A winter wonderland or Christmas fair is a funfair held mainly in the United Kingdom around the Christmas season. A winter wonderland usually includes attractions such as a German-style Christmas market, Santa's grotto, amusement rides and ice skating rinks. Winter wonderlands range from small-scale single-day events to large city centre fairs lasting several weeks.[1]
Many British cities host winter wonderlands similar to the Christmas markets held on the European continent, with London's Hyde Park Winter Wonderland drawing over 3 million guests in 2019.[2] Independent winter wonderlands are also common, similar in format to a travelling carnival, and the often high prices and poor quality attractions at these have become notorious. Journalist Isabelle Fraser, writing in The Daily Telegraph, described "rubbish British Christmas festival" as being a "tradition", and there are regular news stories about these events.[3][4]
- ^ "How to Plan a Winter Wonderland Event". TryBooking. 24 February 2024. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
- ^ "The Royal Parks Annual Report and Accounts" (PDF). The Royal Parks. p. 12.
- ^ Fraser, Isabelle (1 December 2015). "Walking in a winter blunderland: the tradition of the rubbish British Christmas festival". Archived from the original on 25 March 2016. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
- ^ "Winter wonderlands: Where is the British Christmas going wrong?". BBC News. 9 December 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2024.