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The author's three boys and her in-laws
enjoying their Christmas cracker rewards.
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If home is for the holidays, then London is the next best place. This year all things festive in the Big Smoke have taken off especially early with an elaborate lighting of the famed shopping areas of Oxford & Regent Streets. With no official celebration of Halloween or Thanksgiving, the Brit retailers throw an obscene amount of attention to Christmas and Boxing Day and put the lights up while the leaves are still changing colors.
Like many big cities in the U.S., decorated shop windows are a major attraction. Selfridges, a high-end department store, prides itself on avant-garde windows displaying their products in edgy, off beat ways. Harrods, a world famous posh store and a must for stocking stuffers like teas, clotted cream biscuits and Paddington Bears, has fabulous decorations.
As this is our third and woefully last holiday season in the UK, we are in full swing to enjoy every wonderful and wacky British holiday tradition.
Pantomime
If you query English friends about their plans this time of year one word comes up every time: “panto,” For the last two years we’ve stuck with more traditional festivities, but this Christmas we are attending the English holiday institution, a pantomime, for sure. Pantos are campy remakes of classic stories, often fairy tales, done in an extremely slapstick, corny way in which the audience participates as much as the actors on stage: think Rocky Horror Picture Show but with Mother Goose in drag. While family-friendly in nature, cross dressing is a must, says Brit friend Jenny Phipers. “There is always some male dressed as an ugly woman, the dame.” This year the Aladdin production featuring Bay Watch babe, Pamela Anderson, is a hot ticket. Who would’ve thought?
Neighborhood Festivals
Lights, cameras and mulled wine were how we celebrated in our village, Hampstead, last year. In most neighborhoods of London, a holiday fest with a tree lighting, carolers and a tombola grab-bag type raffle is a common way to kick off the season. Last year Rolling Stone rocker Ronnie Wood, who lives nearby, did the tree lighting honors. A stop at one of the many pubs is always a nice way to keep the festive spirit going.
Nativity plays
Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus make many appearances throughout December in British schools and churches. Some nativity plays are more elaborate than others, but most local schools take the tradition quite seriously as can been seen by the Wise Men and animal costumes sold all over town. A few years ago, Shane, our then 4 and half year old, was chosen as the narrator for the nativity play at his preschool. A small church in our village presents a Christmas Eve children’s nativity and it is one of our highlights.
Christmas Crackers
Every Christmas table in England is adorned with small, colorful, cardboard tubes and our dining room is no exception. The hard part is keeping the kids’ hands off them until after supper. Crackers as they are known, are traditionally filled with paper hats, silly jokes or riddles, like a fortune cookie and often a treat ranging from a plastic toy to more expensive items depending on where you bought them and how much you spent. During the holiday meal, they are pulled by two people and create a “pop” as the contents spill out, like a firecracker. This tradition began as far back as 1846 and hats, usually crowns to symbolize the Wise Men or the crown of thorns Jesus wore, were added later and are now mandatory.
Christmas lunch
Unlike in the States, where restaurants are closed on Christmas Day and most people dine with family at home, English pubs and restaurants are open and fully booked for Christmas lunch. While many do eat at home, the menu of choice is much like an American thanksgiving with turkey or occasionally goose as the guest of honor.
Two years ago we queued at our local butcher on Christmas Eve with others who were waiting to collect their bird of choice. Bucking the norm, we had reserved a big roast beef. As the shop owner handed out mince pies and champagne, we noticed neighbors, actress Helen Bonham-Carter (Sweeny Todd) and her partner, director Tim Burton (Corpse Bride) standing on line looking like they had just rolled off one of their gory movie sets. I was curious whether they were goose or turkey people, but didn’t dare ask. To flavor the poultry, friends say that they cover theirs with bacon and serve small sausages -- Brits love their bangers -- with the meal along with cranberries and Brussels sprouts.
Oh Bring Us a Figgy pudding
Christmas Lunch is not complete without a special pudding, sometimes referred to as plum pudding, or figgy pudding as sung in A Christmas Carol. Nowadays they tend to be on the very sweet and rich side and topped with a flaming brandy butter sauce or custard.
Some traditionalists make theirs about five weeks in advance on ‘Stir-it-up Sunday.’ According to Britishfood.com, it is good luck if all the family takes a turn to stir the mixture, east to west, in honor of the three wise men, and make a wish and add coins, the finding of them on Christmas day purportedly bringing wealth, health and of course, happiness. Pregnant Jenny Phipers said her mum had already made the Christmas puddings back in October and Jenny had made a special visit to ‘stir them up’, in anticipation of good luck for the coming baby. After steaming for eight hours or so, the puddings, which are small, dark and dense must be put in a cool place and only re-steamed on the big day.
More Indulgences
Mince meat pies are a very tasty and welcome sign of the season. They are small fruit-filled tarts with a little star on top and are loaded with dried cherries, apples, nuts, nutmeg, and cinnamon, and thankfully no meat, as in years past. Kids often leave one for Father Christmas, along with a brandy, and it is traditional to eat as many as possible during the 12 days of Christmas for as many months of good luck the following year.
Champagne flows nonstop this time of year and the London Times went so far as to run a piece on the easiest way to get to Champagne, France to stock up on the bubbly for the holidays.
Soap Operas?
One of the strangest traditions here is that millions watch soap operas on Christmas Day. The East Enders and Coronation Street, popular nightly rival soaps, present their season finales on Christmas day, and for many, it is must-see TV. “Tellies” are on everywhere so folks can tune in and not miss a moment of the climax.
The Queen’s Speech: The Royal Christmas Message
“On Christmas day I always feel compelled to drop what I'm doing at 3 p.m. and sit down to the Queen's Christmas message even though it means burning the potatoes,” says friend Andrea West, a native Londoner, who just returned home after nine years in Manhattan.
The tradition began in 1932 when King George V read a special speech written by Rudyard Kipling. The broadcast was an enormous success. It began, "I speak now from my home and from my heart, to you all . . ." Queen Elizabeth II continues the tradition and broadcasts her 15 minute message to millions all over the world. In England most people watch or listen to it while digesting their turkey. And in some families, the children are not permitted to open gifts from Father Christmas, or Santa Claus, until after the speech. This made for some very cranky kids, remembers Phipers.
Boxing Day
Boxing Day, for Brits, celebrated the day after Christmas, usually conjures up the image of a good “lie-in” and eating leftovers. Says West, “Nowadays, with my young family, my favorite part is Boxing Day. This is when you can finally put your feet up and it’s perfectly acceptable to lounge around in your P’s all day and play with all the gadgets that you received for Christmas.”
Now an official bank holiday across England, Boxing Day originated in medieval times, when priests emptied their church donation box and distribute gifts to the poor and wealthy people packed up the remains of feasts in boxes and gave them out to their servants.
Today if you fancy getting out, the tide is turning towards the American way: shopping! It’s also a big theater day on the West End.
While we would love to be celebrating in the States for the season, London is as close to home as we can get and it has a heck of a lot more pubs!
If you go to London: check out www.timeout.com/london for festive events. |
