A British Christmas
Phil Taylor
Nowadays, Christmas is very popular all around the world, and every country
seems to have its own special way of celebrating. In many places including
Japan you will find Christmas trees and bright, colourful decorations,
but let's have a look at some of the unique things that happen in England…
Advent: the run up to Christmas
Most people wait until December to decorate their houses for Christmas,
but shops and often start displaying decorations and playing Christmas
music as early as October. People always complain that 'Christmas gets
earlier and earlier every year!'
Advent is the traditional name for the 24 days leading up to Christmas.
Many people buy advent calendars at the beginning of the month. These
are calendars with 24 small doors in them. Each day you can open a door
and find a picture or even a chocolate inside!
People start to eat mince pies (small pies filled with sweet dried
fruit, not minced meat) and Christmas cake (a fruit cake decorated
with marzipan and white icing), and drink mulled wine (warm red
wine with spices).
24th December: Christmas Eve
Although this day is not a public holiday, most companies give employees
the afternoon off. Not a lot of work gets done in the morning either,
as everyone slows down for Christmas! There are lots of Christmas parties
around this time, so people are often tired and not in the mood for work
anyway.
Most people spend the rest of the day wrapping presents or buying last
minute food and drinks, and as this is the last shopping day before Christmas,
the shops are usually very busy―packed with people who have planned their
shopping badly!
Many churches have special midnight services on Christmas Eve, and a
lot of people who never usually go to church will attend to sing Christmas
carols.
Each family has its own way of doing things, but many will encourage the
children to leave out some food and drink (usually wine and mince pies)
for Father Christmas, and sometimes a carrot for his reindeer too!
25th December: Christmas Day
The big day! Many people are surprised that everywhere is very quiet
on Christmas Day. Many restaurants and hotels have special (very expensive!)
Christmas menus and some people like to go to the pub for a Christmas
drink, but almost all the shops are shut and most people stay at home,
especially around lunchtime.
For families with children, the day starts very, very early, as kids
wake up excited and run to see what Father Christmas has brought for them.
Traditionally the presents are put inside Christmas stockings _
very large decorated socks _ but some families put the presents in a pillowcase
or just pile them under the Christmas tree.
Everyone gives and receives presents―it's not only for children, although
they probably get more than anyone else. Some families open the presents
in the morning, and some might wait until the afternoon or evening.
The main focus of the day is eating Christmas dinner. Although
it's called dinner, it's usually eaten at lunchtime. Most people eat turkey
with stuffing, gravy, potatoes and vegetables. For dessert, there is Christmas
pudding, a very rich, dark steamed pudding made with dried fruit and
usually alcohol such as brandy or rum. Some people pour extra brandy over
the pudding and set it on fire to bring it to the table.
In the UK, it is also very popular to have Christmas crackers
on the table. These look a bit like big sweets, and are made from a cardboard
tube wrapped in colourful decorated paper. One person holds one end, and
another person holds the other end. Then, they pull the cracker, and it
breaks with a small 'bang!' Inside the cracker there is a small, very
cheap toy, a (bad) joke on a piece of paper, and a paper hat. People often
wear the hats while they eat dinner, and maybe for the rest of the day
too!
After lunch, people get very sleepy and usually sit around eating snacks,
drinking and watching TV. One very special TV programme, which has been
broadcast on TV since 1957, is the Queen's Christmas message. It
is a short programme, under 10 minutes long, where the Queen talks about
some of the events of the year. It is always shown at 3pm.
26th December: Boxing Day
There are different ideas about why this day is called Boxing Day. A
lot of people think it is because rich people used to give their servants
special boxes on the day after Christmas. Nowadays, it's just another
holiday when people continue eating and drinking and perhaps visit other
family and friends.
A lot of people cook very big turkeys for Christmas, and have leftovers
which last a few more days. It's typical for people to eat turkey sandwiches
on Boxing Day.
Recently, shops have started having special sales on Boxing Day, so it
is becoming busier and busier. A more old-fashioned but still popular
thing to do is to go for family walks. You will see a lot of people walking
in the countryside, and a lot of children testing out their new bicycles
on Boxing Day.
By the 27th, people are usually back to work and looking forward to
the next holiday―New Year!
For more information and some pictures, have a look at these pages on
Wikipedia:
Mince pies: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mince_pies
Christmas pudding: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_pudding
Christmas crackers: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_cracker
Merry Christmas everyone!
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