Curiously British Winter Traditions

Winter sunrise at Stonehenge 

Credit: Hulki Okan Tabak on Unsplash

From pagan festivals to theatrical buffoonery, Britain revels in ancient – and some very modern –  winter traditions.

Winter Solstice at Stonehenge, Wiltshire. Credit: Photo by Dyana Wing So on Unsplash

1. Stonehenge winter solstice

The shortest day of the year (otherwise known as winter solstice) is welcomed in by thousands of people at the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge. Druids and pagans gather at dawn to watch the sun rise above the ancient stones and shine into the heart of the monument.

When: This year, the solstice is happening on the 22nd rather than the 21st.
Where: Stonehenge, Wiltshire. Check the English Heritage website for opening times and Covid guidance.

2. Pantomime

Pantomime is a staple of Christmas in Britain. Theatres in towns across the country  put on  this peculiarly British tradition of broad comedy, folk tales and audience participation.

An eccentric version of a traditonal fairy story, panto is aimed at children but beloved by all generations.

It’s the combination of elaborate costumes, slapstick comedy, singalongs, risque humour, and audience back-and-forths that make this a unique experience in theatres’ calendars, and one audiences return to each year.

Like another typically British theatrical tradition, Punch and Judy, panto has its roots in mummers plays,  Italian 16th century theatre the Commedia dell’Arte and also Victorian theatrical conventions.

When: Dates throughout December until early January

Where:  At most local theatres as well as West End Venues

3. Burning the Clocks, Brighton

These two contemporary solstice festivals are in fact based on ancient midwinter rituals.

Many festivals at this time of year welcome the return of light over darkness. Brighton’s Burning the Clocks festival began in 1994 as a way to bring the community together.  Today, around 2,000 people take part (with thousands more watching) in a parade of willow and paper lanterns through the streets. Once at the beach, the lanterns are passed into a huge bonfire on the beach before a fire show and fireworks display begin.

When:  21 December 

Where:  Brighton

4. Montol, Cornwall

The Montol Festival in Penzance is a revival of typically Cornish midwinter customs. These include ‘chalking the mock’ (chalking the Cornish Yule log before burning), and Guise dancing, wearing traditional costumes and masks.

The six-day arts and community festival began in 2007 and also features beacon lighting, mummer’s plays (see below) and strolling bands.

When:  21 December
Where: Penzance

5. Kirkwall Ba Game

Ba games are played on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day in Kirkwall, Orkney, and also towns in the Scottish borders. This mediaeval football (or mob football) match sees two heaving teams – the Uppies and the Doonies in Kirkwall – wrestle for control of the leather “ba” and get it through the mass of people to the opposing side of town’s designated goal area. More like a rugby scrum than a modern football match, hands are often used to pass the ball.

Mob football also survives in a number of towns in England over Easter, Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday.

When: 25 December and 1st January
Where: Merkat Cross, Kirk Green at 1pm

6. Redcar Sword Dancing

Each Boxing Day, the red-uniformed members of the Redcar Sword Dancers head to the village  of Grantham in County Durham to perform a traditional longsword dance, just as they’ve done since 1957.

Eight decades in, this  annual and popular tradition revives a much older tradition  and includes a traditional comic folk play where one of the characters is ‘executed’ before being brought back to to life by  a doctor.

Known as mummers plays, these folk performances date from the Middle Ages when masked or disguised actors would go from house to house.

Mummers plays are still performed (often without the longsword dance) in some villages around England and Northern Ireland, and its roots can be seen in today’s pantomime.

When: 26 December
Where: County Durham

7. Stonehaven fireball ceremony 

Scotland holds a number of fire festivals on the 31st December, said to to symbolise the burning of evil spirits to welcome in the new year.

The Stonehaven fireball ceremony is one of the most well-known Hogmanay celebrations. Some 10,000 people gather to watch this unique ceremony in the small Aberdeenshire fishing  town.

As the clock strikes midnight, the Stonehaven Pipe Band lead the procession of 40 ‘swingers’ swirl great balls of fire above their heads before tossing them in the sea at the parade’s end.

When: 31st December
Where: The high street/’auld toon’ area of Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire

8. Comrie Flambeaux

The Perthshire village of Comrie marks Hogmanay by setting alight the flambeaux – hessian- wrapped 10ft poles, which are paraded through the town to ward off evil spirits. Pipers lead the procession, which ends when the spent torches are cast into the river.

When: 31st December
Where: Melville Square in Comrie, Perthshire/Tayside

Up Helly Aa. Credit: ella peebles on Unsplash

9. Whittlesea Straw Bear Festival 

If you go down to this Cambridgshire town, you’re sure of a big surprise… for straw bears gather there and dance to music.

This rural custom was revived in 1980 and attracts large crowds and participants from across the UK. They come for the pageantry of a procession featuring morris men, Mummers plays, a decorated plough,  and also men dressed head to toe in straw. The straw ‘bear’ costume is then burned on the Sunday to make way for the new harvest and bear.

The tradition comes from the custom of dressing one of the village ploughmen or boys up onthe Tuesday after Plough Monday (the first Monday after Twelfth Night) and have them dance door to door.

When: 14 January 

Where: Whittlesea, Cambridgeshire

10. Up Hella Aa, Shetland

The end of Yuletide is marked in Shetland by a spectacle with its roots in pagan tradition and the islands’ Norse past.

Up Helly Aa is a thousand-strong parade of guizers (costumed figures) in squads make their way through the streets carrying flaming torches. The procession ends with torches being  tossed into a replica Viking galley.

Each year, the head of the festival (known as the Guizer Jarl), takes the name of a figure in Norse legend and his squad wear Viking dress.

When: 31st January
Where: Lerwick, although there are local versions of  Up Helly Aa held across the islands.