What do people say round about this time of the year in UK? Happy Christmas covers it. However, if you also want to send New Year's greetings you should probably change it slightly. Add the two events together and you most frequently get 'Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.'
A bit more information might interest you. The big celebration in UK, and many other countries, is on Dec 25, Christmas Day, complete with roast turkey, stuffing and all the trimmings. Children open their presents very early in the morning, thanks to Santa's nocturnal descent down the chimney to deliver them. This early start does however, have the advantage that parents are left alone while the children play with the presents in the morning. Parents can then either cope with their hangovers from Christmas Eve parties or start the Christmas dinner, or both. The dinner/lunch can appear on the table any time from 1pm to 5pm according to how things go.
What about the next day, Dec 26. This is traditionally called Boxing Day - nothing to do with fisticuffs but so-called from the old word a Christmas box, or present. It was the day when, traditionally, the richer people gave their servants Christmas boxes. I can remember my father inviting the milkman in to have a tot of whisky, at about 7.30 in the morning and then giving him a small present of money. We were not, I hasten to add, rich. I used to wonder how he ever completed his round. On Dec 26 too, we (some at least) eat bubble and squeak. We will award a non-financial prize to the first person to post what they can about this dish.
Anybody got any Christmas traditions they would like to share - just post them, in English of course.
Merry Christmas to all of you!
2 comments:
That is so nostalgic about the milkman. What is it bubble and squeak?
We have in Czech republic very nice tradition with small walnut´s boats. In a half of walnut shell is attached a Christmas candle and this small boat is placed on water (in bowl). Boats with lit candles are floating and the owner of boat, which sails to the center as first, will leave in the coming year his home and go travel, while the one who keeps the boat at the edge will remain another year at home.
Bubble and squeak is a dish that people often eat at breakfast the day after Christmas Day ie on Boxing Day. You take the vegetables left over from Xmas Dinner for example, roast potatoes, brussel sprouts, swede etc; you mash them up together with a little drop of oil; you then put a drop of oil onto the frying pan and pat the 'mixture' onto the pan. You fry it until it is crisp and brown on the outside. This is served usually with cold turkey (again from Xmas Dinner), pickles and chutney, tomkatoes and beetroot. Great!
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