a public holiday in the United Kingdom, nearly the whole population has the day off to be with their family and friends, so they can gather round for a traditional Christmas dinner, traditionally comprising a turkey with cranberries, brussels sprouts, parsnips, Yorkshire pudding and roast potatoes, quite like the Sunday roast, and followed by a Christmas pudding. During the meal, Christmas crackers, containing toys, jokes, and a paper hat are pulled. Attendance at a Christmas Day church service has become less popular in modern times, with fewer than 3 million now attending a Christmas Day Church of England service. The monarch releases a royal message on Christmas Day, in the form of a short programme carried on radio and television. The messages typically reflect on topics such as the year's events, the state of the royal family, and themes such as unity. The message averages 7 million viewers, and is often one of the most-watched programmes of the day on Christmas. The celebration of Boxing Day, on the day after Christmas Day, is a tradition practiced in the UK. It is a bank holiday, and if it happens to fall on a weekend then a special Bank Holiday Monday will occur. Top-level football competitions such as the Premier League have traditionally held fixtures on Boxing Day. Other traditions include carol singing – many carols are sung by children on people's doorsteps and by professional choirs – and sending Christmas cards. In public, there are decorations and lights in most shops, especially in town centres, and even in Indian and Chinese restaurants. Churches and cathedrals across the country hold masses, with many people going to midnight mass or a service on Christmas morning. Even though church attendance has been falling over the decades some people who do not go to church often think it is still important to go at Christmas, so Church attendance increases. Most theatres have a tradition of putting on a Christmas pantomime for children. The pantomime stories are traditionally based on popular children's stories such as Little Red Riding Hood and Aladdin, rather than being directly concerned with Christmas as such, although there is sometimes a link. Television is widely watched. Public transport and vital transport services are closed-down on Christmas Day. The Christmas wind-down starts early, with last trains running out of the major cities as early as 19:00 on December 24. Bus, night bus, and