December 22, 1998. Copyright, 1998, Graphic News. All rights reserved

CHRISTMAS COMES BUT ONCE A YEAR Ð AND COSTS £20bn
By Margot Nesdale

LONDON, December 22, Graphic News: THE British will nosh their way through 13 million turkeys this Christmas topped off with a staggering 25 million plum puddings.
They will gorge 300 tonnes of Stilton, washed down with 250 million pints of beer, 35 million bottles of wine and 10 million bottles of spirits.
The average family Christmas will cost £935, according to the Food and Drink Federation. Overall, the UK spends £1.6 billion on Christmas food and drink, and a total of £20 billion on celebrating the big day.
This penchant for self-indulgence can largely be blamed on our middle class Victorian ancestors. 
Many of the Victorian rituals associated with Christmas, including lighting the pudding, kissing under the mistletoe and decorating the tree, have stood the test of time.
The Victorians revived an old, Viking tradition by naming the jovial, gift-bearing figure in their midwinter festival Old Father Christmas.
American cartoonist Clark Moore invented a new look Christmas giver Ð Santa Claus Ð in the 1820s. When the red furry elf arrived with his reindeer in Britain around 1870, the Victorians combined him with their version to create the cuddly man we know today.
Around seven million children in the UK will treat Santa to a mince pie and a drink on Christmas Eve and many will leave carrots for the hungry reindeer.
The Christmas tree Ð once considered a pagan German invention Ð was popularised by Prince Albert in 1848. The custom caught on after Prince Albert returned with a fir tree from his native Germany for the family Christmas at Windsor Castle.
The Victorians revived the ancient, pagan custom of bringing evergreens into the home, and decked their halls with wreaths and garlands. 
The Christmas card first made an appearance in 1843, when Sir Henry Cole commissioned a member of the Royal Academy to design one for his friends, although the custom of sending cards did not really take off until the 1870s.
The early 1840s saw the invention of the first Christmas cracker. Pastry chef Tom Smith took its shape from packaged French sweets known as bon-bons (British sweets were unwrapped in those days). He added paper hats , trinkets , jokes, and the ÔbangÕ, using saltpetre and a friction-strip and the hugely popular ÔcosaquesÕ became known as crackers in the 1920s.
While the turkey has muscled its way on to the Christmas table ahead of traditional fare like roast beef, pork and ham, it is a relative newcomer to the menu.
It became popular around 1898 Ð previously the middle-classes had enjoyed roast swan, goose, peacock or pheasant at Christmas time.
The Victorians also gave us Christmas pudding, traditionally made on Ôstir-up SundayÕ at the beginning of Advent. Traditionally it was stirred from east to west in honour of the three wise men and each family member gave the pudding a stir and made a secret wish.
/ENDS

Sources: Food and Drink Federation, Max-Kade German-American Centre