Winter Holiday Traditions

Are there any traditions you have at Christmas/Hannukkah etc that you continue to do over here? Have you picked up any new ones?


Over the years I've been pretty 'Meh' about Christmas traditions. I loved them as a child though. I'm slowly trying to get back into traditions. The last two years I have vowed to watch as many Christmas specials/movies as possible starting December first. Of course it's the seventh now and I've not watched a thing...   Today though, today I will watch something. I love the old Rankin Bass claymation specials and introduced DH to them. He now awaits when we can watch the one with snow miser and heat miser. I'd like to start some really interesting fun ones though - non traditional things made tradition if that makes sense.

As far as picking up any new ones, I really haven't. I've actually not noticed any additional traditions they seem to have here that we don't already do in the US. There is carolling I guess, I have never done it but am considering it this year.* I have a low voice but I will give it a try.

Did anyone open one gift on Christmas eve? We used to do that when I was little but apparently this is bad form here - like you can't wait for your gifts. Also, we opened them first thing in the morning, but here many open them at night after Christmas dinner. What torture this must be as a kid! I've been doing the open one thing on the eve with DH.


_{*This will probably last for about five minutes before I get so cold I say 'screw this' and pack it up and go home.}  

EDIT: I just saw the other thread on Christmas stuff after making this one... awkward, sorry!

When I first got married I knocked myself out trying to cover all the traditional British foods and customs (even things not part of DH's family tradition!) plus all the things that I regarded as traditional.  So it was make a Christmas cake (refused to make pudding -- he had to buy one), make mince pies, make Christmas cookies, cranberry bread, cranberry sauce, Christmas cards to people in UK  and US, then the wretched turkey (even if we'd just had it at Thanksgiving) and all the British 'trimmings' (even made bread sauce -- blurgh), trifle (he didn't like the sherry trifle I made - wanted it with jelly  ), bought the crackers and wore the stupid hat, insisted on home-made decorations on the tree and a wreath on the door, bought booze (we never had anything stronger than cranberry juice in my family  ), etc.  It was all a jumble.

As for caroling, there are always lots of carol services in local churches or cathedrals.  Not so much neighbourly caroling from door-to-door, unless you count the urchins that garble a quick verse of "We wish you a mumble mumble" and then stick their hands out payment.

As for caroling, there are always lots of carol services in local churches or cathedrals.

Reading this gave me a chuckle and I will tell you why. I went to church quite a few times when I was young. My mom dated a man trying to find himself I guess so he took us to a new church every week, no kidding for about four months. Baptist, Catholic, etc. Then they broke up. So I'm used to how US churches work, the upbeat church songs/hymns - Ye olde saltine crackers, bread (or real communion) and grape juice. I told DH about it various foods we used as communion and he told me that is not how their churches are and that we should go to midnight mass on Christmas eve so I could experience the church here. He also mentioned they would sing Christmas songs. I love Christmas songs.

So we go and everything is completely different, I follow people's leads as to when to stand, sit, etc. Communion is different here (real booze etc) and is more elaborate. We get to the Christmas songs and I'm thrilled. These are songs I know and I felt so out of place all night. Anyway, the carols start, the familiar instrumental and then the singing.

I am singing about glory to the newborn king and everyone else is still Harking. Apparently church carols here are very slow and very somber. I tried to slow my singing down, but after a life time of having some speed to the carols I kept singing out of place.   I think I may just be too quick for a church carolling group!


It sounds like you went to an awful lot of trouble to make Christmas dinner and the Brit way! How are the Christmases now in your house? A mix of Brit/American food for dinner?

We're moving house a few days before Christmas, so this year it's not going to feel very Christmassy... no tree, decorations or presents (getting a new house, new furniture, carpets, etc was present enough!).

We are planning to go to the Watchnight service at the church on Christmas Eve.  After a long lie in our new and ridiculously expensive  bed, we'll be having Christmas lunch in a local Wetherspoons, a few beers, and then walk home to enjoy our new flat and watch TV.

But when I was a kid in Southern California, we always had the grandparents, uncles and aunties over on Christmas Eve, with massive 'grinders' (submarine sandwiches from a local Italian deli) to eat, and we opened all our presents on Christmas Eve.

On Christmas morning my mom always made cinnamon rolls and hazelnut coffee for breakfast, and then we got our great big bulging stockings to open.  

I remember also, that on 1st December, my sister and I each had a 'guess' present.  You could touch it, feel it, shake it, smell it... whatever, but you only got 1 guess per day what was in the package.  As soon as you guessed it, you could open it.   That was fun! 

EDIT: I just saw the other thread on Christmas stuff after making this one... awkward, sorry!

Don't worry, this one's better.
The other thread is all about how crap and stupid British Christmas traditions are.  All tongue-in-cheek, of course, and meant to be amusing. 

I was born and raised in the UK, so no change in Christmas traditions between countries, but we have a few family-specific things that we do.

- On Christmas Eve we have a games evening with party food - it used to just be a night of board and card games with chips and dips, but in recent years, my mum has organised theme evenings with a proper dinner. We've had Murder Mystery Dinners, a Las Vegas night and a Hawaiian night . These days though, my brothers and I have been living in different countries so we haven't had the whole family together at Christmas for 3 or 4 years, and sometimes I have to work over Christmas so I'm not there for the whole holiday (last Christmas I was living on a tropical island in the middle of the Atlantic, eating BBQ for Xmas Dinner and working night shifts!).

- We used to go ice skating on Christmas morning... Bristol Ice Rink would do a free skate session between about 11 and 2 pm, so we would leave my gran at home tending the kitchen while we went skating. Unfortunately, they started charging for it and then a couple of years ago the rink closed completely and so we couldn't go anymore. Plus, my gran is in a nursing home now, so we visit her on Christmas morning instead.

- We open our stockings in the morning, but don't have the rest of our presents until after Christmas Dinner (about 3pm). As per our childhood tradition, us kids go out for a walk while my parents hide the presents around the house and then we have a 'present hunt' in the afternoon. The rule is that we can only bring one present back to the living room at a time, and we have to hunt for our parents' presents too, while they sit on the sofa with a glass of wine . I've tried arguing that now we're all adults, maybe they should hunt for our presents and we'll sit on the sofa and drink instead .

- In the evening, we eat chocolate Brandy Snaps filled with cream, drink sparkling wine, and watch the Christmas TV specials .

I love the old Rankin Bass claymation specials and introduced DH to them.

The Island of Misfit Toys made me cry. Crap, I'm misting up now....

I grew up in El Paso, Texas which is right on the Texas-New Mexico state line and the border between the US & Mexico. Our traditions are a mixture of American/Mexican/Indian cultures. We had turkey with trimmings but also with salsas and tamales; nativity scenes with dark-skinned Mary, Joseph and Jesus; the Virgin of Guadalupe; Christmas tree lightings and luminarias placed on the downtown plaza and Santa Claus. On Christmas Day, we had Catholic Mass with "matachines", which are a dance troop from the Tigua Indians that live in our city and mariachis. My father's family lived across the border in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico and they were very poor. My mother saved stamps from the grocery store and had layaways at stores all over town so all of my Mexican cousins had a present at Christmas. We spent Christmas Eve wrapping them all.

I married an Englishman and when I moved there the "season" didn't seem as spirited. I discovered that my father-in-law was raised by a Northern Irish mother from Belfast so he was anti-religion. My mother-in-law was raised a Catholic but was thrown out of the Catholic Church for sending her kids to a Church of England school (she was the dinner lady there). Because of this, my husband hardly celebrates Christmas or Easter. It's a real change from what I was used to. Sadly, despite my best efforts, my children don't do anything special during the season. We are lucky to put up a tree.

We have been back in the US for ten years now but we live far away from any family so Christmas to us is like any other day. My MIL sends us mince pies and crackers but this year the crackers got confiscated! Oh well.

Some rules for the traditional English Christmas (Pre-Americanisation)

1. There is no such person as Santa Clause. Santa Clause is for overly commercialised foreigners. On Christmas eve, every child has a visit from Father Christmas. He's a right stingy old elf, and only leaves a new pair of woollen socks, and the occasional orange or apple.

2. Father Christmas lives in a grotto. At Christmas he moves to a tent, a replica of his grotto, in the village square to meet the children. Grotto is a misspelling of grotty.

3. No home is decorated for Christmas unless somewhere on at least one wall is a long piece of string with cards hanging from it. It is usually opposite the wall with the 3 flying ducks.

4. At least 50% of all Christmas cards available must have a robin on the front.

5. A traditional Christmas tree should replicate as much as possible what's known in other parts of the world as a 'Charlie Brown' tree. Hanging from it's 8 branches is a maximum of 24 pieces of 1950's silver tinsel, one string of 12 lights, and no more than 8 glass balls. Additional homemade decorations are allowed.

6. No decorations are allowed outside. Period. To do so would break the rule of not drawing attention to oneself.

7. One must always stand in an open doorway with a look of pleasure on ones face until the carollers have sang at least 2 verses of 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen'. Then, and only then, may one give them a coin. Paper folding money, such as a one pound note, is seen as ostentatious; so no more than 50p (if they're really good!).

8. The number 1, all time, most popular Christmas song is 'Merry Christmas Everyone', sung by Slade (Noddy Holder). It was released in 1973. The Christmas season simply could not begin until you heard this song in at least one shop, playing over the Tannoy. It become so prevalent, that if it is played today, a collective groan is heard before the ancient medieval tradition of stoning is resurrected. Noddy may have been prophetic, since it's possible he knew first hand what it was like it be stoned.

9. If one does, by the oddest chance, find themselves listening to the Queen's speech on Christmas Day, they must stand during its delivery.

10. It is obligatory to wear the gold paper hat which is contained in every cracker. A Dior dress and hours spent in the hair dressers is no excuse. You'll look ridiculous, but so will everyone else in the room. It's an English way of bonding.

11. Boxing Day is spent at a countryside Inn where the local hunt will be preparing for the days activities.  

3. No home is decorated for Christmas unless somewhere on at least one wall is a long piece of string with cards hanging from it. It is usually opposite the wall with the 3 flying ducks.

Yes! My parent still do this... the string is up in the dining room, all around the walls . Unfortunately, the number of cards on it is dwindling each year as less people send them these days.

5. A traditional Christmas tree should replicate as much as possible what's known in other parts of the world as a 'Charlie Brown' tree. Hanging from it's 8 branches is a maximum of 24 pieces of 1950's silver tinsel, one string of 12 lights, and no more than 8 glass balls. Additional homemade decorations are allowed.

My parents still have homemade decorations on their tree, including a sparkly pipecleaner Santa in his sleigh that I made when I was about 3 or 4 .

We also have a frieze on the wall depicting the Nativity story, which my mum coloured in on my behalf when I was a toddler.

6. No decorations are allowed outside. Period. To do so would break the rule of not drawing attention to oneself.

If I had it my way, this would still be true, but my brother insists on sticking tons of lights and light sculptures outside the house.

8. The number 1, all time, most popular Christmas song is 'Merry Christmas Everyone', sung by Slade (Noddy Holder). It was released in 1973. The Christmas season simply could not begin until you heard this song in at least one shop, playing over the Tannoy.

Yes, definitely !

10. It is obligatory to wear the gold paper hat which is contained in every cracker. A Dior dress and hours spent in the hair dressers is no excuse. You'll look ridiculous, but so will everyone else in the room. It's an English way of bonding.

Totally agree .

11. Boxing Day is spent at a countryside Inn where the local hunt will be preparing for the days activities.  

Still happens today - we all walk up to our high street on Boxing Morning, where about 50 horses and dogs are waiting to start the 'hunt' (they don't do a real hunt anymore though). Then we watch as they do a couple of circuits of the high street and all gallop off into the countryside .

I grew up in El Paso, Texas which is right on the Texas-New Mexico state line and the border between the US & Mexico. Our traditions are a mixture of American/Mexican/Indian cultures. We had turkey with trimmings but also with salsas and tamales; nativity scenes with dark-skinned Mary, Joseph and Jesus; the Virgin of Guadalupe; Christmas tree lightings and luminarias placed on the downtown plaza and Santa Claus. On Christmas Day, we had Catholic Mass with "matachines", which are a dance troop from the Tigua Indians that live in our city and mariachis.

Sounds wonderful!

It sounds like you went to an awful lot of trouble to make Christmas dinner and the Brit way! How are the Christmases now in your house? A mix of Brit/American food for dinner?

Hah!  We try to ignore the whole thing as much as possible!  Bah Humbug!!

It always bothered me that the tune to 'O Little Town of Bethlehem' was different.  Mind you, I quite like the British tune but it's not the Bing Crosby version.  I believe the original song was written by Rector Philips Brooks of Philadelphia and his church organist.  To my mind, the American tune is more suited to the lyrics -- more peaceful.

Some rules for the traditional English Christmas (Pre-Americanisation)

Can I register a complaint regarding the traditional English words "crimbo" and "pressies"?

Can I register a complaint regarding the traditional English words "crimbo" and "pressies"?

Some said 'crimbo' to me this weekend for the first time and the look on my face must have been pretty great because it took a good 5 minutes for my husband to stop laughing long enough to explain what the word meant.  Merry Crimbo to all and to all a good night!