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When was Christmas a public holiday in Scotland?
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When did Christmas become a public holiday?
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Christmas Day was made a public holiday in 1958 [12] in Scotland, Boxing Day only in 1974. [13] The New Year's Eve festivity, Hogmanay, was by far the largest celebration in Scotland. The giftgiving, public holidays and feasting associated with mid-winter were traditionally held between 11 December and 6 January.
- Neolithic Solstice
- Viking Yule
- Christianity Arrives
- A Forbidden Celebration
The festive period stems from an acknowledgement of the Winter Solstice; the shortest day in the calendar. In around 2700 BC the Neolithic people built Maeshoweon Orkney. For three weeks before and after the Winter Solstice, the setting sun shines all the way down the stone-built entranceway into the chambered cairn, casting light onto its far wall...
Vikings began raiding Scotland in the late 700s AD. They later settled, bringing their own way pre-Christian way of celebrating the Winter Solstice, which they referred to as Jól (which became known as Yule in Scotland). Yule was celebrated for at least 12 days, and is believed to have been a way of honouring ancestors in the darkest time of the ye...
Yule gradually became a Christian celebration (what we refer to now as Christmas) in all areas where the Church held authority, but in 1560Scotland split from the Catholic Church in a period known as the Scottish Reformation. This split provoked a change in religious thought, and any activity that could be seen as extravagant, or as celebrating sup...
In 1583 the Glasgow Kirk at St Mungo’s Cathedral (also known as Glasgow Cathedral) ordered the excommunication of those who celebrated Yule, whilst elsewhere in Scotland, even singing a Christmas carol was considered a serious crime. After years of build-up, finally in 1640 an Act of Parliament of Scotland made the celebration of Yule illegal. This...
Dec 25, 2023 · While public opinion became more positive during the Victorian era, it actually wasn't until 1958 that Christmas Day was made an official public holiday in Scotland.
- Alexander Smail
Dec 23, 2021 · History tells us that Christmas was not celebrated to any great degree in Scotland for centuries and it was only as late as 1958 that Christmas Day became a public holiday in Scotland. Boxing Day didn’t get public holiday status until 1974, so the whole Christmas Festival extravaganza is quite a recent development in historical terms.
- Hamish Macpherson
Dec 23, 2021 · Christmas Day finally became a public holiday in 1958. It wasn’t until in 1974 that Boxing Day became a public holiday as well. People had been accustomed to working on Christmas Day.
Dec 19, 2023 · Though Christmas was celebrated in other parts of the United Kingdom, it wasn’t an official public holiday in Scotland until 1958. The Victorians were responsible for bringing Christmas back to Scotland. This means that 2022 will only be Scotland’s 65th Christmas holiday in 382 years!
Dec 12, 2023 · Yet, despite festivities growing in popularity, Christmas Day wasn’t made a public holiday in Scotland until 1958! Now how’s that for a piece of festive history? To visit The Real Mary King’s Close this December, click here for our times, tours and prices.
