parents would sneak presents up to our bedrooms and pile presents from Santa Claus at the foot of our beds. I remember when my sister and I were still sharing a bedroom that one year we heard heavy footsteps coming up the stairs; we were sure it was Santa Claus. It was an ingenious way for the parents to sleep in and for the kids to open their presents early. Of course, when we got older the presents would be under the tree and we would open our gifts as a family.

Probably a week before Christmas there would be a regular trip to Glasgow to go visit Santa Claus and get a small present. Of course, my parents would have to buy a ticket so that I would get that present from Santa. While there we would also visit the toy department and tell out parents what we would like. I remember one year I wanted a projector that looked like a gun so that I could screen cartoons or film strips on my wall at home. I was thrilled when I actually got it. I think I played with it for 6 months.

When I was about 6 someone told me Santa wasn't real and that he was in fact dead. My comeback to that was that Santa was alive and well because I'd seen him on Ed Sullivan the night before. No one was going to tell me Santa wasn't real. I probably believe in Santa for a couple of years after that.

On Christmas Day, we would usually go to Glasgow later in the day to visit my grandmother and to have dinner with her. I can't recall if we ever had a turkey dinner with her. I think it was more likely ham or roast. The most important part of dinner, in my opinion, was the Christmas crackers. We would pull them first and put on our paper hats and read the jokes to each other. Then we would enjoy a tasty dinner. Dessert was usually plum pudding with yellow custard.

I almost forgot, we would all take a moment out of our Christmas Day to tune in the Queen's Christmas message on television. If we were at my grandmother's, she would insist that we all watch together.

I have many warm memories of my Christmases spent in Scotland.