Noel - Christmas in England for a French Student
Ho, ho, ho. In this month of December, I thought that writing an article about Christmas would be so unexpected and totally original, so here it is.
By Charlotte Simon
Christmas is my favourite period. I like winter, I like presents (giving and receiving), I like eating, I like almost all my family and I like the holidays. I noticed that in England, shops begin to sell Christmas things in late October - early November (and sometimes even in mid-October). Obviously, for me it is perfect, although quite unusual. In France you don’t tend to see any Christmas stuff before mid-November. French people need time to recover from Halloween apparently. I went to the German Christmas Market in Birmingham, because I go almost every year in the Christmas Market in Strasbourg, it is like a ritual, but I have to say, I was a little disappointed. Of course, I was glad to eat gingerbread, waffles, and spritz again, but the mulled wine was... tasteless. It was just a wine which had been heat. Great job guys, but that is not a mulled wine! To do a real glühwein, you add cinnamon, ginger, orange, cloves and so on. And I paid £50 for a half-cup. Poor me.
However, because I don't always criticize English stuff, there are a lot of nice Christmas things here. Send Christmas cards for instance, is a great tradition. In France we can send cards too, but it does not happen very often and it is rather in January, to wish a happy new year. Here, you have so many different cards! I love spending my time in cards shops, even if I don't buy anything; it is just to look at them. And I also noticed that Christmas jumpers are sold in every clothes shop, which it never happens in France. Besides, with my French eyes, I think it is really ugly and tacky, because nobody wears that in France, or as a funny disguise, or rednecks maybe (don't hit me please, it is just a cultural difference). But with my I-don't-care-eyes or rather my open-minded-eyes, I think it makes sense.
Christmas carols are also really widespread in UK. Not that much in France. We have Christmas songs in streets and shops like here, but Christmas carols are quite rare. I went to a Victorian Christmas in the Bantok House in Wolverhampton last week, and it was wonderful. Firstly because I love the Victorian period and secondly, because I love Christmas (have I already said it?). There were Christmas carols outside, sung by an “official” choir, and there was a man with different instruments inside. I played music and people sang, it was really nice, though I only knew one song – Holy night, silent night.
I come from the North-East of France, near Germany. In that part of the country, during the Christmas period, people usually cook some “bredele”, they are Christmas biscuits. I missed them this year, but fortunately, I discovered that English people sell a lot of homemade cupcakes. I tasted everything and everywhere, but I have to admit that my great discover were the mince pies. I am going to bring some at home during the holidays !
About the Christmas meal itself, I know here people eat turkey or goose, and Christmas pudding. You wear a little paper crown and you have fun with crackers (yes, I know, it is a very short description, but I've never spent Christmas in an English family, therefore other details are welcomed). We don't have all thes things in Froggyland. The traditional food in Christmas is slices of toasts with salmon, foie gras, lumpfish eggs, everything you want, and oysters. They are starters. For the main meal, there is no rule, it depends on families. In mine, my aunt cook a delicious roast chicken with fried potatoes and vegetables like red cabbage with chestnuts (yummy yummy). For the dessert, we eat the traditional bûche de Noël (Yule log).
