When I was in Oxford, almost all the students went home for Christmas -- for the domestic students it was easy to travel, and most of the international students were wealthy enough that the cost didn't matter to them. I came from a middle class background and flying back to Canada would have been a significant cost (especially since my scholarship came with a living allowance which was only paid while I was in the UK) so I stayed in Oxford.

My third year in college, we had a new Warden (head of college) and while he, like all the other academic staff, generally vacated the college over Christmas, he felt obliged to offer Christmas hospitality.

So he sent out an email to the entire student population: "Any students in college over Christmas are welcome to come to the Warden's Lodge for afternoon tea at 3pm on Christmas Day." -- and as I was the only student in college over the vacation, I had a lovely afternoon talking to the Warden and his wife.

Graduate students generally don't have much interaction with college academic life -- undergrads usually meet with the Warden every term, but grad students are left to the academic departments to supervise -- so it was a rare and precious opportunity.