By Martha Thornycroft
Kitschy and Christmas go hand in hand when it comes to a British Christmas. Supermarkets pour millions into emotionally charged Christmas adverts; almost unbearably cheesy television Christmas specials fill the tv guide, and children delight in the overblown chaos of pantos. With its excess of garishly coloured tinsel, tacky decorations and loud multicoloured twinkly lights, this time of year is certainly not for the faint-hearted. It’s one of the few moments in the year where it’s culturally acceptable to forgo ‘good taste’ and embrace the madness – and the Christmas jumper is no exception. Indeed, the more gaudy, the better.
Americans may have popularised the idea of ‘ugly Christmas sweater parties’, but there’s something quintessentially British about the Christmas jumper. In the US, the focus is on deliberately wearing something tacky; in the UK, the festive charm lies in the jumper itself – its tastelessness is part of the fun, not the point. Perhaps it’s something to do with the British love of self-deprecation: only the British royal family would agree for their Madame Tussauds wax figures to be decked out in garish seasonal jumpers for the 2016 Save the Children’s Christmas Jumper Day campaign. Since December 2012, schools, offices and universities have embraced this fashion folly in the name of charity. But beyond its charitable purpose, the fundraising day serves an equally important role: connecting and bringing people together during the festive period.
The more gaudy, the better
This seasonally iconic item of clothing cuts through the seriousness of daily life, bringing silliness and joy into otherwise mundane moments. Even for Scrooges, who reluctantly dig their Christmas jumper out of the back of their wardrobe, few things are more pleasing than seeing a haughty lecturer or stuffy senior colleague brought down to everyone else’s level by festive folly. There’s something inherently humbling about wearing a jumper adorned with a sequined reindeer or blinding LED lights. All the same, by putting on that tacky jumper, you are subscribing to this festive tradition and the message that comes with it: to be more carefree and celebrate the simple pleasures of life – social connection, shared joy and gratitude. After all, this is what Christmas is fundamentally about.
Christmas is, of course, a time of nostalgia, and being given the green light to embrace silliness in all its excess is one of the closest things to feeling like a child again. While donning a Christmas jumper can never fully recapture the wide-eyed anticipation of Christmas that we felt as children, it bridges the gap between past and present Christmases, evoking festive memories – both joyful and bittersweet. In the end, we Brits are all just big kids at heart, waiting for an excuse to revel in the naff festive madness, and Christmas Jumper Day provides the perfect opportunity to do so.
Image Credit: Mutney via Wikipedia Commons
