Friday, December 30, 2011

Christmas Crackers, Christmas Pudding, A Wonderful UK Christmas

This year was the first Christmas that I would not be celebrating at home with my family. When I accepted to join the YAGM program, I knew this, but it wasn't until the holiday decorations started appearing and Christmas music was being played all around that it hit me that I really would not be spending Christmas with my family back in the United States. However, I knew that I would be spending Christmas with my family in the United Kingdom, the Clements and the Lu families, and I couldn't wait to see what was in store for me!

The Christmas celebrations started on Christmas Eve. On the afternoon of Christmas Eve I went to the Lu's house to do some baking. Since the pumpkin pie was such a big hit at Thanksgiving we decided to make it for Christmas to! This time around we were not able to find any pumpkin in the stores so we used butternut squash, which surprisingly turned out to taste very similar to pumpkin, and instead of making just one pie we made three and delivered the extras to other families in the village. It was a lot of fun! Then, I went to the Clements's house for dinner, followed by going to a few different Christmas Eve parties hosted by some friends of ours, then  heading to the midnight candlelight church service. After the service I went back home with the Lu family to spend the night with them. Before heading to bed we decided to try our pumpkin pie we made earlier in the day, and it was delicious! Just before going to bed I received a phone call from my family back in America to wish me a Merry Christmas, it was great to be able to talk to them for a few minutes before it was time for bed!

On Christmas morning I woke up to stockings from Santa by my bed. It was an amazing surprise that I didn't expect at all. I am so thankful that I have been blessed with amazing families who have welcomed me into their homes and lives. Once we opened our stockings and presents it was time to get to work preparing our Christmas meal. It was time to stuff the turkey, cut the veg, and make sure everything was prepared for the meal. Once the table was filled with food, it was time to eat, but first we did the Christmas crackers, of course. I had never heard of Christmas crackers before this year, so for those of you who are like me and don't know what they are let me try to explain. The best way I can think to describe them is that they look like a giant tootsie roll. You hold on to one end of the cracker and give the other end to the person sitting next to you. You each pull in the opposite direction and a popping sound is made and the cracker is opened. Inside there is a paper hat, a small present, and a joke or an interesting fact. The paper hats are worn throughout the meal and the jokes make for a great laugh at the table. Once we stuffed ourselves full with food, it was time to take a break and play some games before Christmas pudding. Before we ate the Christmas pudding, we lit it on fire to burn the Brandy into it. I thought that this was pretty neat! We spent the rest of the night playing more games, eating sweets, and watching movies. I had an amazing Christmas and I am very thankful that these two wonderful families let me be apart of their Christmas day!

Christmas celebrations were not over yet! The 26th of December is a bank holiday and is also known as Boxing Day. I would compare this day to Black Friday in the United States. There are amazing sales that happen this day, but it is also a day where many people continue to celebrate Christmas with their family. I spent Boxing Day with the Lu family and their extended family. Once again we ate lots of food, but this time we decided to take a walk afterwards to burn off some of the calories that we had taken in the past few days. I enjoyed being able to spend the day with the Lu's and their family!
This year my Christmas was different than what I am used to, but it was definitely a great time! There are some British traditions that I have been able to experience, which I would love to continue to be a part of my future Christmas celebrations.

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

Happy New Year! :)