Edinburgh’s Most Christmassy Shop
Can you believe it’s only ten days until Christmas?! If the Christmas spirit hasn’t found you yet then one way of locating it is to visit the iconic Olde Christmas Shoppe at 145 Canongate on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh’s Old Town. This shoppe that’s been around for nearly 20 years now is open all year round and full of the most exquisite Christmas tree and other decorations!
How the Christmas tree tradition got started
For us who view Christmas as the biggest celebration of the year it’s hard to believe that in the early 19th century Christmas was not widely celebrated at all. Many attribute the change to Queen Victoria and her husband, the German-born Prince Albert, who embraced Prince Albert’s childhood in Germany and brought a Christmas tree into Windsor Castle that they decorated themselves. In 1948 a drawing of the royal family celebrating around a Christmas tree was published in the Illustrated London News, and by the end of the century this practise had become common in Britain.
Charles Dickens’ contribution
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens was published in 1843 and helped popularise and spread the Christmas traditions we still know today, such as sending Christmas cards, decorating Christmas trees and singing Christmas carols. In short, A Christmas Carol tells the story of a bitter and miserable old man called Ebenezer Scrooge and how he transforms into a gentler and kinder person. In Dicken’s diaries he writes that the main character Scrooge springs from a grave marker he saw in 1841 during an evening walk in the Canongate Kirkyard right next to Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe! The marker said that Scrooge was a “meal man” due to his profession as a corn merchant – but Dickens misread this and thought it said “mean man”.
If you’re a big fan of Christmas then Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe is the place to go to as it is always Christmas there! When we asked the lady working in the shop if she doesn’t get tired of Christmas she said not really as the atmosphere and people are different in December and that’s when it really starts feeling like Christmas. Scroll down to see photos from inside the shop and all the fabulous decorations!
As you can see there are some stunning historical decorations as well as some lovely London-inspired ones. Which decorations do you like the most?
Stay in the middle of Edinburgh Old Town
Whether you’re visiting Auld Reekie over the holidays, the Festival or any other time of year for that matter, we have several lovely homes in the Old Town that we rent out from three nights up to six months. One of these vacation rentals is the charming and very centrally located 54 (3) St Mary’s Street – a small but perfectly formed one bedroom apartment with a newly fitted stylish kitchen. Take a look!
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