Christmas Day and Boxing Day

Christmas Day 

What are the elements of a British Christmas?

XMAS OUTDOORS

Street lights

Across the street. Up the lamp posts. In the trees.

Exterior decorations such as wreaths on doors.

 Santas and reindeer on the front lawns and rooftops.

Restaurants decorated inside and out.

A giant Norway spruce in Trafalgar Square.

Ice rinks set up in pubic places, in front of major museums, large squares, and shopping malls such as Brent Cross.

Green holly with red berries.

INDOORS

Fir trees, called Xmas trees. Decorated with lights, bubble shaped baubles, wrapped parcels under the tree. An angel on the top of the trees.

Mistletoe with white berries.

Tables with Xmas crackers.  

XMAS CLOTHES

Party hats.

Coloured table cloths.

Clothes with festive themes, 

Santas, reindeer, stars.

Festive jewellery such as ear rings with hanging trees.

Xmas carols played in lifts (elevators), department stores and restaurants, and on radio stations.

Midnight mass in Roman Catholic churches and cathedrals.

Carol singers.

Santa's Grotto in Department stores, and increasingly in stately homes and museums.

Santa visits to places such as hospitals and events.

Choirs singing up staircases (such as the Tanglin Club in Singapore)

XMAS FOOD

Mince pies.

Christmas pudding.

Christmas cakes.

Yule logs.

Stollen from Germany.

Panettone from Italy. 

Pandoro from Italy.

Nativity scenes in Roman Catholic churches.

Pantomimes in theatres and ice rinks.

Festive films (movies) in cinemas and on TV.

Hymns on seasonal and religious themes.

Christmas songs.

Snow scenes

 Snow on rooftops. Skiing. Skating. Icicles. Skating on lakes and rivers.

Snowmen.

Robin Redbreasts.

Christmas cards with Victorian scenes and glitter.

Christmas Day

Why is it the 25th? Some say to supercede the pre-Christian celebration of the sun rising again after the solstice, the shortest day.

Boxing Day

The popular story is that servants would work providing Christmas Day lunch. Then on boxing day they would return with boxes for leftovers, and/or a financial bonus or reward.

Boxing Day is celebrated in the UK and some Commonwealth countries but not worldwide.  However, soe places close businesses for St Stephen's Day, the second day of Christmas.

Wiki says

In parts of Europe, such as east Spain, (Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearic Islands^[2][3]), the Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, Hungary, the Netherlands, Italy, Poland, Slovakia,^[4] Slovenia, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Romania, Sweden, Belgium, Norway, Latvia and the Republic of Ireland, 26 December is Saint Stephen's Day, which is considered the second day of Christmas.^[5

If you are wondering about traffic, many state schools in London will start Monday 5th January 1026.

Some businesses will be closed Jan 1st, new Year's Day, and open on January 2nd.

Useful website on Christmas Day

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Date_of_the_birth_of_Jesus#:~:text=Based%20on%20this%20winter%20solstice

December 26th Boxing Day, hanukah, congestion charges and charges for ULEZ (ultra low emissions zone)

Menorah in the forecourt of Edgware train and bus station, in Edgware where Anne Frank's father lived after WW2.

 

A home menorah with all lights lit for the eighth day.

Look carefully and you will see this jokey depiction of  Pisa's leaning menorah, Mexico's cacti menorah, Scotland's bagpipes menorah.

UK 

In the UK, the traditional story says that years ago the servants would take boxes for tips, or take leftover from Xmas Day home to their families. Boxing Day is national holiday. Some stores, physical and online, open to catch the crowds with post Xmas day bargain shopping. Other places postpone their sales until after January 1st, which is why they used to be called the January Sales.

 In Europe the 26th is known as St Stephen's Day.

Today is the last day of Hannukah.

The good news is that the congestion charge for all kinds of vehicles in London is cancelled until New Year. Check below.

However the emissions charge for diesel vehicles in London was only cancelled on Chirstmas day so it came back in force on boxing day, the 26th.

Each city and area has different rules. So check the internet because you might be able to pay later the same day or within 24 hours, but you might get fined in addition if you forget to pay or don't realize the local rules.

London streets are full of signs warning of different regulations. You turn a corner or drive along a road and you have gone from 30 miles an hour to 20 miles an hour or see a social distancing sign.

https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/congestion-charge#:~:text=The%20Congestion%20Charge%20is%20a,by%20setting%20up%20Auto%20Pay.

https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/ultra-low-emission-zone/ulez-expansion-2023

https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/safety-and-security/road-safety/safe-speeds

Online Toastmasters Clubs With Members Worldwide

Wherever you are in the world, at home or travelling on business or on holiday, you can join a Toastmasters club or visit one. Almost every country has a club, well over a hundred countries. If your country does not have a club, then visit one when travelling, and watch some of the international winners on line.

Photographs With Winners
Naturally you will want to be photographed with the winners at a local club in a contest. I am President of Braddell Heights Advanced. So, here I am with the 2019 club contest winners. I am the club president. The first place winner goes forward to the Area contest in 2020.

Angela, President of Braddell Heights Advanced, standing on the left, wearing a Toastmasters tee-shirt. Sylvia, cool and calm in blue, is seated on the left, was second runner up in two contests. Arinjay, standing on the right, in businesslike black jacket, was first runner up in both contest. Faith, seated, pretty and passionate in pink, seated on the right, was first place winner in two contests, the International Speech contest and the Table Topics (impromptu speeches) contest.

An area consists of four to six clubs in the same area.

When you meet one of the international winners, you will then recognize them and asked to be photographed with them. If they are selling a book, they will be only too happy to be photographed with you, showing their book.

I travel a lot and this year I have been a member of two basic clubs and one advanced club in London.


Flag of Singapore

Singapore
I belong to two advanced clubs in Singapore.

Singapore's Online Club
I have just joined an advanced online club in Singapore which has had people logging in from the USA, the UK and Sweden. I went to act as tally counter (collecting votes from the anonymous jusges) at a contest at Toastmasters Club of Singapore at the Sheraton Towers Hotel. I was one of two tally counters. The other was Alicia. She immediately said to me, "We were both on the online Toastmasters club last week!"


Online speakers Alicia (left) and Angela (right). We met online and later in person.
Flag of Malaysia


Malaysia
I have an invitation to visit a club near Johor Bahru, from four girls (young-looking mature ladies) at a club just aoutside JB. They were visiting a university alumni club in Singapore.

Back in Europe, I got myself invited to a club. 



Travelling In Europe
When my husband was on business in Prague, capital of the Czech Republic, just before Christmas, we stayed on, thinking we would be all alonge and there would be no toastmassters clubs meeting during the christmas and new year period. Although I could see only a couple meeting during the holiday period, and I suspected even those which met would have cancelled their meetings because the public buildings would be closed, I wrote to six or seven clubs, all the ones in the city, just inc case they had moved a meeting or decided to holda a party in somebody's house and would be kinds enough to invite us. To our surprise and delight, after a blank two days, we unexpectedly got told that one of the clubs was having its usual meeting on the day after Xmas, the 26th, which in England is Boxing Day and a national holiday.

That club had members who were largely either expats or retired local people without large families keeping them busy. Although some of them would be busy, a core of between half a dozen or a dozen would be meeting and a couple more would make their small meeting bigger and more interesting. Even more suprising, on arrival we discovered that I already knew one of the members. He had attended a Toastmasters club meeting in Singapore when he was there and remembered me.

After the meeting we all went to a reasonably priced local restaurant in a large hall and they were able to help translate the vast menu and help us choose local specialities which were novelties to us and within our budget. I stayed in touch with an elderly gentleman, emailing about the English language intermittently, for several months.



Flag of the USA

The USA
In America there are online clubs speaking English and Spanish.

Singapore
One online club is bilingual. My club based online in Singapore is English speaking. Singapore also has bilingual clubs, and clubs speaking only in French, Chinese (Mandarin), and Tamil (an official language in Singapore and spoken in Southern India and Sri Lanka).

If you are interested in finding a club near you, at home or on holiday or a business trip, go to Toastmasters International Find A Club.

Useful Websites
https://www.toastmasters.org/find-a-club

About theAuthor
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Ill over Christmas? Can't Cook? Lonely or Alone In December or January? The Answer - travel to later celebrations

Problem
You are ill over Christmas and can't enjoy it. A relative by marriage tells me and the world on Facebook that she is too ill to celebrate Christmas. She is too ill to get out of bed, go out, cook, taste the food, indulge in Christmas food, cook or drink alcohol. I have managed to celebrate Christmas with others from early December through to mid-January. How?

Answer
Rest
In my experience I get ill if I am doing too much and not getting enough rest. Some years I feel I have been travelling too much on crowded buses, trains and planes and mixing with too many crowds and breathing too many of other people's germs. Eventually something goes. Illness is my body's way of going on strike and telling me to go to bed and get some rest. After a day's sleep, I feel rested, better. Going to a club party means minimum effort organixing food, although some parties are pot luck.

December 25th, 2017, Chritmas Day at rooftop bar, Singapore. Just pay $22 entry per person for admission which includes $2 towards food, then add $2 to order a $24 platter of pizza.

Singapore's Early Christmas Parties In December
In Singapore the Francophone Toastmasters club which meets the first Friday of the month had their Christmas party at the start of December.

Changing Dates and Time Zones
In Singapore Christmas ends on Boxing Day (which is a holiday in the UK and some Commonwealth countries). However, if you wish, you can celebrate the 12 days of Christmas and leave up the decoration until January 6th.

Going Out To Meet Friends On Boxing Day
In London we used to meet a specific group of friends for a Boxing Day evening get together at a restaurant. This is a good system for a group including mixed nationalities, mized religions, couples with mixed marriages, or small families where you cannot have Chrsitmas Day at granny's, mother's, or one sister's home and boxing day at the other sister or sister-in-law or brother-in law.

I asked a Chinese single lady who has eight brothers and sisters and a clan of three generations, "Do you have a pot luck party?"

She said, "No. Americans like pot lucks. We are all too busy working, often from 7 am.  I teach in a local primary school.  Some of my family get home at 7 or eight or even nine at night. Too tired and busy to cook. We have a catering company delivery a buffet for our big family."

In Singapore our Indian friends organize an annual Boxing Day lunch at an Indian restaurant. The husband says, "It is because 'Judy' (his wife) is a teacher always has that day off from teaching." His wife teaches English and French at American and ex-pat schools.

Singapore's Late December Celebrations
Bishan Toastmasters club has a meeting December 26th, 2017 with one Christmas theme speech listed.

Cairnhill Toastmasters club has a Christmas potluck supper in the break of a Christmas theme meeting on December 27th, 2017.

In London in 2017 a club's meeting date fell late in the month, too close to Christmas. Some people were involved in office parties. Others were travelling overseas to family, or just taking a Christmas holiday. Therefore they postponed the club Christmas party to January when they also got a lower price for a restaurant meal for the group and choice of dates because the restaurants were not already booked up with other people's Xmas parties. Christmas decorations in the shops were cheaper and club members had leftovers from their own home Christmas parties as well as stocks from previous years.

Christmas Warmer and Earlier Down Under
In Australia and Singapore, the clocks are different. Therefore you can see the Queen's Speech several hours earlier on TV.

If you suffer from SAD (lack of sunlight as well as cold making you stay indoors out of the sun causing depression) you could go south around the world to the warmer tropics such as India, Singapore, or South Africa or Australia or New Zealand.

Czech Republic In Europe
Last year, 2016, I was in Prague, Czech Republic. I thought there would be nothing happening on December 27th, certainly not a club meeting. I emailed the half dozen clubs in Prague and was amazed to find an enthusiastic response from a Pague club which was holding a Christmas theme meeting.

If you are visiting a club overseas, you might wish to pack Christmas theme biscuits from home as a contribution to the festivities. Be prepared for a charge made to visitors and members for Christmas food. It will be less than you would pay in a restaurant with the added bonus of networking and conviviality. The Czech group ran things differently, a short meeting, then all going on to a budget restaurant with long tables in a giant cellar beer hall - with Christmas decorations. If you have a small family, or are single or widowed, visiting or joining a club is a way of finding a group with whom you can talk.

(Toastmasters International, which started in the USA, is now worldwide. Membership is about £100 a year depending on the location and frequency of meetings. You can join most clubs for half a year at a reduced price. When you are a member, you are welcome to join meetings worldwide and learn how to log into Find-a-club.)

Travel To A Change Of Christmas Scene
Back to Christmas. Dates are arbitrary. You can follow the sun or the moon, Julian's calendar or Gregory's calendar. Some countries have a day of rest on Friday, others on Saturday, others on Sunday. If you can't co-ordinate with one country's celebrations, find another which co-ordinates its parades with your health when you feel ready to go and celebrate.

Celebrating New Year
Who celebrates later? If you need a mid-winter break or holiday, the Scots have their main celebrations at New Year. Join the Scots in Scotland and Scottish ex-pats worldwide or in Scottish communities or watch on TV.

Celebrating In January
Eastern Europe and Eastern Orthodox communities worldwide celebrate in January. If you haven't the health or money or time to travel in January, you can travel on the internet.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

When Should I Take Down Christmas Decorations?

After Christmas the Christmas decorations were still in shops.

Problem
When should I / you take down Christmas decorations?
1 Midnight on December 25th? Singapore shops think Christmas ends at the end of Christmas Day.
2 On Boxing Day? (That's December 26th in the UK - St Stephen's in Catholic and European countries.) 3 On New Year's Eve (replacing decorations with mistletoe and silver and gold and Happy New Year banners, and Christmas cards put away and replaced with Happy New Year cards?
4 Evening of New Year's Day, January 1st - holidays over - it's back to work. Shops replace Happy Christmas with January Sales signs.
5 January 5th - 12th Day of Xmas.
6 January 6th? Sounds like a nice even number.

Let's Count
Jan 24 - Xmas Eve - must have decorations up.
Jan 25 1st day of Xmas. (Unless you start counting on Jan 24th, which is a half day holiday in many businesses.)
Jan 26 - second day. Jan 27 - third day. Jan 29 - fourth day. Jan 30 - third day.

(How many days in December? The old rhyme goes, 'Thirty days hath September, April, June and November. All the rest have 31 days ....) So December has 31 days. Keep going.

December 31st (New Year's Eve) - fourth day.
Jan 1st - fifth day.
Jan 2nd - 6th day.
Jan 3rd - 7th day.
Jan 4th - 8th day.
Jan 5th - 9th day.
Jan 6th - 10th day.
Jan 7th - 11th day (but counting Xmas Eve as Day one it's 12th. So take things down on the morning or evening of the 7th, or midnight on the 6th. Hm. This year that's Friday night. End of the working week. Weekend clear to today up and pack away. Sounds good to me.

Answer
Jan 6th is the 12th Day of Christmas with the Feast of Epiphany. Jesus was circumcised on the 8th day after his birth, as is still done by Jews nowadays.

Do what you like. Tidy minded people take them down and pack them up as soon as possible, whilst still on holiday to save work later. But there are good reasons for all these ideas and dates. To get best use of your decorations, leave them up as long as possible.

Traditionally, you would leave the decorations up in the UK for the 12 days of Christmas, as in the song 'The 12 days of Xmas'.

Tips
Store Xmas decorations in tote bags from supermarkets which have Xmas themes in order to locate them easily next year.
Need to know more?
http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/2008/august/real-twelve-days-of-christmas.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/music-festivals/12082544/What-is-Epiphany-Here-are-10-facts-about-the-history-and-meaning-of-Three-Kings-Day.html

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer. Author and speaker.
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Passover - what's the connection with Easter?

Passover -
Festival time celebrating the Angel of Death passing over the houses of the Hebrew slave class who were building the pyramids (according to the Bible or Old Testament, which many will know from MGM movies). The Hebrews were spared from the deaths which struck the firstborn sons of the homes of the Egyptian overlords.

Discovery Channel called in forensics experts and concluded that deaths were from contaminated cereals. The result was that rulers introduced using up old crops before the new harvest, hence Spring Cleaning, giving up foods for Lent, and cleaning the house for Passover, banning bread with raising agents, eating only dry crackers called matzoh, even using a special new set or crockery if you are religious during the festival of passover.

Seder Night
Jews celebrate a Seder night. Seder means order. The tradition is to celebrate every holiday for two days so that despite world time differences, wherever you are, your celebration or observance coincides with Jerusalem and Israel.

So in many families one woman will hold the first night at her house. The second night is held at another, her younger sister or sister-in-law's house. The leftovers, or a second portion, will be taken from the first house to the second. It's a bit like some families in the UK where one family makes Christmas day lunch, and the next day they go to a friend or relative for Boxing Day.

For a Seder night you need to have bought or made the festival foods which are eaten in order. You use a book which tells the story of the Passover. (Americans might like to think of it as a forerunner of Thanksgiving). Jewish bookshops and online bookshops and gift shops sell plates and paper napkins.

The festival meal involves fun and games for children, who are given portions to read, are sent playing hunt the matzoh, and the ceremony ends with joyful singing of traditional songs.
The last words are 'Next year in Jerusalem'.

Just like Christmas Dinner, people who might be alone and not celebrating will be invited to a festive meal by the better off or bigger families. If you are travelling, you get a letter of introduction sent in advance if you are hoping to be invited to a Seder. For example, one year I went to Israel and was invited to a Seder night at the home of a relative of a friend.

Nowadays some Liberal synagogues organise a communal Seder. If you are not religious, or are a young mother in a mixed faith marriage, or have a small family, it is easier for mother and more fun to be in a large group where older people organise the food and a Rabbi leads you through the Haggadah which is the book. In the USA and Israel and probably other places you can go to a hotel. They will print their own Haggadah for that year, often in both Hebrew and English, with the name of the hotel or synagogue on the back.

The foods
Matzoh! Unleavened bread. Various stories account for this. The tradition is that the Hebrew Slaves were allowed to leave by Pharaoh. (Remember the song, 'Let my people go'.) But they left in such a hurry there was no time to let the bread rise, so they carried with them the dry flat crackers.

Finally, it is said that the "Last Supper" depicted in the famous paining of Jesus and his disciples, is a Seder meal. So if you go to a Seder, you are attending the most recent version of a festival going back    hundreds of years.

Nowadays a Seder night in most of the English speaking world is a family occasion, like Christmas Day lunch, celebrated with women and children, unlike the men only Last Supper depicted in the painting centuries later.

If you are not religious but you are invited to partake in a Seder night, what can you expect. This is getting long so see my next post.

Travel At Passover and Easter
From a traveller's point of view, the downside is that flights will be full and hotels will be booked. The plus side is that you can enjoy booking a Seder night and seeing families and friends.

Angela Lansbury BA Hons, author, writes about travel, food and drink. See more of her and about her on YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, Amazon.co.uk books and Lulu.com