The celebration of Christmas in Ireland takes place over three days. On 26 December the celebration of Wren day begins. A wren dies, which symbolises the death of the old and the birth of the new. The Irish Christmas meal includes stuffed with potatoes and cranberry sauce poultry (a goose, a turkey or a duck), ham pies and Irish stew. The Irish celebrate the New year very cheerfully and massively. They open the doors of the houses so that grief, misery and adversity may leave whereas luck, love, happiness and prosperity can be attracted to their homes.

In Wales, Christmas is accompanied by rituals known from time immemorial. For northerners, the main holiday is Christmas, for southerners – New Year, therefore in the South New Year is celebrated on a large scale. A Welsh house should be decorated with holly twigs and candles. For the Welsh, the ritual of "letting in" the New Year is sacred: during the night of 31 December to 1 January, families open the back door of their houses so that all the bad things may leave. After that love, health, luck and well-being are welcomed into their homes through the open front door.

In Scotland, the holiday of New Year has its own name – Hogmanay. In 1651, the Church banned the celebration of Christmas, so everyone became passionate about New Year. As the clock chimes, the back door closes and the front door opens. It is believed that the old year should go away, and the new year enters the house. On New Year's Day, the Scots do not hire Santa Claus, but a young dark-haired male who goes from house to house just after midnight (the first-foot). Fire is a symbol of the holiday; it represents the arrival of the New Year and the departure of the old one. On that day people fill a barrel with tar, set it on fire, and roll it down the main street. In the United States, preparations for Christmas begin after Thanksgiving Day, which is celebrated at the end of November. The American culture has established many traditions of celebrating Christmas involving family, dinner, and entertainment. One of the brightest Christmas traditions is the family dinner on the eve of the holiday (Christmas Eve). All relatives gather at the table. Everyone exchanges gifts. There is even such a thing as "Secret Santa". The essence of this ceremony is that everyone takes out a piece of paper from a hat so that they can determine recipients of their presents, the name of "Santa" remaining secret.