a british christmas

A British Christmas

What do we do on Christmas?In Britain, Christmas time is spent with the family. This could be just your immediate family or your extended family with all your cousins, uncles and aunties.

Christmas time doesn´t just include Christmas day on the 25th, but also the build up and the time after. Boxing Day is the 26th and everybody has this day off work.

The build up to Christmas is a magical time. Christmas songs are played on the radio and in shops, and adverts on TV.

The most famous advert around this time is the Coca Cola advert. The original Coca Cola advert in the 1930s changed Santa from his usual green outfit to the red one he wears today.

Christmas songs

People in Britain love Christmas songs. There are the old classics like Jingle Bellsa and We Wish You A Merry Christmas, but also Fairy Tale of New York by the Pogues, Merry Christmas by Slade and last Christmas by Wham. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0A8KT365wlA

Christmas TV

Christmas TV in England is fantastic. Special editions of TV shows are shown like Doctor Who, Gavin and Stacey, Wallace and Gromit and Top of the Pops. Also Christmas films like Home Alone, Gremlins, A Christmas Carol and bizarrely…Die Hard.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xb-pX7sIjFY

Also, for really boring people there´s the Queen´s annual Christmas speech.

Presents

It´s tradition to leave presents for people under the Christmas tree, but then only open them together on the 25th. Little kids believe that Santa Claus brings their presents. He´s supposed to fly with his reindeer and come down the chimney, leaving presents. On Christmas Eve, you leave out a glass of wine and some biscuits for Santa and a carrot for his reindeer.

Also, a stocking is left out, usually above the fireplace, in which little gifts are put in.

This is a very important part of Christmas Day.

The Turkey:

Roast potatoes and roast parsnips:

Christmas Dinner

Carrots:

Cabbage:

Yorkshire Pudding:

Toad in the Hole:

Gravy:

Bread Sauce:

Cranberry Sauce:

Christmas Pudding:

And…Brussel Sprouts:

Also, we pull Christmas Crackers over Christmas dinner. Inside the Cracker, there is a party hat, a cheap item and a terrible joke.

• What do you call a blind reindeer? No eye deer.

• What do you call a fish with no eye?• FSH.

Boxing Day?

Boxing Day is the 26th of December, the day after Christmas. It´s a bank holiday and usually people stay at home with their kids, playing with their new presents.

However, on this day, there are always football games.

A White Christmas

Every year in Britain, we hope for a White Christmas. This means that there´s snow. It usually happens in Scotland, but in England it´s rare. There´s only been 8 accounts in the last 100 years of snow on Christmas Day, with 2004 being the last time.

However, it´s snowing now in Northern England, so there may be one this year.