Complete the song with the words below!

stopping, good-bying, snow, frightful, warm, goodnight, glow, storm, popping, dying,
delightful, goodnight

Let it snow

Oh the weather outside is ______________, The fire is slowly ______________,

But the fire is so ______________, And, my dear, we're still ______________,
And since we've no place to go, But as long as you love me so,
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

It doesn't show signs of ______________, He doesn't care if it's ten below

And I've bought some corn for ______________, He's just sittin by the fire's cozy ______________
The lights are turned way down low, He don't care about the cold and the winds that blow
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! He just says Let it snow, let it snow, let it
______________.

When we finally kiss ______________, Ooooo Weeeee goes the storm

How I'll hate going out in the ______________! Why should he care when he's cozy and _________.
But if you really hold me tight, His gal by his side and the lights down low
All the way home I'll be warm. He just says Let it snow, let it snow.
Complete each sentence with the correct ending on the right.

1. An imaginary creature that looks like a small Rudolph

person and has magical powers is _______________.
reindeer
2. A fat man with a white beard and a red suit who
a pixie
gives toys to children at Christmas is ____________.
church
3. Animals that are in front of Santa’s sleigh are ___.
attractive
4. A shiny ball hung on a Christmas tree is _________.
a bauble
5. Wax formed into a stick with a string in the _____.
middle is called a candle
6. The green “thing” you decorate is a ____________.
Santa Claus
7. Tinsel is shiny ___________________________.
a present
8. The red-nosed reindeer is called ______________.
manger
9. Something you give to someone special is _______.
storing grain
10. A building that is used for Christian religious
services is called a __________________________. Christmas tree

11. The birth of Jesus is celebrated on ___________. a star

12. A turkey is a large American bird ____________. December 25th

13. A greeting is often written on a _____________. metal strips

14. A barn is a building on a farm used for ________. Gospel

15. An open box used for food for farm animals is eaten at Christmas
called a __________________________________.
Christmas card
16. An object in space that looks like points of light in
the night sky is called _______________________.

17. An ornament is a small, fancy thing that is put on

something else to make it more ________________.

18. Any one of the first four books of the Christian

Bible that tell the life of Jesus Christ is called the
________________________________________.
The History of Christmas Traditions
Christmas is a time for traditions, whether they be food-related, about giving
gifts and presents, or playing games. It is a time for socialising with family and
friends and showing compassion, peace and goodwill towards others. It is a
time of giving and sending cards. But it was not always like this.

Christmas Cards
Glossary
In 1843, Sir Henry Cole was a civil servant
• Civil servant - someone who
in the Public Record Office, which is now
works for the government.
known as the Post Office. He started to think
about how the office could be used more by
the ordinary person.

Together with his artist friend, John Horsley, he

designed and produced the first Christmas card.
They sold it for one shilling, which is the same as
5p today. This was a lot of money in the 1800s
and unfortunately no more than a thousand cards
were sold.

Mince Pies
The fruit-filled mince pie is a firm favourite on the Christmas dinner table, but
they were originally filled with meat, like lamb, hence the word ‘mince’ in their
name. The pastry of the mince pie was oval-shaped to represent the manger in
which the baby Jesus was laid. The pastry top represented the cloths the baby
was wrapped in. During the Stuart and Georgian eras, people used mince pies
to show off their wealth at their dinner parties by serving mince pies in unusual
shapes, such as hearts and stars. This proved that they could afford the very
best pastry chefs.

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 The History of Christmas Traditions

Carol Singing
Carols were originally pagan songs sung during the winter solstice celebrations.
Pagans would sing and dance during the celebrations, and in fact the word
‘carol’ means a dance or a song of praise or joy.

In England in 1426, a Shropshire chaplain named John Awdley listed five

carols of Christmas written in English. These songs were likely to be sung by
wassailers. These were groups of people who would travel from house to house,
singing seasonal songs in exchange for gifts. These later became known as carol
singers, who often collect money for charity.

The Time of No Christmas

In 1649, after King Charles I was executed, Oliver Cromwell
led Britain as Lord Protector. Parliament did not approve of the
merrymaking which occurred at Christmastime so Cromwell
supported Parliament banning carol singing, Christmas
puddings, Yule logs and nativity scenes. In 1660, King Charles
II was on the English throne and Christmas was returned to
Britain once more.

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 The History of Christmas Traditions

Questions
1. Give three examples of what the author says happens at Christmas.




2. When was the first Christmas card made? Tick one. 

1840

1843

1834

3. Why was John Horsley a suitable person for Cole to work with on the first Christmas card?



4. Why were so few Christmas cards sold when they were first produced?



5. How were the fillings of mince pies different to the ones sold today?



6. Match these sentences.

The pastry case of a

were a sign of wealth.
mince pie

The pastry top represented the manger.

represented the cloths

Mince pies wrapped around the
baby Jesus.

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 The History of Christmas Traditions Questions
7. Look at the section about carol singing. What are the main impressions you have about
early carols?






8. Which King of England allowed Christmas celebrations to return in 1660?



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