Friday, January 9, 2009

A total of 30 million Brits have foreign ancestors, with 23% originating from Ireland

One in five Brits is of French or German descent with more than half able to trace their roots to outside the UK, according to social history website Ancestry.co.uk. Brits practice a variety of foreign traditions over Christmas. Decorating the Christmas tree is a German custom for example, while eating Christmas Turkey is American, and kissing under mistletoe is a Scandinavian tradition. Britain's foreign descendants originate from the following countries (in percentage):

1. Ireland (23%)

2. France (10%)

3. Germany (9%)

4. Scandinavia (6.5%)

5. Canada (5%)

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