Have yourself a merry little Brit-mas
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The UK has some lovely Christmas traditions. You can add a British touch to your family’s holiday in the USA with ease.
Christmas Crackers
It’s just not Christmas without a cracker! Traditionally opened directly following Christmas dinner, the cracker often contains a paper crown, a joke and a small toy or trinket. You can find lots of different kinds of crackers. There are ones for kids, ones for adults and some have a fun family game. If you’re looking for an easy way to introduce your family to British traditions over the holidays, this one is definitely worth a try!
Here are a couple of my personal favourites.
2. Food!
Mince Pies
Traditional mince pies are made of mincemeat (a mix of fruit, spices and suet - an animal fat). The original tradition was to eat one mince pie on each of the 12 days of Christmas to ensure a new year filled with joy and good health.
You can get these scrummie mince pies on Amazon!
Christmas Pudding
Not to be confused with a boring fruit cake, a Christmas pudding is traditionally served with Christmas dinner and is full of sweetened dried fruit. You can find some fun twists on a traditional Christmas pudding or opt for a traditional one as shown below.
Chocolate Yule Log
While this is technically part of the French and Belgian Christmas traditions, it’s been adopted by many families in the UK. This is mainly because it’s basically the same as a Swiss Roll, which is a firm favourite in the UK. If cake with fruit in it is not your thing, give this one a try!
3. Roasting chestnuts on an open fire
…jack frost nipping at your nose…
Just picture it. You’re walking down the bustling streets of downtown London. The street lamps come on. Your Christmas shopping is all done. And then you smell it. It’s savoury and alluring and you’ve got to have it! It’s roasted chestnuts!
Or! Save yourself from the slightly bitter taste and try this candle that will give you all of that lovely smell of the roasted chestnuts!
4. Something to watch
Brits watch two things during Christmas:
1. A Panto
A pantomime (or Panto) is a play that is usually family friendly. It’s a nice trip out for the whole family to visit a local community theater to see a play! It doesn’t need to be A Christmas Carol or The Nutcracker. It can be literally any play at all!
2. The King’s speech
Every year, the King’s (or, as it used to be, Queen’s) speech comes on the BBC. In America, you can catch this on You Tube!
5. Say Happy Christmas
When you stop to think about it, nobody says “merry” any other time of the year. So why would we say it during Christmas? Well, the Brits don’t! They say Happy Christmas!
Still looking for even more Christmas traditions?
Even after all this? Try this book!
