As a holiday-loving family, we are excited about December’s arrival. Boy! Has England not disappointed us for Christmas Season. Christmas Markets, Christmas train rides, Christmas kid events, Christmas-themed food in grocery stores (as early as October). It goes on and on and on. While it’s only our first Christmas season abroad, we wanted to share some initial impressions of Christmas-related traditions and customs for anyone who has the Christmas curiosity spirit.
Santa versus Father Christmas
It feels like people use the terms synonymously. However, after receiving an email from our English Heritage membership, we learned the characters are not the same. They explain the difference in their article. I will say, as an adult, it does sound pretty exciting to spend the Christmas season with Father Santa 😉 As long as the festivities can end before 9 pm. I can’t hang like I used to. I’d be crazy to start a turf war between Santa and Father Christmas…so Santa, if you’re reading, we’re still planning to leave a carrot out for Rudolph and appreciate your service to the Christmas spirit!
Christmas Carnivals
During the Christmas season, you will find carnival-like setups. Think scrambler, Ferris wheel, etc. I doubt the actual name is Christmas Carnivals, but that’s what they remind us of because our past experiences associate those rides with hot, muggy weather, Fourth of July, and County/State Fairs. The Pavlov puppies conditioning throws you for a loop when you see it in December! Has anyone else experienced anything different like that? It keeps us on our toes! To help give you a visual, here is a far-away picture of The North Pole in Cambridge.
Christmas Markets
I’m sure you know about Christmas markets and how popular they are in Europe. Different stalls have food, sweets, chocolates, spirits, and other items to buy. We checked out the one in Manchester and tried some Austrian scrambled pancakes, called Kaiserschmarrn, drizzled in chocolate sauce (yum). Can’t forget the fried chicken and chips (aka fries) and Yorkshire pudding filled with meat, potatoes, and other veggies.
The kids also tried some sourdough pizza from a Sicilian crew. The gentlemen were super nice! In the five minutes we were there, so many different people came and spoke in what I thought was Italian at the time. So, I got brave enough to ask if I could practice my Italian to order. At least the phrases we learned a few years ago on our trip to Rome and Cinque Terre. They charmingly obliged. Then after I finished, helped coach me on what I was supposed to say for next time (LOL!!). So now I wonder if it was Sicilian they spoke, or if my Italian just really went downhill. Either way, I’m proud enough for trying to embrace the spirit of communicating in a different language!
While we only went to the Manchester market for an evening, we learned the markets take place from mid to late November and through the holiday season. Some markets have Christmas “carnivals” as we mentioned earlier and others can be more simplistic. You can also find some places to grab a beer, gin, or mulled wine and socialize with others. Sometimes you can listen to music while you enjoy your food or drink. Markets can be spread throughout the city or concentrated in one area. We hope when COVID isn’t a high concern, we will be able to explore more Christmas markets in Europe!
Christmas Lights
Okay, before you eye-roll and think, “Christmas lights are universal,” hear me out on this. We know this to be true in many places in the world. However, upon reflection, we noticed Christmas lights are very car-centric in the US. At least from our experience. We acknowledge that this isn’t the case in every region of the US (or even within a state). For us though, the traditional ways to see Christmas lights included driving around the neighborhood or going to a park where it is a drive-through. We do acknowledge that over the past few years there seems to be a growing trend to providing more Christmas lights by foot.
In England, experiencing Christmas lights by foot seems much more common practice and grand. If you go to a National Trust, an English Heritage site, or other places, you can experience a walking trail full of lights and decorations. You can view an estate lit up with lights. Tickets usually go on sale in the early fall and sell out quickly! Some places sold out by the time we arrived in the UK. Luckily, we snagged some off-peak tickets (aka not quite dark out). We haven’t gone yet and so can’t provide personal commentary. We can give you an update later!
Magical Children Experiences
A lot of different organizations here put on a whole adventure for children. We went to Audley End Railway with Hedgehog one day while Lil Fox was at school. Keep it on the DL! We already feel bad enough. They didn’t have any tickets left for weeknights or weekends. We’ll have to be on it for next year so he can experience it.
As adults, we could get wrapped up in the magical feel of Christmas too. If you’ve taken a child to an event, do you know how sometimes you can feel a bit removed? While it’s “family-friendly,” it really is only “kid-friendly” (aka adults can struggle to immerse themselves in the environment)? Well, this felt different for us. From the impersonation of elves (who were hilarious), Father Christmas, Mother Christmas, and how the whole place was decorated it felt like you escaped into another reality. I never saw anyone break character either. Impressive! Hedgehog even got a little present from Santa and made some reindeer food. Elves danced to a choreographed song while we waited for Santa.
Do you remember how any high school dance of yours was decorated? Sometimes I feel like 80% of kids’ events are on par with that level of decor and fantasy. This was more on par with how the decor of a high-school dance looks in movies. Figuratively speaking of course. Unless your prom was Christmas-themed. Then that is a whole different conversation we need to have!
Christmas Crackers & Mince Pies
When you have a special Christmas-themed dinner, Christmas crackers are part of the tradition. They are cardboard tubes wrapped in paper with some goodies inside. When you pull them apart they make a cracking or a banging noise. Inside they have a saying, a little gadget, and a paper crown you wear during your meal. Kevin had the pleasure of experiencing this tradition at a Christmas dinner recently.
While we haven’t tried one yet, mince pies are popular especially around this time of year. Today minced pies are known for being a pie crust with a sweet fruity filling. There is some more history about them here.
What We Miss
While we continue to learn new things about celebrating Christmas in England, and we find it exciting, we also miss things about Christmas back in the states. We miss being able to celebrate the holiday season with our friends and family! Spending Thanksgiving and Christmas with loved ones is at the core of all holiday magic. Without seeing your smiling faces and feeling your hugs in person – the holidays are never quite the same when we’re all apart. We also miss the ease in going to cut down our own Christmas tree, let alone have space to put one up! The same goes with mailing out holiday cards 🙂 And of course, I am probably the only one in the house to feel this way but I miss Hallmark Christmas movies, ha! So until we can be together again, we appreciate the opportunity to discover and experience all of the new and fun ways another culture celebrates the season!
