Celebrating Christmas in the wizarding world is similar to celebrating in the Muggle world. While there are many overlapping traditions, there are also some that vary greatly.
Because wizards and witches in the world of Harry Potter have magic, they are able to create some truly fantastical Christmas traditions that Muggles can only dream of. While things, like having evergreen trees, opening presents, and eating a Christmas feast, might stay the same, the specifics of these celebrations are often different.
Here are ten wizarding Christmas traditions that Muggles wish they had.
INFINITE FOOD
When enjoying the holiday season, one of the best things about it is how much delicious food there is to eat. All during the month between Thanksgiving and Christmas, there are many holiday goodies around such as cookies and pies. And, on Christmas Day, eating a big dinner is common for many people. However, for wizards and witches, it’s a little different. They can eat as much as they want without having to worry about having enough through using spells that replenish the food.
EXCITING CHRISTMAS CRACKERS
While Christmas crackers aren’t a tradition for most United States families who celebrate the holiday, this is a commonplace thing in the UK. While Muggle Christmas crackers might be fun to pop open, wizarding ones are even better. These crackers open and explode with an exciting bang, and they are filled with strange items from full-size hats to games. This wizarding tradition is one that just can’t quite be recreated in a world without magic.
ENCHANTED DECORATIONS
There are many similarities between the ways that Muggles and wizards decorate for Christmas, but wizards and witches are able to make their decorations so much better. While Muggles decorate with things like strands of Christmas lights and ornaments, magic allows wizards and witches to decorate with things like live fairies and real owls. The magic of the wizarding world Christmas tree would definitely be something to behold.
MAGICAL GAMES
For many people, being able to enjoy the downtime of the holiday season means playing games with family and friends. Many people love to spend their days off playing video games or board games, and wizards and witches are often the same. However, the games that they play are a little different. For example, they usually play games like wizard chess and exploding snap, and the magical elements of these games make them quite exciting. The fact that the chess pieces are alive and actually attack each other would make the game much more interesting.
THE SPLENDOR OF THE GREAT HALL
While the Great Hall at Hogwarts is something that only students get to enjoy, it’s an experience that most witches and wizards in England would have been a part of at one point in their lives. The way the decorations are described in the books sounds truly splendid.
Every year, Hagrid brings in 12 large trees for the efforts and puts them up in the hall. The decorations vary slightly each year, but each time these trees are decked out in holiday cheer. Plus, with the enchanted ceiling, it would often look like a winter wonderland inside.
ENCHANTED CAKES AND SWEETS
As mentioned earlier, eating treats and sweets with family and friends is often one of the best things about the holidays. While there are a variety of delicious Muggle sweets out there, wizards and witches have some that we don’t. The wizarding candies in Harry Potter, from chocolate frogs to Bertie Botts, would make getting candy in your stocking a lot of fun. Plus, you can even enchant decorations like the snowman on top of a cake in the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix movie.
SINGING GOD REST YE MERRY HIPPOGRIFFS
This isn’t exactly a tradition for every wizarding family, but it is a great moment from the books. When Harry and the others end up spending Christmas at Grimmauld Place, Sirius is so excited that he makes up his own words to the classic Christmas carols. Also, it’s clear that wizards and witches have their own radio and likely have their own Christmas songs that Muggles don’t know about.
GIVING MAGICAL GIFTS
One of the other best things about Christmas is being able to give gifts to the people you care about. Taking time to pick out just the right gift for a loved one is often one of the best things about the holiday. In the wizarding world, giving presents on Christmas morning is also the norm for those who celebrate.
However, being able to get and receive magical gifts would be really exciting. While Harry did get an invisibility cloak once, more common gifts include things like sneakoscopes and items to help you take care of a broomstick.
USING NONTRADITIONAL CHRISTMAS TOPPERS
Another hilarious and endearing moment from the books during the Christmas season is when we see Harry and the Weasleys celebrating at the Burrow. The get-together is a joyous occasion, and one of the best moments is when Fred and George decorate the tree by exchanging the Christmas tree angel with a gnome from the garden. This is just one example of many of the fun and mischievous ways that witches and wizards could celebrate the season differently than Muggles.
DECORATING... LIKE MAGIC!
For some people, putting up the Christmas decorations is something to get excited about, but for others, it’s more of a chore. Either way, being able to use magic to put up lights and trees would definitely make the process easier as well as more intricate. You could hang lights from hard to reach places and put up multiple trees. This would make it much easier to create a scene plucked straight from a postcard.