This is the time when the most awaited festival is fast approaching and most of you are busy shopping or decorating your houses or making plans to make the holiday happier for everyone. And so, we thought you might like to know more about the differences that are there when it comes to celebrating this joyful day. Here, we are listing out the differences between Christmas in the UK and the USA:
Placement of the Christmas gift
The one vision that gives the best Christmas feeling is the placement of gifts under the tree, but this is how the Americans get their presents. In England, gifts are actually not placed under the Christmas tree, instead, they are kept at the foot of the bed in a big stocking.
Mr. Christmas
The world knows Santa Claus, but In England, young children know him as Father Christmas. In fact, you might be surprised to know that during the last century, Santa Claus and Father Christmas were not even synonymous; but now they have almost become the same thing in both the cultures. Actually, Father Christmas before the Victorian times was associated with merry-making and adult feasting and basically, there was nothing that connected him to giving gifts to the children. Even the color of the suit was green and not red.
The day after Christmas
December 26th in England is a holiday known as Boxing Day. But in America, it is known as the date that it falls on, that is December 26th only, because the Americans don’t really celebrate this day. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, Boxing Day is the first weekday after Christmas on which servants, postmen, and errand-boys receive gifts from their employers in boxes.
How children send letters to Santa?
In America, the wish lists of kids are sent by the mail service to Santa, but in England, the young ones create their wish lists and place the paper in the fireplace to set it on fire. And that according to us, this makes the day even more magical for them, because they receive their gifts even after the paper has been burnt.
A snowy and a white Christmas
Now, the entire America is not covered in snow on Christmas but if you’re living in Canada or the Northern States then you know you are in for a very cold and a pure-white Christmas. But that is not the case in England because more often than not, England sees a rainy and a green Christmas rather than a snowy and a white one.
The big Christmas dinner
A holiday of this great significance definitely includes elaborate dinner plans but here too, you can find subtle differences in how the Americans and British do it. In England, a roasted turkey is almost a must for the big dinner, but the American families may have a choice between goose and ham. Other delicacies in a British dinner include bread sauce, which is basically a sauce made thick by adding bread to it, and some bacon wrapped sausages.
The differences in desserts
Any big dinner is incomplete without a delicious dessert and for this, most Americans go with a pecan or a pumpkin pie. British on the other hand take their sugary treats in the form of mince pie or a Christmas pudding. The Christmas pudding is basically a delicacy having dried fruits which are held together by suet and egg and is flavored with a variety of spices.
The Decorating
If you have seen any Christmas themed-Hollywood movie, you know that the Americans really go big on Christmas decorations. And by no means, this is a just a Hollywood phenomenon only, because in reality too, Americans decorate their houses with the best of festive ornaments. In fact, in the suburbs, you can even feel a competitive spirit among neighbors who fight to have the best Christmas decorations and some also do it big for charity purposes.In England though, this is not the case. We are not saying that they just don’t decorate their houses, but the scale in the suburbs of London is much lower as compared to American households in general.
Lighting up the Christmas spirit
Much like the decorations done inside the house, Americans bring the big festive spirit even on the outside. The lighting that gets put up on the houses is quite different in both the countries, which is quite visible to you from the picture below.
The Christmas Cracker
The custom of the Christmas Cracker is something that is prevalent in the UK. Here, it is actually mandatory that you open your cracker and also don the paper hat before you even sit for dinner. If you are wondering what exactly is a Christmas Cracker, then let us tell you that is actually a present which is kept inside a cardboard tube that is wrapped in a festive paper. Two people break the cracker and when they do it, we get to hear a loud snapping noise. At the end, the person who is holding the larger end of the tube gets the present inside it.
Merry Chrimbo
If you get to hear these two words around Christmas then you must know that the person is not having a stroke, but is just hailing from the UK. Chrimbo is actually an English slang word used for Christmas and if we go by what is written in the Oxford English Dictionary, then Chrimbo is basically used in association with the more secular and commercial elements of the holiday.
How kids treat Santa?
Kids of American families love to treat Santa with the foods they like a lot, that is; milk and some cookies. They may even leave some carrots for the reindeer, but the English kids take it way higher as they treat Santa like an adult that he is; leaving him some cookies, mince pie, and brandy.
Town Christmas Trees
The Christmas trees set up in the American towns are grand affairs, quite literally! The Americans do a great job at installing a big tree with thousands of lights and ornaments on it, and when people gather around the tree at Christmas, you get the feeling that the whole town is out there celebrating with you. But, in England, we can hardly find a giant tree in a town.
Christmas Screenings
This time of the year becomes merrier when we get to sit in front of the TV with our family; all watching the special screenings that the channels run although out the season. Apart from the classics, we also get to indulge in the Hallmark specials and all of this really gets us into the festive spirit. Now, this is something that happens in America, and if you are in England, you might have to do with a few specials that are run by not many channels.
Going to the Pub
The British have a tradition to take their families to the ‘local pub’ on Christmas. In fact, the pubs are quite packed on the holiday, where you can even find kids and dogs celebrating the big day. But, yes don’t get the idea that the Brits let their kids drink, it is just their way of spending time together as a family.
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