Happy Christmas

This installment brings you a little UK holiday lesson: First, a fun pic:

The UK holiday season doesn't differ much from what you are experiencing in the US. However, just for fun, I thought I would reveal some of those little things that make the British feign more excitement than normal (it ain't much) this time of year:

Mince pies. Sounds gross right? They are these little pies filled with minced fruit. They are the rave come mid-November here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mince_pie I recently ordered a box with our grocery delivery and mistakenly put in 2 boxes. For two people, 2 boxes of minced pies is about 1 1/2 too many. So, I took one to work and put it by the coffee machine. Even the more reserved people in the office got a little excited about the appearance of the random mince pie. Direct quotes include: "mmmm, now that is quite nice" and "it rather is, but me mum makes them better"

Christmas crackers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_crackers These fun toys give even adults something to look forward to. You typically open one by standing in a small circle with friends and holding on to the xmas cracker next to you (the toy, not the random guy) and pop the cracker for some holiday treats. It is a fun tradition, I just sent some to the US to start the trend. You always get a fun hat to wear, as modeled by yours truly at least year's holiday party.

Boxing Day. You get two days off Christmas and Boxing Day. What is boxing day you ask? It is rooted in the day where traditionally you give gifts to those less fortunate. Nowadays, it is an extra day off. With a 10 day trip through Italy planned, I'll take all the holiday time I can get!

What you get here is the same focus on consumerism, and in this economy you can bet that everything is at least 10-15% off. Daily we get emails advertising sales at the major retailers and there is plenty of encouragement to buy right now. I'll do my best to keep this economy on the upside :)

What you don't see as much is that public need to be more philantropic and cater to those who have less. Businesses don't adopt schools or a family to put gifts under the tree and a dinner on the table. That may come with living in a much more socialist society, but I have not noticed any Christmas Angel trees or adopt a family or soup kitchen pleas. It also may have something to do with the fact that people volunteer just like at home but do so in a less public way. Many people have it as part of their routine to volunteer at shelters, schools, churches, etc. but you don't hear about it unless it is specifically brought up.

Finally, it's CHRISTMAS here. Not holidays. Not Hannakah. Nobody is PC and if you do not celebrate the holiday you don't remind somebody, you jus accept the greeting and continue on. There is no PC-ness when it comes to Christmas. And, it is not "Merry Christmas" it is "Happy Christmas"

So with that in mind friends, with less than 3 weeks go to, a Happy Christmas season to you all!