A Very Merry UK Christmas!

Lately, a lot of people have been asking me how Christmas in England compares with the US. Here are a few of my observations:

First of all, commercialism isn't quite as bad as it is in the States. There are certainly commercials on TV and ads in the paper, but it doesn't seem to be so much "in my face," if that makes any sense.

Secondly, people decorate their houses, but there are no Clark Griswolds over here. Very few people have lights on the outside of their houses, and I only saw one of those blow up Santas in someone's front yard.

Christmas dinner for most people in England is turkey. Goose is in the running, as well. And for dessert, everybody has mincemeat pies and Christmas Pudding. I didn't really know what mincemeat pies were, so I bought some for us all to try. About a century ago, these pies were really made with minced meat. But now, they are filled with a raisin/fig/date mixture. I thought they were okay... not great, but okay.

Christmas pudding is such a big deal around here; very traditional. Apparently, you make this dessert (which is actually like a cake), about 6 weeks before Christmas. It's a dark cake, kind of molasses-ey, and filled with dried fruits (raisins, cherries, etc.) and nuts. After you prepare it, you load it up with brandy, and let it soak until Christmas. Then on Christmas day, you're supposed to steam it, then pour more brandy over it, and set it on fire! What a show, huh?! Anyway, I did not go to all that trouble. I bought one at the local supermarket for us to try, and I microwaved it. No flames. And to be quite honest, it both looked and tasted like a pile of crap. Sorry to be so blunt, but it's true. At least we can say we tried it.

Another tradition here is the Christmas cracker. A Christmas cracker is a tube that pops when you pull it open. It usually contains a paper crown, a joke, and some kind of trinket. Our trinkets included a small deck of cards, a sewing kit, a mirror, a squirt gun, etc. We popped ours before dinner. We all had fun sharing our jokes during the meal, and we looked so dashing wearing our crowns.

Another difference here is that everything is open on Christmas Eve, but closed on Boxing Day (12/26). The day after Christmas in the States is one of the biggest shopping (or at least, returning) days of the year, but here, everything is closed. What is Boxing Day, you ask? We've heard different explanations, but the most boring and truest one is that its the day that people box up their Christmas decorations.

So, those are a few differences I observed. As a whole though, it seems that the Brits celebrate Christmas much like Americans do.