Lesson video

Hello and welcome to today's lesson.

I've got a really great lesson to teach you today, so I hope that you are ready.

Today's lesson is the changing nature of Christmas in the UK from the unit Festivals: how do ancient stories influence modern celebrations? Let's get started.

By the end of today, you'll be able to understand how Christmas in the UK has changed over time.

Let's start with some keywords.

Traditions.

Traditions: special things people do again and again, like decorating a tree at Christmas.

Nativity.

Nativity: the birth stories of Jesus.

Celebrations.

Celebrations: to do something special to remember or enjoy an important event.

Carols.

Carols: songs sang at Christmas to celebrate and remember the birth of Jesus.

Our lesson outline for the changing nature of Christmas in the UK looks like this.

Let's begin with, how are modern celebrations linked to the past? Andeep explains how we use social science in religious education.

Andeep says, "Social scientists are interested in how people live and how context like where they live or when they lived affects this.

We can better understand people's worldviews by looking at photographs or analysing data.

We can survey or interview people to find out more about their worldview." In this lesson, we will investigate how the traditions of Christmas begun and interview different people to better understand what Christmas means to them in modern Britain.

This data comes from a survey of 3,645 people in Britain in 2023.

It shows what people do over Christmas.

And here you can see it's presented in a bar chart.

Things that people did over Christmas: give presents, spend time with family, put up a Christmas tree, open an advent calendar, set up a Nativity in their home, and visit Santa in a grotto.

What do you notice? Does anything surprise you? I'll give you a few moments to really look at the data provided for you.

Andeep and Sam are analysing the results of the data.

Andeep says, "The data tells me that the majority of people give presents, see family, or put up a tree at Christmas.

A few people set up a Nativity in their homes." Sam says, "But where did these ideas come from?" Andeep goes on to explain, "Early Christians remembered the birth of Jesus, but they didn't have a set date to hold celebrations for it.

About 300 years after Jesus was born, Christians chose to celebrate Christmas at the same time as another festival called the winter solstice." "I wonder where the word Christmas comes from," says Sam.

Let's take a look, shall we? The word Christmas comes from two old English words.

Christ and Mass.

Christ is saviour, another name for Jesus.

Mass: Christian service.

The word Christmas was first used in the 11th century.

A Mass is a special service held in churches to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

Let's check our understanding with true or false.

Christmas has always been called Christmas.

True or false? That's right, it's false.

Why? Christmas comes from the word Christ, meaning saviour, and Mass, a Christian service.

This began in the 11th century.

What can you see in this image? Hmm.

Take a moment to really look at it.

Stained glass windows began to be used in churches just over a thousand years ago to show Bible stories, like the Nativity.

We don't know what Mary and Joseph looked like, but the tradition of Mary wearing blue became popular in the Middle Ages, around the 1200s to 1400s.

And this stained glass window is a scene of the Nativity, the birth of Jesus.

By the Middle Ages, around 1200s to 1400s, people began writing and making songs for Christmas.

These were known as carols.

One carol from the Middle Ages was called "Good King Wenceslas." It's still sung by some Christians today.

Later on, more carols were written, like "Silent Night," "O Little Town of Bethlehem." Have you ever heard of these carols before? Do you know some more carols? Would you like to share some with me? Here is a painting.

Have a careful look at it.

What do you notice? What can you see? Or what do you think the family are doing? Take a moment here to think about these questions before we take a look further.

This is a painting of a family scene from the Victorian times.

Well done if you recognised that period of time.

Christmas trees appeared in rich homes during this time.

In this painting, you can see the family singing carols around the Christmas tree.

In Victorian Britain, most people went to church every Sunday.

Christmas was still mostly a time for religion.

But many traditions, such as decorating trees, started at that time.

Let's check our understanding with this multiple choice question.

Identify three things that Christians have done to mark Christmas.

A, created stained glass windows with the Nativity story.

B, people started decorating Christmas trees in rich homes.

C, wrote carols.

D, painted Easter eggs.

Well spotted.

It's A, created stain glass windows with the Nativity story; B, people started decorating Christmas trees in rich homes; and C, they wrote carols.

Good job.

Let's move on.

Task A.

Laura says, "I don't think Christmas has changed over the years at all." Is Laura correct? Can you teach Laura how Christmas celebrations have gradually developed for Christians? Write three things from the past that still happen today.

Pause here so you have a chance to write your answers down.

When you're ready, press play for some feedback.

Task A feedback time.

Here is what you might have written about.

Christmas was only celebrated on the 25th of December, 300 years after Jesus lived.

It has been called Christmas since the 11th century.

People have been singing carols at Christmas since the Middle Ages.

Christian started writing them to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

The tradition of having and decorating a Christmas tree was started during Victorian times in Britain.

Well done for task A.

Let's move on.

Let's look at, how are other people influenced by UK traditions? Andeep says, "Learning about the history of Christmas in the UK is really interesting.

I didn't know people have been telling the Nativity story and singing carols for such a long time." Sam says, "I wonder what Christians do today.

I think it would be interesting to interview different Christians and see if any of the old traditions are still part of how they celebrate now.

Interviewing people will help us understand their worldviews better." Sam says, "Fiona, how do you celebrate Christmas?" Fiona explains to Sam, "I'm an Anglican Christian, and I go to church every Sunday, especially during Christmas.

At church, I sing carols with the church choir.

It's one of my favourite parts of Christmas.

I love carols because they help me remember the Nativity story.

For me, remembering God became a human being in Jesus is the most important part of Christmas." Andeep says, "Grace, what do you do at Christmas?" Grace shares with Andeep, "I'm a Catholic Christian.

My family go to church about once a month, especially for important festivals.

I love going to Midnight Mass and seeing the Nativity scene.

We put up a Christmas tree at home, and I help at a homeless shelter to support people who need it.

For me, Christmas is about kindness and love, like Jesus taught." Andeep asked Niamh this question: "Niamh, what do you do at Christmas?" Niamh says, "I'm a Catholic by birth, although I don't often go to church.

However, I always go at Christmas with my parents and grandparents.

I like to sing the carols and remember Christmas is about more than just presents.

Our family tradition is to open our stocking by the tree.

Everyone takes a turn to make it last longer." Sam says, "The interviews show me that different Christians go to church at Christmas, but they do not go at all other times." Let's look at Fiona.

Fiona goes to church every Sunday as well as at Christmas.

Grace goes to church once a month, including Christmas.

And Niamh goes to church only for special festivals like Christmas.

True or false? All Christians go to church every Sunday, including Christmas.

True or false? That's right, it's false.

Why? Some Christians like Fiona go to church every Sunday.

However, Niamh said she only went for special festivals like Christmas.

Well done if you answered that question correctly.

Let's move on.

Andeep says, "More than half the people in the UK do not have a Christian worldview, but over 80% still celebrate Christmas in some way.

I wonder why that is." Sam says, "Let's find out.

We can interview people with different worldviews to see which Christmas traditions they follow and why." What do you think? What might people with a different worldview do at Christmas? Lots of interesting points of view here.

Let's find out some more.

Andeep says, "Zara, I'd love to hear what you and your family do for Christmas." This is Zara.

She says, "I have a non-religious worldview, so I don't celebrate Christmas in a religious way.

On Christmas day, my whole family comes over and everyone brings a dish to share.

We love pulling crackers and telling silly jokes.

Christmas for me is time for families to get together and celebrate." Sam says, "This is Diane and her husband Alan.

How do you mark Christmas?" They say, "We are a humanist family.

We don't celebrate Christmas for religious reasons, but we still put up a tree and give gifts to our family.

It's our way of showing love and making special memories together.

This year is our baby's first Christmas, so we're starting new traditions.

We even took them to meet Santa.

We love Christmas and our traditions." Let's check our understanding with true or false.

Humanists celebrate Christmas for religious reasons.

True or false? That's right, it's false.

Why? Humanists don't celebrate Christmas for religious reasons, but some have started their own traditions around the 25th of December.

Well done if you answered that question correctly.

Andeep says, "This is Meryem, and she has a Muslim worldview.

Do you do anything at Christmas?" Meryem shares her answer.

"I'm a Muslim, so I don't celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday, but in my faith, we do believe Jesus was a very important prophet.

Around Christmas, I like to volunteer at a food bank to help people.

Kindness is something all our religions teach.

It helps me reflect on how Jesus was full of care." Sam is thinking about what everyone has shared.

"Even though some people don't celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday, they still follow traditions like giving gifts or helping others.

It shows that UK Christmas traditions have spread beyond religion.

For many, it's about love, kindness, and being together." Why do you think people take part in Christmas traditions even if they're not Christian? Which of these is true? A, in the UK, Christmas is celebrated in the same way.

B, only Christians in the UK celebrate Christmas.

C, people celebrate Christmas differently, and some people don't celebrate it at all.

That's right, it's C.

People celebrate Christmas differently, and some people don't celebrate it at all.

Well done if you answered that question correctly.

Task B: create a Venn diagram to compare Christian and non-Christian Christmas celebrations.

In one circle, write things that only Christians do at Christmas.

In the other circle, write things that only non-Christians do.

In the middle circle, write the things that they both do.

Think about what Fiona, Grace, Zara, Diane and Alan, and Meryem said.

Pause the video here, and when you are ready, press play for some feedback.

Task B feedback time.

Here is what you could have put in your Venn diagram.

Let's take a look at the Christian side.

It says, focus on celebrating the birth of Jesus, sing carols, Midnight Mass, and scenes of the Nativity.

Now let's take a look at the non-Christian side.

Celebrate without religious reasons, start their own family traditions, visit Santa.

Now let's take a look at what both do.

Both give gifts, help others, put up Christmas trees, and share meals.

Well done for your learning today.

Let's take a look at our summary.

Here is a summary for the changing nature of Christmas in the UK.

Social scientists are people who study how worldviews are lived today.

Christmas is celebrated in a variety of different ways in the UK.

Often families have developed their own traditions.

Some people mark Christmas by attending churches and services as one of the only times they attend church.

Christmas is a time to reflect on the Nativity, and some people also sing carols to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

Ancient traditions still influence what Christians do when celebrating the birth of Jesus.

It's been so fun teaching you today, and I hope to see you soon.

Bye for now.