UK/US Christmas Traditions

[learning2loveme]

Re: UK/US Christmas Traditions

There are many differences in the US/UK way of celebrating Christmas.

I moved to the UK last Dec 12. Last Christmas was much too blurred to remember much but as the Christmas season comes closer, I am missing the America way of celebration.

In the US, Christmas is top notch and there are lights EVERYWHERE, here in the UK it is seen as lower class to have loads of outside Christmas lights. Inside most people I have seen only have a Christmas tree and some candles. Whereas in the family I was raised in, there were Santa and snowman nicknacks everywhere. Religion is more pronounced in America, which is odd since the schools here are ran by nuns. The only religious thing I have seen is a pink Jesus in Borders Bookstore. I haven't seen any nativity sets. On Christmas, people here in the UK do a think called crackers....its like a little gift thingy and you open them at dinner. Everyone holds each side....so each hand is on a different crackers (sorry I am crap at explaining it) and in these crackers are a paper tissue crown you wear and something small like candy or something.

Oh and Santa...Father Christmas, leaves a wrapped gift under the tree for people...he doesn't leave open toys in front of the tree. And gifts are different. In America, you buy gifts you think the person will like...here in the UK the person tells you want they want and you buy it, and even though they know what it is, you still have to wrap it. Or maybe that's just my husbands family, but it really annoys me that everyone dictates the gift they receive.

I miss the big todo that Christmas is in America. I'm feeling rather homesick tonight so that doesn't help my view of things...but as far as I am concerned Christmas is better in America.

Sorry for the downer post.....I will try not to post much when I am sad like this.

[TitianWasp]

Re: UK/US Christmas Traditions

I think perhaps that Christmas is the most tradition-steeped holiday in the Western countries, and thus the hardest to celebrate in a fashion different than that you grew up with. My husband's family is from Los Angeles, and he misses it terribly. I have a very hard time the years that we spend there because 65 degrees and palm trees just doesn't spell Christmas to me.

At my house, the Christmas music starts the day after Thanksgiving (and pretty much doesn't stop until Dec 26th), and each weekend is filled with baking and fires in the fireplace, and tree decorating, and watching Christmas specials with my own children (god bless TiVo). The smell of wood smoke, evergreen and mulling spices is magic to me. You just don't get that multisensory experience in Los Angeles.

I relate, Learning. The trick, of course, is introducing your own traditions as much as possible and blending them all together.

[*Emma*]

Re: UK/US Christmas Traditions

Religion is more pronounced in America, which is odd since the schools here are ran by nuns.

theres still schools run by nuns?????? not near me there aint!!

In America, you buy gifts you think the person will like...here in the UK the person tells you want they want and you buy it, and even though they know what it is, you still have to wrap it.

LOL, thats not always the case, its a personal choice thing, some people will not do this, ya dont have kids write out lists of what they want for xmas???? geez! My mom will always ask me what i want, she spends a lot of money on me so why would she get me something i dont want? of course if i need something she knows about - she wont ask me if i want it. Ive already had my gift for this year, she bought wooden flooring for my apartment, a new TV and lots of other things that i needed.

here in the UK it is seen as lower class to have loads of outside Christmas lights

ive never thought of it like that, but yes you're right, i roll my eyes at people who go over the top, theres such a thing as class.

I miss the big todo that Christmas is in America. I'm feeling rather homesick tonight so that doesn't help my view of things...but as far as I am concerned Christmas is better in America.

Sorry for the downer post.....I will try not to post much when I am sad like this.

I know it is hard to live away from home, as much as i enjoyed my time in america, i missed family and friends very much.


Im not a huge fan of christmas, i'm not religious, i was as a teenager but grew very away from that, none of my family are religious, christmas has turned to be so commercialised that i dread it each year, the only good thing about it IMO is the time off work

[learning2loveme]

Re: UK/US Christmas Traditions

Im not a huge fan of christmas, i'm not religious, i was as a teenager but grew very away from that, none of my family are religious, christmas has turned to be so commercialised that i dread it each year, the only good thing about it IMO is the time off work

okay now there is one spot that the UK wins handsdown....time off of work! Christmas AND boxing day!! In the US I was lucky to have all of Christmas day off.

Ok I just asked my husband about nuns, lol, turns out...my bad. I asked if there were nuns in school and he looked confused and said "um, not usually" lol.

As for the lights, in America, the bigger and more fancy your house is, the better your outside light display should be. America is much more laxed about class in some aspects.

As for buying gifts, I still think it is odd for everyone to know what they are getting. Sure as kids we made a list but we didn't get everything on that list. I'm talking about adults as well. I think it might just be my husbands family that tells each person what to get them. weird.

The UK isn't bad, it's just when I am homesick like this, America seems so much better even when it isn't. Forgive me

[*Emma*]

Re: UK/US Christmas Traditions

No need for forgiveness The weathers kinda crap isnt it?

I get two weeks off at christmas! well off my main job anyway, thats the construction industry for ya!

[TitianWasp]

Re: UK/US Christmas Traditions

As for the lights, in America, the bigger and more fancy your house is, the better your outside light display should be. America is much more laxed about class in some aspects.

It really all depends on the region I think. The upper classes in America began behaving a lot more discreetly around the time of the Great Depression (largely to prevent the likelihood of a coup), but they are not much more lax than they ever were. They are just harder to find. No matter how rich or old your family, if you draw a lot of attention to yourself, it drops your class a bit (think Paris Hilton). Same with Christmas lights - if they draw a lot of attention, well...

But they do look pretty, don't they?

My husband and I battle over our decorations, being from opposite ends of the country. Where I come from, one white light in each window is the only really appropriate thing. He wants one of those giant, blow-up snow globes. My grandmother would roll over in her grave.

[SandyL2002]

Re: UK/US Christmas Traditions

the main difference you will find is that its traditional in England to eat turkey for christmas dinner, its ham there right? you do turkey on thanksgiving dont you?

Our family is so big that we eat a Turkey and a Ham...Ham's are so expensive and we would have to buy 2 to feed all of us

[sadie147]

Re: UK/US Christmas Traditions

We too have both Christmas and boxing day though i don't think we get as many holidays in general as the uk....

I guess it all depends on where your form and how you view things as Titian mentioned.

I think the whole over the top decorating/lights thing is a commericialized thing really, you can't go in any store right now and not be bomabarded with decorations, giant inflatable lawn decorations , and every single christmas light you can imagine, in every size, every colour, LED, regular, flashing non flashing, on metal forms shaped like trees, battery operated..you name it. It's all about stores and companies making money. I recently found an antique nativity in our basement, but can't find the figures for it, it's literally been impossible to find any nativity people, no Jesus, Mary Joseph, no wise men, nothing, i've searched everywhere. Though if i want a penguin in a santa hat that sings jingle bells and dances, i'm sure i'd have no problem finding it LOL. I'm not religious..but I was very disappointed with this . I think many have long forgotten what Christmas is really about.

Personally I love my christmas decorations, and though i don't go overboard with the lights etc, i love to bake, play my xmas music and throw and attend parties...spending time with my family is what I love most. I don't even care if i get presents at all....

Maybe it being downplayed a bit in Britain is the right idea.

Though...I'm sure if i were in your shoes I'd too be homesick...we become so accustomed to our own traditions.

[sadie147]

Re: UK/US Christmas Traditions

Our family is so big that we eat a Turkey and a Ham...Ham's are so expensive and we would have to buy 2 to feed all of us

LOL funny it's the opposite here! Turkey is our traditional Christmas dinner, but a turkey costs far more than a ham. I bought a Turkey for Thanksgiving (in Oct) and it was 2.89 per pound. Makes for an expensive dinner if you have a big crowd! we usually have a ham to go with it so we don't have to spend as much on the turkey

[learning2loveme]

Re: UK/US Christmas Traditions

It really all depends on the region I think. The upper classes in America began behaving a lot more discreetly around the time of the Great Depression (largely to prevent the likelihood of a coup), but they are not much more lax than they ever were. They are just harder to find. No matter how rich or old your family, if you draw a lot of attention to yourself, it drops your class a bit (think Paris Hilton). Same with Christmas lights - if they draw a lot of attention, well...

But they do look pretty, don't they?

My husband and I battle over our decorations, being from opposite ends of the country. Where I come from, one white light in each window is the only really appropriate thing. He wants one of those giant, blow-up snow globes. My grandmother would roll over in her grave.

I'm from Bay Area California and Boise Idaho if that sheds any light on my ideal christmas decor, lol. My mother has the giant snowman and grinch, lol. I think the east coast is much more like England, hence, new england, lol.

[SandyL2002]

Re: UK/US Christmas Traditions

LOL funny it's the opposite here! Turkey is our traditional Christmas dinner, but a turkey costs far more than a ham. I bought a Turkey for Thanksgiving (in Oct) and it was 2.89 per pound. Makes for an expensive dinner if you have a big crowd! we usually have a ham to go with it so we don't have to spend as much on the turkey

Sometimes here..you can get a 12-15 lb turkey for UNDER $10.. Especially if you are grocery shopping and your groceries are over $25...well that isn't hard to do..the Ham we usually buy is like $40.. HUGE difference....

[sadie147]

Re: UK/US Christmas Traditions

a bunch of the women in my family all go to Buffalo, NY, shopping before xmas every year, we always stand and oooooh and ahhhhhh around the turkey freezer at Walmart LOL (yes we get strange looks), we've seen them as low as .16 a pound. don't think we can bring meat over the border so we never buy them. we just stare at them in disbelief!

It makes no sense really, we have just as many farms here, so they are locally raised and not imported... so no idea why the cost so much more My Thanksgiving turkey this year cost about $55 for 19/20 lbs and it was just barely big enough but i couldn't afford any bigger.

[*Emma*]

Re: UK/US Christmas Traditions

completely OT, but i really like your cow, why have i never noticed it before?

[sadie147]

Re: UK/US Christmas Traditions

completely OT, but i really like your cow, why have i never noticed it before?

he's been there for a couple of months! it's actually an msn/chat emoticon, I liked what he's called: drunken cow

[*Emma*]

Re: UK/US Christmas Traditions

I pay so much attention

lol @ drunken cow

does msn chat still exist? i thought it had buggered off now?

I love cows, i have a slight obsession... ima shut up now before i start mooing.