tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568251064562970131.post4714715318584910882..comments2024-03-09T03:12:20.271-08:00Comments on American Expat in London: Christmas in London~kristinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05012051767659804818noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568251064562970131.post-44197776204307912802012-04-12T14:30:04.267-07:002012-04-12T14:30:04.267-07:00Another good entry. One thing you forgot to mentio...Another good entry. One thing you forgot to mention is that it would be disappointing if the joke from the cracker was anything but terrible!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568251064562970131.post-46577851235130054402011-07-28T02:10:25.902-07:002011-07-28T02:10:25.902-07:00I enjoyed this story. So you are from NC, whereab...I enjoyed this story. So you are from NC, whereabouts? I am from Durham and work in Hillsborough. I have a feeling you are not from one of the major cities here. Just my guess. Do you have many NC followers? You've got one now! xD I love crackers too and it was fun spending Christmas once with a group of Brits. I quite enjoyed myself!in-the-anomalyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02903521498516761495noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568251064562970131.post-55323649160288323112011-01-06T09:23:24.579-08:002011-01-06T09:23:24.579-08:00@Anonymous #2..thanks for the commentary-I laughed...@Anonymous #2..thanks for the commentary-I laughed outloud at your cranberry sauce bit in particular. As someone who considers cranberry sauce a proper 'side veg' 24/7/365 (I usually get a can at T-Giving & Xmas *just* for myself...), this really hit home.<br />Thanks also for the extra commentary on the cricket game-I was aware, but didn't think anyone reading would actually know what I was talking about! :) After such an eventful test series, though I'm still learning the lingo, I can say I've come to enjoy watching the game-I'm really looking forward to this Summer's games and hope to snag a ticket or two along the way.<br />@Gennifer...we ended up having a very traditional British Xmas-sprouts included. :) Since T-Giving was 'america all the way', it felt wrong to be here & not fully embrace the British Xmas/Food traditions 100%.~kristinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05012051767659804818noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568251064562970131.post-51913881250719903102011-01-05T06:53:25.168-08:002011-01-05T06:53:25.168-08:00I've just found this via Pond Parleys and inad...I've just found this via Pond Parleys and inadvertantly got myself hooked on another expat blog! (I'm British but have several expat friends and relatives in the USA so have an interest in the culture comparison.)<br /><br />If I might throw in a few comments:<br /><br />Although cranberry sauce is now common it is a relatively recent arrival. There's a great scene in the film Shadowlands where C.S. Lewis has American guests (or maybe wife by that part of the film) and speaks with his cook:<br />C.S. Lewis: Have you got any cranberry sauce, Mrs. Young?<br />Mrs. Young: Cranberry sauce, what's that?<br />C.S. Lewis: Well, it's a sauce made from... cranberries.<br />Mrs. Young: Well, you find me some cranberries, Mr. Lewis, and I'll sauce them.<br /><br />Although Australia is our longest standing and most hearfelt cricketing opponent we don't play them every year. And as cricket is a summer / dry season game we never play them here at Christmas. They were here last summer. This summer we host Sri Lanka and India and next January to March we will be playing in Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Other years we could be in New Zealand, the West Indies or South Africa. <br /><br />The other (similar) idea on the name Boxing Day is that churches opened alms boxes where donations had been made for the poor and distributed the cash. <br /><br />For some reason asking if we 'celebrate' Boxing Day and Christmas Day didn't sound quite natural British English to me. Chewing it over I think my gut feeling was because a) in general we'd say we celebrate Christmas and Boxing Day is just part of that and b)the things typically associated with Boxing Day itself aren't that celebratory. <br /><br />Typical things different people might do on Boxing Day include a) waking up late, bloated and hungover after the Christmas Day binge and slobbing out all day b) seeing the set of in-laws / divorced parent they didn't have Christmas dinner with c)watching sport, particularly football or horse racing d)having a wholesome detoxing walk e) hitting the sales (a recent development, generally large shops didn't open on Boxing Day and not all do now.) f) maybe go out to other entertainment such as a pantomime (see http://separatedbyacommonlanguage.blogspot.com/2010/12/pantomime.html) or film. Bear in mind on Christmas Day just about every business other than some restaraunts and pubs will be closed, so the going out starts again on Boxing Day.<br /><br />As for Merry Christmas, I think it's not just a question of pc or not, but a bigger difference in culture. It's summed up by an anecdote I heard on the radio once. A Londoner mentioned that a German friend of his was astonished that the Underground didn't operate on Christmas Day,whereas equivalent public transport in Germany would do. The German said "I didn't realise you were so devout". I had to laugh, because it isn't religious devotion that's stopping the work it's that Christmas Day is THE holiday of the year. Whereas America has de jure separation of church and state, to a far larger degree we have de facto separation of religion and culture. (I should add for persective I'm a volunteer lay minister in the Church of England and was preaching on Christmas Eve and morning!) There is a Christian celebration going on as well, but primarily Christmas is a *British cultural* thing about turkey / presents / office parties / Queen's Speech etc.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568251064562970131.post-82467887404939521142011-01-03T16:15:33.678-08:002011-01-03T16:15:33.678-08:00people outside of the US aren't as uptight abo...people outside of the US aren't as uptight about being PC as Americans are. Most of us figure being overly PC about certain things makes them into a bigger deal than they are or need to be and that everyone should just chill out. re saying Merry Christmas instead of Happy Holidays as an American would- its just another example of US uptightness. Saying Merry Christmas to someone in a country that was founded by Christians and where the majority of the population are still Christians of some sort is not nor should it be offensive. I figure if a person comes from a non Christian country or is non Christian and they are living in a country where the majority is and they get their knickers in a wad and want to sue over someone daring to wish them a Merry Christmas they might want to have a good look at themselves. And catering to a minority like this creates unfairness for everyone else because talk eventually turns to banning Xmas in schools and not allowing mangers to be part of Xmas displays etc. <br /><br />sorry if this sounds overly rant likeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568251064562970131.post-29501507101017023532011-01-01T19:32:58.086-08:002011-01-01T19:32:58.086-08:00What did you and Simon end up having for your own ...What did you and Simon end up having for your own Christmas meal? I've never met a cheese I didn't like, I'm glad to see that carries over. I just tried blueberry stilton for the first time a couple weeks ago and LOVED it! This week I'm trying to make broccoli and brie soup. <br />Do people celebrate both Boxing Day and Christmas Day, or just one or the other?Gennifer with a Ghttp://gennshandbasket.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568251064562970131.post-24864915310376928692010-12-31T12:09:53.974-08:002010-12-31T12:09:53.974-08:00Thanks for clearing that up-it does sound convinci...Thanks for clearing that up-it does sound convincing, or at least like it makes sense!Barbarahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09427415191530966075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568251064562970131.post-4564877027688183662010-12-31T05:30:00.493-08:002010-12-31T05:30:00.493-08:00@Barbara, I had to ask my fiancee, Simon (aka purv...@Barbara, I had to ask my fiancee, Simon (aka purveyor of all British culture :)) and he said that 'boxing day' originated from when, the day after Xmas, the servants were given presents (in boxes) from their employers. Since the servants were working on Xmas day, the day after Xmas was when they celebrated-and opened their presents in boxes!<br />Sounds convincing to me! :)~kristinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05012051767659804818noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-568251064562970131.post-63849456630147446882010-12-29T06:17:00.070-08:002010-12-29T06:17:00.070-08:00OK, so you're living in England, so tell me, w...OK, so you're living in England, so tell me, what IS Boxing Day anyway?? I'm in Tanzania, which retains some British-ness in customs around holidays, and they told me it's because of all the boxes from the gifts and it's not meant for hitting each other. But I dont' think that's really it...Barbarahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09427415191530966075noreply@blogger.com