Siiilent niiight, holy niiiight...(I don't know what else to wriiite)...lalalalaa...
- evelyn motschi
- 25. Dez. 2016
- 3 Min. Lesezeit
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
England wouldn't be the same without its typical Christmas traditions!!!
During my stay here in the UK, I realized how important rites in general are and how proud the people are of owning them. So this is why I absolutely wanted to make a fact file about traditions and habits at Christmas time and here we go:-)
Number one like cinnamon bun:
Advent:
I was very surprised to recognize that this tradition is not really celebrated here... I mean it has its origin in Germany but I still found it strange that it is not common here... I have to admit that I at least saw one advent wreath in church. Yes, I am a weekly church attender now and kind of turned devout:-)
Number two like Santa's shoe:
Christmas Eve - December 24th:
Noo, forget about actual Christmas, in England it is just Christmas Eve!!
Less emphasis is placed on Christmas Eve than in other countries. Carol singing, midnight church services and going out to the pub are some of the activities that many families enjoy (sometimes all three activities can be combined into one fun night out!).
Night time on Christmas Eve though is a very exciting time for young children. It is the time when Santa or Father Christmas comes.(Not on the 6th of December). They hang up their stockings (related to the "number two rhyme"-applause please!!:-) )and go to sleep. Santa and his elves make all the toys for Christmas in his home in Greenland. On Christmas Eve he piles all of the toys onto his sleigh and rides across the sky with his 9 reindeer (Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and Rudolf!). The most famous one is Rudolf-of couurse(actually the only one I know by heart..)
Number three like Christmas tree:
Christmas Day:
This is the day on which the presents finally can be opened!!
Once the wrapping paper has been torn off all the presents, the family sits down to breakfast.
13 per cent of families always attend church on Christmas Day!
27 per cent of families sit down to watch the Queen’s Speech.(according to the Internet..)
Dinner is finally served in the late afternoon including the traditional turkey with all the trimmings.(but later more). Christmas cracker are opened during or after dinner. At the beginning I always thought that it was something to eat but in the end I found out that it is a wrapped present with a little toy, a paper crown and a joke in it..
For those who manage to stay awake, family board games are brought out. Pantomime is a big thing here!!
Of course every family has its own traditions, so it is difficult to form an overall daily routine..
Christmas cracker
Number four- more presents..more!
Boxing day:
In England Boxing Day is celebrated on December 26th and is traditionally a time to give gifts to tradesmen, servants, and friends.
It originated in medieval times, when every priest was supposed to empty the alms box of his church and distribute gifts to the poor. Wealthy people indulged in huge Christmas feasts, and when they were finished, packed up the remains of feasts in boxes and gave them out to their servants. It didn't become widely celebrated though until Victorian England.
If you are happy with these facts it is the moment where you can leave and close my blog post and do some other things like...reading a book, cooking, cleaning your room, going out for a walk-whatever!! BUT if you are a foody person such as I am you are cordially invited to scroll down the page:-)
This is how an English christmas dinner looks like:
My Christmas dinner:)
Have a lovely and peaceful holiday!!
Evelyn X
PS: I am staying at a lovely cabin in Devon with the family of my Local Coordinator.
PPS: By the way, it is stunning how much alcohol British people are able to drink!!! They already start at around half past 9 in the morning... The atmosphere is really funny though:)
PPPS: Please excuse me for my not so funny jokes in my blog post but I adapted to the British humour...
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