UK
In the UK the usual Christmas dinner is turkey with roast potatoes, sprouts, and cranberry sauce.
Christmas pudding is served with custard. For added drama, some people set fire to the brandy. I have enough excitement in my life, without that worry.
After lunch, 3 pm, you listen to the Queen's speech. More Champagne is sold at Christmas (and for New Year's Eve) than any other time of the year.
Homes have Christmas trees. Hung with baubles (round or spherical ornaments). A star or angel is on top. Parcels, real containing presents, or empty
A big Norway Spruce is in Trafalgar Square, London, England. The tall tree was given by Norway to the UK after WW2 as a thank you for help. Carol singing, in aid of charity, and other performances take place around the tree. The tree, over 20 feet high, has to be the biggest gift I have ever seen.
I save wrapping paper. It is cheap after Xmas.
After Christmas the prices of Christmas pudding come down. My husband likes to be given and to buy books. I have a lucky dip bag from when I was organizing events for Toastmasters and had to supply small gifts for lots of people. I went around Daiso and kept spotting things which looked useful. I over-bought.
Lucky dip usually works well. We get to pick out one item each, or two, or three. I and my husband are very strange. We like different things each year. What wasn't wanted two years ago, and raised a frown, (a puffer for cleaning a laptop keyboard) turned out to be just what was wanted a year later and was pounced on with glee.
USA
Turkey is eaten at Thanksgiving so the Americans want a change at Christmas time. In the USA, Christmas pudding is called plum pudding. You can find it all year!
France
The French have yule cakes. Log cakes. You can make your own chocolate spiral cake, with chocolate icing on top. Use a fork to make wavy lines across the top.
Germany
The Germans eat gingerbread biscuits, gingerbread men and gingerbread women and animals, make gingerbread houses. Best of all, they eat stollen! Stollen, with a centre of marzipan, is my favourite.
We have bought stollen in supermarkets in the UK, in Tesco, Stollen bites in Lidl (which is a German supermarket, low prices) ; and in Singapore this year from Cold Storage supermarket in Jellita shopping mall, a couple of stops on the bus from Holland Village.
Czech Republic
In Prague we had a hotel dinner (when all restaurants were fully booked in addition to charging high prices). The meal featured fish soup followed by carp with potato salad.
Alas, Christmas is over. But you can still buy plum pudding in the USA. You can look forward to panettone in the supermarkets in London, England, at Easter.
Useful Websites
https://germanfoods.org/recipes/dresdner-stollen/
Stollen, Marzipan covered in chocolate and other German food:
Youtube has many videos on making stollen.
BIOGRAPHY
Angela Lansbury B A Hons ACG ALB PM5 EH5 DL5 VC5
The Author of several books including Etiquette For Every Occasion. Wedding Speeches & Toasts. How to be the Best Man. Quick Quotations. Who Said What When.
Blogs travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com
dressofthedayangela.blogspot.com
Braddell Heights Advanced Toastmasters Speakers Club Vice President Public Relations (VPPR), Previous President
Join BHA 1st Wednesday 7pm and 3rd Saturday 2 pm Singapore time
Vice President Public Relations (VP PR) of Tampines Changkat Advanced;
Secretary of weekly online Singapore International Dynamic Toastmasters Speakers’ Club;
Member and past president of Harrovians toastmasters club, UK; Past member of HOD Toastmasters, London. Past member in Singapore of: Toastmasters Club of Singapore (TCS); Tiarel; and Senja Cashew.
More details from Toastmasters International find a club.
Regular attendee at annual Swanwick Writers’ School, England.
Regular attendee at annual Writers’ Holiday, Wales.
Contributor to poetry readings, and after tea courses on: Speaking On Radio To Promote Books; and Plots And Character.
Winner of many club and area speaking contests in the UK and Singapore.
Language advisor to Empire Toastmasters club in Indonesia.
Language and speech workshops in Singapore.
Speaker on radio and TV in England, Scotland, the USA, and Australia.
Compiler of a school course on public speaking for teachers to prepare pupils for school open days with attending ceremonies before government ministers, Singapore.
Former member of Harrow Writers’ Circle, London, and two writing groups in Singapore.
Angela is on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter. She would be delighted to link up with new friends.
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