Christmas (yes, I know it has gone...)

[CheekyChops]

A mate I work with was trying to convince me earlier that years ago, all shops and businesses closed down for 12 days over christmas (except petrol stations, apparently). She said that other than shops run by people of any other religion who don't celebrate christmas, even corner shops shut. I asked how people fed themselves during this period, she reckons that is where the tradition of doing a massive food shop just before christmas came from, because people knew they had to feed themselves for 12 days! I think she is dreaming this but she swears that it is true and that she can remember it. Can anyone else? I certainly can't and I am 40 whilst my friend is mid 30's.

[Bathsheba]

I think your mate is mistaken. I can remember when New Years Day wasn't a bank holiday.

[delboy3]

New Year's Day wasn't a public holiday until 1974

[CheekyChops]

I definately think she is dreaming, I said that food wouldn't last 12 days and she said it would because people put it in the freezer. Freezers weren't as widespread back then and not everybody has one now so I doubt it!!

She was also trying to tell me this christmas (2008) that Monday 29th December was a bank holiday, due to the fact that Boxing Day was on a Friday... I couldn't even be bothered to argue with her over that one!

[daniela31]

The boxing day bank holiday is only on the monday if boxing day falls on either saturday or sunday.

[CheekyChops]

Exactly... the fact that it was on a friday does NOT make the following monday a bank holiday!!

[saxy_jag]

If anything, they'd have had a shorter holiday then than now. You got Christmas Day and (if you were lucky) Boxing Day and New Year's Day (I think it was originally a holiday and then withdrawn, and then reinstated). Two days at Easter, one each at Whit, May Day and August, possibly a week's or a fortnight's industrial holiday during the summer and that was your lot.

[saxy_jag]

I meant to add - your mate may just be confusing it with the medieval tradition of the Yule log, which was lit at Christmas and would be kept burning until twelfth night.

[Ethel]

We didn't even have a fridge when I was a child, never mind a freezer and nor did most shops.
The corner shop used to close Christmas Day, but you could ring the bell if you'd run out of something vital - the family lived over the shop. Back open boxing day morning, maybe close in the afternoon if it was quiet.

[horselady]

I worked for Boots the Chemist in the late 1960's and we just had Christmas Day and Boxing Day off, nothing at all for New Year and all the shops around us were the same.

[sandmaster]

I'm 62 and can confirm your friend is dreaming. When I first started working Saturday was a working day so if Christmas fell on a Friday or Saturday we only had a three day break (i.e Fri, Sat Sun or Sat Sun Mon) instead of the 4 day break we now expect.