couraged to “boo” the villain and cheer the hero.
Christmas Day: the grand finale ★
It surprises some people that the UK still has an official state religion, the Church of England, with the Queen as its head. In re- ality, although 59% claim to be Church of England, a much smaller percentage are actively religious (around 2%), and Christmas time might be the one of the few times when somebody might go to church. Tis time of the year also features key festivals for Jewish people (Hanukkah) and for Hindus (Diwali in November), and you will see these actively celebrated across London. Whatever people’s religion or lack of religion, most people treat the start of the Christmas holidays from Christmas Eve on 24th December until the New Year as a time to have a break, eat and drink well, see family and friends, and generally rest. So, if you are in London on Christmas
Day, what should you do? Well, here are my top Modern British Christmas tips: ✶ Warning: almost everything is closed. Yes, everything! Te tube, buses, most shops and restaurants. So if you want to go anywhere you will need to drive yourself, or book a taxi at least 24 hours in advance.
✶ Food and Drink: If you want to eat a traditional Christmas dinner, you can have a go at cooking it at home your- self and an easy, very good Christmas dinner option is to buy and heat it up from M&S. Or if you are feeling up to the challenge, get inspiration from British TV chefs, Jamie Oliver or Delia Smith, but remember nobody actually likes eating brussels sprouts, they are just for decoration. Alternatively, why not book yourself a restaurant at least two weeks in advance (as many restau- rants close, the ones which open are
★ Coronation Street Christmas Special!
very popular). Some British people kick off early with a Christmas brunch on the day, and then eat the main meal later in the mid-afternoon, while others stick to the Christmas meal at lunchtime. Either way, plenty of wine and bubbly is usually involved, and perhaps a port or Bailey’s later for good measure.
✶ Watch Christmas TV: TV is central to most people’s days at some point and highly watched are the Christmas specials for popular TV programmes, like EastEnders, Coronation Street or Doctor Who. Tese TV programmes have been around for decades and the Christmas special episode includes some incredibly dramatic and extreme incidents, such as a murder, death, wedding or break-up.
✶ The Queen’s Speech: For the tradi- tionalists, everybody must be watching TV at 3pm for the Queen’s Speech which is a pre-recorded 10-minute message broadcast, including the Queen’s reflections on the past year. I am sure this year there will be some good clips from Prince Harry and Meghan’s wedding, as well as Prince Louis’ christening. Although it is short, this is the time when some of the older generation tend to nod off to sleep and snore through it.
✶ Playing board games: Now this is a tricky one. Board games are a great way to spend time with family on Christmas Day, think Monopoly, Scrabble or Trivial Pursuit. It can keep the family entertained for hours (hon- estly, I once played Monopoly with my sister for 4 hours straight) but can end in conflict or even blows if everybody takes it a bit too seriously, in which case I suggest…
✶ Going for a walk: Everybody benefits ★
from a breath of fresh air and relief from the indulgence of eating, drink- ing and sitting down throughout the day, so why not head to your nearest park for a gentle stroll. Remember, if you are in London on Christmas Day, then this gives you special status of being a ‘proper Londoner’, and not dis- appearing off to the countryside, an- other city or country for the holidays. On this day only people in London act like they live in a country village as we greet each other, say good morning and everybody seems happy and friendly.
✶ As the light fades on the day and you head back to your cosy, warm home for more indulgence, TV and board games, do not forget the tradition of the chocolate tin (e.g. Quality Street, Celebrations or Heroes). A permanent feature in most British homes over the festive season, a large box or tin of chocolates will sit tempting you throughout December and mass con- sumption peaks on Christmas Day. But remember nobody likes the one in the pink wrapper and you will always find at least ten of these lying abandoned at the bottom. Chocolate-eating etiquette: putting your empty wrap- pers back into the tin is likely to annoy everybody, and all chocolates must be consumed or disappeared by the start of January, when Easter eggs will im- mediately start appearing on the super- market shelves, ready for April.
Whatever you are up to over the festive season, I wish you a very Merry British Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Victoria Rennoldson, Founder of Perfect Cuppa English, regularly gives talks and writes about British life and culture. Perfect Cuppa English offers private English language and British Culture courses in Everyday and Business English, for greater speaking confidence.
Victoria@perfectcuppaenglish.co.uk;
www.perfectcuppaenglish.co.uk
www.focus-info.org FOCUS The Magazine 7
★
★
★
★
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
★
★ ★ ★
★ ★
★
★
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40
