"Soviet Union. Royal Christmas Message The Queen's Christmas Message (also known as The King's Christmas Message in the reign of a male monarch, formally as Her Majesty's Most Gracious Speech) is a broadcast made by the sovereign of the Commonwealth realms to the Commonwealth of Nations each Christmas. The tradition began in 1932 with a radio broadcast by King George V on the British Broadcasting Corporation's Empire Service. Since 1952, the message has been read by Elizabeth II; today, it is broadcast on television, radio, and the Internet via various providers. The idea for a Christmas message from the sovereign"
"British Empire was first proposed by the ""founding father"" of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), John Reith, in 1922 when he approached King George V about making a short broadcast on the newly created radio service. The King declined, however, believing that radio was mainly an entertainment. Reith approached the King again ten years later, in 1932, as a way to inaugurate the Empire Service (now the World Service) and the King finally agreed after being encouraged to do so by Queen Mary and Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald. That year, George V read the first Royal Christmas Message; the King"
"by one of the founders of the BBC. Delivered annually by the monarch, it was first broadcast on BBC Radio in 1932. An alternative Christmas message was first broadcast on Channel 4 in 1993. Broadcast from 1951 to 1960, radio comedy ""The Goon Show"", starring Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan and Harry Secombe, mixed ludicrous plots with surreal humour, puns, catchphrases and an array of bizarre sound effects. The show has exerted considerable influence on British comedy and culture. As a film star Sellers in particular became influential to film actors by using different accents and guises and assuming multiple roles"
"bond tying the Commonwealth together. George's daughter, Elizabeth II, gave her first Christmas message to the Commonwealth of Nations from her study at Sandringham House, at 3:07 PM on 25 December 1952, some 11 months after her father's death. By 1957, the broadcast became televised, and, from then until 1996, was produced by the BBC; only in 1969 was no message given because a special documentary film, ""Royal Family"", had been made during the summer in connection with the investiture of the Prince of Wales. It was therefore decided not to do a broadcast at Christmas, but the Queen issued"
"look back at the first 10 years of TOTP, broadcast on 27 December. In 1975, the first of the two shows was broadcast prior to Christmas Day, airing on 23 December, followed by the traditional Christmas Day show two days later. The 1978 Christmas Day show was disrupted due to industrial action at the BBC, requiring a change in format to the broadcast. The first show, due to be screened on 21 December, was not shown at all because BBC1 was off the air. For Christmas Day, Noel Edmonds (presenting his last ever edition of TOTP) hosted the show from"
"the same artist and company, is usually broadcast around the same time. Adaptations of novels from Charles Dickens are also common around Christmas time. Along with ""A Christmas Carol"" (the most popular due to its Christmas season setting, and the message portrayed), such as ""Bleak House"" (2005), ""Oliver Twist"" (2007) and ""Great Expectations"" (2011), among others. These adaptations usually featured all-star casts. Christmas Day begins at 12 at night with the showing of Midnight Mass on the BBC. In addition, HM Queen Elizabeth II annually broadcasts a 10-minute speech on Christmas Day at 3 p.m., charting her views of the"
"was originally hesitant about using the relatively untested medium of radio, but was reassured after a summertime visit to the BBC and agreed to carry out the concept and read the speech from a temporary studio set up at Sandringham House. The broadcast was introduced from Ilmington Manor by 65-year-old Walton Handy, a local shepherd, with carols from the church choir and the bells ringing from the town church, and reached an estimated 20 million people in Australia, Canada, India, Kenya, South Africa, and the UK. While his brother, Edward VIII, abdicated just before his first Christmas as king, George"
"reduction from five sessions to three. The Christmas Lectures were first televised in 1936 on the BBC's fledgling Television Service. They were broadcast on BBC Two from 1966–1999 and Channel 4 from 2000–2004. In 2000 one of the lectures was broadcast live for the first time. Following the end of Channel 4's contract to broadcast the lectures, there were concerns that they might simply be dropped from scheduling as the channel was negotiating with the Royal Institution over potential changes to the format, while the BBC announced that ""The BBC will not show the lectures again, because it feels the"
"pieces of music from this special, as composed by Gold, were released on 21 March 2011 by Silva Screen Records. ""A Christmas Carol"" was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on Christmas Day 2010. According to overnight figures, ""A Christmas Carol"" was tied with ""Come Fly with Me"" as the second most-watched programme on Christmas Day in the United Kingdom, behind ""EastEnders"", and with an average viewership of 10.3 million peaking at 10.7 million. The final rating for BBC One was 12.11, making the episode the fourth highest rated of the entire canon since the series was"
"Blackadder's Christmas Carol Blackadder's Christmas Carol is a one-off episode of ""Blackadder"", a parody of Charles Dickens' ""A Christmas Carol"". It is set between ""Blackadder the Third"" (1987) and ""Blackadder Goes Forth"" (1989), and is narrated by Hugh Laurie. Produced by the BBC, it was first broadcast on BBC1 on 23 December 1988. Ebenezer Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson), the Victorian proprietor of a ""moustache shop"", is the nicest man in England. He is everything that Ebenezer Scrooge was by the end of the original story: generous and kind to everybody, and sensitive to the misery of others. As a result, people"
"Raymond Baxter Raymond Frederic Baxter OBE (25 January 1922 – 15 September 2006) was an English television presenter and writer. He is best known for being the first presenter of the BBC Television science programme ""Tomorrow's World"", continuing for 12 years, from 1965 to 1977. He also provided radio commentary at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, the funerals of King George VI, Winston Churchill and Lord Mountbatten of Burma, and the first flight of Concorde. Baxter was born in Ilford in Essex. His father was a science teacher. He was educated at Ilford County High School, a grammar school"
"Christmas. In the United Kingdom and on the Internet, broadcast of the Queen's Christmas message is embargoed until 15:00 GMT on 25 December. In other parts of the Commonwealth, the message is first broadcast in New Zealand at 18:06 local time by Radio New Zealand on RNZ National, then again at 18:50 by Television New Zealand on TVNZ1, in Australia by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation at 15:20 local time, and in Canada by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation at noon local time on television, 15:50 local time on CBC Radio One and 11:50 on CBC Radio Two. Outside of the Commonwealth,"
"Christmas Eve National Speech The Christmas Eve National Speech () is a broadcast by the reigning King of Spain to Spain every Christmas since 1975. The speech is aired on all Spanish TV channels. During his reign, King Juan Carlos I usually covered the main problems of the nation, such as ETA. In 2004, the speech was highly related to the 11 March 2004 Madrid train bombings; in 2006 the King discussed the need to become a united nation against terrorism (in implicit support of Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero's anti-terrorist policies) and he mentioned the increasing force of"
"The Christmas Carol The Christmas Carol is a 1949 low-budget, black and white television special narrated by Vincent Price. Compressing the Charles Dickens classic story into a half-hour, it is stated to be ""the oldest extant straight adaptation of the story"" for television. It was originally produced as a syndicated production for airing on 22 stations across the United States on Christmas Day in 1949. It was sponsored by Magnavox and represented that company's first use of television advertising. In 1952 the show was acquired by Consolidated Television Sales for further syndication. The production is considered primitive by modern standards;"
"as Advent. In Italy, former Saturnalian traditions were attached to Advent. Around the 12th century, these traditions transferred again to the Twelve Days of Christmas (December 25 – January 5); a time that appears in the liturgical calendars as Christmastide or Twelve Holy Days. The prominence of Christmas Day increased gradually after Charlemagne was crowned Emperor on Christmas Day in 800. King Edmund the Martyr was anointed on Christmas in 855 and King William I of England was crowned on Christmas Day 1066. By the High Middle Ages, the holiday had become so prominent that chroniclers routinely noted where various"
"The annual ""Nine Lessons and Carols"", broadcast from King's College, Cambridge on Christmas Eve, has established itself a Christmas custom in the United Kingdom. It is broadcast outside the UK via the BBC World Service, and is also bought by broadcasters around the world. In the Byzantine Rite, Christmas Eve is referred to as Paramony (""preparation""). It is the concluding day of the Nativity Fast and is observed as a day of strict fasting by those devout Byzantine Christians who are physically capable of doing so. In some traditions, nothing is eaten until the first star appears in the evening"
"BBC1 and BBC2 on air. A year-end Christmas show featuring a review of the year's biggest hits was inaugurated on 24 December 1964, and has continued every year since. From 1965 onward, the special edition was broadcast on Christmas Day (although not in 1966) and from the same year, a second edition was broadcast in the days after Christmas, varying depending on the schedule, but initially regularly on 26 December. The first was shown on 26 December 1965. In 1973, there was just one show, airing on Christmas Day. In place of the traditional second show, Jimmy Savile hosted a"
"Royal Institution Christmas Lectures The Royal Institution Christmas Lectures are a series of lectures on a single topic each, which have been held at the Royal Institution in London each year since 1825, missing 1939–42 because of the Second World War. The lectures present scientific subjects to a general audience, including young people, in an informative and entertaining manner. Michael Faraday initiated the first Christmas Lecture series in 1825. This came at a time when organised education for young people was scarce. Faraday presented a total of nineteen series in all. The Royal Institution's Christmas Lectures were first held in"
"the actual birthday of the monarch (presently 21 April), the official birthday of the monarch (24 May), and the birthday of the royal consort (10 June). Each year since 1932, the monarch has delivered the Royal Christmas Message to the British Commonwealth (later the Commonwealth of Nations); originally broadcast on the British Broadcasting Corporation Empire Service, it is today shown in Canada on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation television and radio. There are hundreds of places named for Canadian monarchs and members of the Royal Family all across Canada. No individual has been more honoured than Queen Victoria in the names"
"on Christmas Day and New Year's Day in the UK) aired on ABC1 at 7:30pm Sundays on 14 and 21 February. In 2010 the gap between UK and Australian broadcasts was reduced to just two weeks. ABC1 aired the first episode of Series 5, ""The Eleventh Hour"" starring Matt Smith in his first full story as The Eleventh Doctor, at 7:30pm on Sunday 18 April. Each episode of the series could also be viewed on the ABC's iView website two days prior to the television airdate. In an unprecedented move, the 2010 Christmas Special ""A Christmas Carol"" aired on ABC1"
"Alternative Christmas message The alternative Christmas message is a message broadcast by Channel 4 since 1993, as a sometimes humorous and sometimes serious alternative to the Royal Christmas Message of Queen Elizabeth II. Since 1993, Channel 4 has broadcast an ""alternative Christmas message"" usually featuring a contemporary, often controversial celebrity, delivering a message in the manner of Her Majesty. This tradition started by accident when, running a series of programmes on 'Christmas in New York', the channel invited Quentin Crisp to give an alternative message – playing on the pejorative term 'queen' meaning a very feminine male homosexual. In contrast"
"studio director at the BBC. They had one daughter. Peters died on 26 July 2016, aged 90. Sylvia Peters Sylvia Lucia Petronzio (26 September 1925 – 26 July 2016), better known as Sylvia Peters, was an English actress, and from 1947 to 1958 a continuity announcer and presenter for BBC Television. She introduced the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, and later advised the Queen as she prepared for her first televised Christmas Message in 1957. Peters was born in Highgate, north London, to Romelo Petronzio, an Italian who owned a clock-making business, and Ethel Edwards, an English ballet"
"the era of Revolutionary France, Christian Christmas religious services were banned and the three kings cake was renamed the ""equality cake"" under anticlerical government policies. In the UK, Christmas Day became a bank holiday in 1834, Boxing Day was added in 1871. In the early-19th century, writers imagined Tudor Christmas as a time of heartfelt celebration. In 1843, Charles Dickens wrote the novel ""A Christmas Carol"" that helped revive the ""spirit"" of Christmas and seasonal merriment. Its instant popularity played a major role in portraying Christmas as a holiday emphasizing family, goodwill, and compassion. Dickens sought to construct Christmas as"
"immigrants in Spain and appreciated their contribution to the economy. Christmas Eve National Speech The Christmas Eve National Speech () is a broadcast by the reigning King of Spain to Spain every Christmas since 1975. The speech is aired on all Spanish TV channels. During his reign, King Juan Carlos I usually covered the main problems of the nation, such as ETA. In 2004, the speech was highly related to the 11 March 2004 Madrid train bombings; in 2006 the King discussed the need to become a united nation against terrorism (in implicit support of Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez"
"symbolic of Scrooge's change of heart. The revival of the Christmas Carol began with William Sandys's ""Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern"" (1833), with the first appearance in print of ""The First Noel"", ""I Saw Three Ships"", ""Hark the Herald Angels Sing"" and ""God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen"". In 1843 the first commercial Christmas card was produced by Henry Cole, leading to the exchange of festive greeting cards among the public. The movement coincided with the appearance of the Oxford Movement and the growth of Anglo-Catholicism, which led a revival in traditional rituals and religious observances. In the UK, the Christmas"
"are ""We Wish You a Merry Christmas"", '""O Come All Ye Faithful"", ""The First Noel"", ""God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen"", ""The Holly and the Ivy"", ""I Saw Three Ships"", ""Deck the Halls"", ""In the Bleak Midwinter"", ""Joy to the World"", ""Once in Royal David's City"", ""Hark! The Herald Angels Sing"", ""What Child Is This?"", ""Good King Wenceslas"", ""Here We Come A-Caroling"" and ""While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks"". A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols held in King's College Chapel, Cambridge was introduced in 1918 and first broadcast on the BBC in 1928. The service is broadcast around the world. The"
"of the morning transmission during the Christmas period. Carol Symphony Carol Symphony is a collection of four preludes, written by Victor Hely-Hutchinson in 1927. It had its first performance on 26 September 1929 at a promenade concert at the Queen's Hall which was broadcast live on the BBC's 2LO, with other music by Elgar, Vaughan Williams and Percy Pitt. It was conducted by the composer. It is based on four Christmas carols, given additional orchestration and counterpoint arrangements. The four movements are written to be played uninterrupted consecutively. Two sections from the ""First Nowell"" section were used for the 1943"
"Day To Remember Day To Remember is a British Christmas television play first transmitted 9.45pm Sunday 21 December 1986 on Channel 4 from Television South Production in association with the ""Theatre of Comedy Entertainment"". Written by Jack Rosenthal it stars George Cole and Rosemary Leach. Again the strength of Rosenthal's comedy play lies with his closeness to the tragedy as it was based on his own experiences with his father-in-law. The pain and terror of dementia portrayed is contained and balanced by the comic presentation that beset the old. When Jack Rosenthal finally wrote his memoirs ""An Autobiography in Six"
"as Christmas is to the winter solstice; because of this the Annunciation and Christmas were two of the four ""quarter days"" in medieval and early modern England, which marked the divisions of the fiscal year (the other two were Midsummer Day, or the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, on 24 June, and Michaelmas, the feast day of St. Michael, on 29 September). When the calendar system of Anno Domini was first introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in AD 525, he assigned the beginning of the new year to 25 March, because according to Christian doctrine, the age of grace began"
"grandmother in 1843, sold at auction for £22,500. Henry Cole Sir Henry Cole (15 July 1808 – 18 April 1882) was a British civil servant and inventor who facilitated many innovations in commerce and education in 19th century in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Cole is credited with devising the concept of sending greetings cards at Christmas time, introducing the world's first commercial Christmas card in 1843. Henry Cole was born in Bath the son of Captain Henry Robert Cole, then of the 1st Dragoon Guards, and his wife Lætitia Dormer. He was sent in 1817 to"
"maintain on-air anonymity. In 1937, he was the commentator for the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, the first-ever BBC live outside television broadcast. The BBC had only taken delivery of its first Outside Broadcast unit which consisted of several vans two days before the Coronation. Despite no-one having any experience of operating it was placed at the top of Constitution Hill to catch the Royal Carriage as it went past. A message was sent to the King asking him to give a special wave for the camera. Grisewood was the commentator though as the number of television"
"by the Hanoverians. Queen Victoria as a child made note of it in her diary for Christmas Eve 1832; the delighted 13-year-old princess wrote, ""After dinner ... we then went into the drawing-room near the dining-room ... There were two large round tables on which were placed two trees hung with lights and sugar ornaments. All the presents being placed round the trees.."". Since the first commercial Christmas card was produced in London in 1843, cards are sent in the weeks leading up to Christmas, many of which contain the English festive greeting ""Merry Christmas"". On Christmas Day, a public"
"in the early years of the 20th century, and modern dictionaries consider the terms Father Christmas and Santa Claus to be synonymous. The custom of merrymaking and feasting at Christmastide first appears in the historical record during the High Middle Ages (c 1100–1300). This almost certainly represented a continuation of pre-Christian midwinter celebrations in Britain of which—as the historian Ronald Hutton has pointed out—""we have no details at all."" Personifications came later, and when they did they reflected the existing custom. The first known English personification of Christmas was associated with merry-making, singing and drinking. A carol attributed to Richard"