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Celebrate the Holiday Magic in Britain

The Holidays are an ideal time to share special memories with families and friends. This year, VisitBritain, the national tourist office for England, Scotland and Wales, encourages travelers to escape for a truly unique experience in Britain.

The Christmas Spirit

The annual Dickensian Christmas takes place from December 4 - 5 in the city of Rochester in Kent, an hour south-east of London. The event honors the world-renowned author, Charles Dickens, and his connection to the city. Characters from his novels such as the Ghost of Christmas Past, Miss Havisham and Scrooge wear top hats, bonnets and other period outfits and stroll past spectators in a Grand Parade along the city’s Victorian High Street leading to the imposing castle and cathedral.

Located just outside London, Hampton Court is the setting for a Jacobean Christmas from December 27 - January 2 at the Court of James I and Anne of Denmark, the Stuart Royal Family. Revelers will enjoy dancing, music and pageantry from this period, as well as enjoy a feast, fit for a king, at the court.

Tastes of a Tudor Christmas from December 26 to January 2 takes place at the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum located in Chichester, 60 miles south of the capital. Visitors will be transported to a Christmas setting 400 years ago and sample fine Elizabethan fare, sweetmeats and warm hypocras (Tudor mulled wine), near an open fire at Bayleaf Farm.

Covent Garden Piazza, in London, has an annual Great Christmas Pudding Race on December 4. Celebrities and individuals dress in fancy costumes and participate in a relay race carrying a Christmas pudding on a tray. A Pudding Trophy is awarded to the winning team.

Winter Wonderlands

The winter wonderlands enable the young at heart to celebrate the magic of the season. In London, Somerset House Ice Rink, set against the torch-lit backdrop of an 18th century courtyard, will once again offer holiday goers opportunities to ice-skate in an historic setting in the heart of the capital.

The Festival of Angels takes place in The Quarter on December 13 - 14 in York, located 200 miles north of London. This winter wonderland includes ice sculptures, snow and other festivities.

Hampton Court Palace hosts its second annual Hampton Court Palace Ice Rink on the west front of Henry VIII’s historic red brick palace from December 4 - January 16.

In Scotland, Glasgow on Ice, which is part of the city’s Winter Festival George Square, allows visitors to enjoy the thrills of ice-skating to music in an open-air ice rink. Revelers can also relax at one of the side caf©s or shop for traditional gifts at the Christmas fair in late November 2004.

Wales is the setting for Cardiff’s Winter Wonderland from November 25 - January 9. Visitors to the Welsh capital will enjoy free entertainment and ice-skating in an open-air rink on the City Hall lawn.

Holiday Markets

Throughout the year, England, Scotland and Wales offer endless opportunities for shopping. The Holidays are no exception especially with popular markets held in cities across the countries.

York is the setting for St. Nicholas Fayre, one of the best specialty markets in the country from November 27 - 30. Visitors can purchase antiques, crafts, gifts and local produce at the market.

The Christmas Market in Lincoln from December 2 - 5 in the east of England is considered to be one of Europe’s biggest events. The market, which is situated in a cobbled square near the 12th century cathedral, has 300 stalls with a variety of gifts and produces.

Durham in the north-east of England will hold its annual Christmas Festival from December 4 - 5. The market takes place in a cobbled square and includes a craft and gift marquee and roving musicians. This area is designated a World Heritage Site with a Norman castle and cathedral situated high on rocky crags.

Princes Street Gardens, nestled near the picturesque castle in Edinburgh, Scotland, is the setting for a Christmas market, ice-skating rink, big wheel and carousel from November 25 - December 24.

‘Scott’s Selkirk’ features craft stalls and varied small shops with people in Georgian costumes from December 4 - 5 in the town of Selkirk in the Scottish Borders. The area also recalls the days when novelist Sir Walter Scott presided over its sheriff court.

The Georgian city of Bath, 116 miles west of London, holds an 11-day Christmas market from December 2 - 12. Shoppers will find more than 80 wooden chalet stalls offering wares, as well as carol singers and players meandering through the market. The city is also home to Bath Abbey and the famous Roman Baths.

On England’s south coast, Portmouth’s Historic Dockyard, home to famous battleships such as HMS Victory, has an annual Festival of Christmas from November 26 - 28. Visitors will find a traditional shopping village, Victorian tavern, festive foods, and two hundred performers in period costumes.

Ring in the New Year

Hogmanay is a unique New Year’s Eve celebration in Scotland. The celebration has a warm welcome to friends and strangers and a kiss to wish everyone good luck in the new year. The underlying belief is to clear out the vestiges of the old year and to welcome the new year with a clean slate. The world’s best New Year’s Eve celebration is Edinburgh’s Hogmanay, four days of festivities from December 29 to January 1 in the Scottish capital.

In Wales, holiday goers can experience Mari Lwyd, a truly one-of-a-kind celebration. Every New Year’s Day in Llangynwyd, near Maesteg, celebrants arrive at a house or pub with a horse. Then, a pwnco, also known as a battle of wits with songs, begins as people inside the door and the Mari party outside the door exchange challenges through rhymes. At the end of the exchange, the Mari party enters the house or pub with another song.

Another Welsh tradition is Calenning, the gift of an olive branch as a peace offering for the New Year. According to legend, the original olive branches are believed to come from the sacred groves of the Roman goddess, Strenia. This tradition, which was introduced by the Romans in the third and fourth centuries, still continues today.

The Holidays in Britain will truly create priceless memories for a lifetime. The destinations are easily accessible by airplanes, buses and trains thanks to the vast transportation links. For more information about spending Christmas in Britain, please visit the website www.visitbritain.com/usa or call (877) 899-8391 or e-mail travelinfo@visitbritain.org.