Have yourself an outdoor Christmas

We don’t yet know what the rules will be on social gatherings this Christmas. But if we are allowed to get together in limited ways, the safest way to celebrate with loved ones might well be to gather outdoors.

For most, Christmas means family, food, warmth, love and friendship – at home. But fresh-air activities have historically played a key role in our midwinter celebrations. We like to gather mistletoe to hang inside the house and garland the hearth with pine cones and festive wreaths woven from foraged greenery (see page 50). For centuries, carol singers have strolled the streets performing for donations. In Scotland and parts of the north of England, neighbours set off first-footing: walking from house to house to toast the new year.

Age-old folk customs take place outdoors, too. In the Oxford suburb of Headington Quarry, for example, Morris Dancers perform the Old Mumming Play outside the