I am now back in the states for the holidays, but there is still so much I need to write about. I will continue to send out blogs to hopefully catch up on all of my adventures. This first one is about my experience of Christmas in England.
One major tradition in England are the Christmas markets. Oxford's went up the second week of November (these are the first two pictures down below). I also went to several in London, including Covent Garden, South Bank (third picture), and Leicester Square. The first thing I noticed was the lights. Strands of lights cover the pathways in between the wooden stalls. These stalls contain anything you can imagine that the local businesses have to offer: homemade food and drink, candles, soaps, decorations, pottery, purses, scarves, and hats. The atmosphere was filled with the fragrances of Christmas, and I could hear Christmas music from far off. Some markets have carnival-like games. And, sometimes Santa Claus visits the markets to listen to childrens' wishes. These places are wonderful to browse with friends, find unique gifts, and get into the Christmas spirit.
Just like we have special dishes we eat over the holidays, England also has its traditional food. Mince pies are pastries that are filled with "mince meat" (a.k.a. ground up dried fruit) in a small pie shell. They are absolutely delicious and were served at every Christmas event I went to. The fourth pictures shows me and my friends with our Mince pies after church one Sunday. A Christmas Log is another dessert that is similar to a pumpkin roll here, except it is made with chocolate and sprinkled with powdered sugar (fifth picture). It is yummy but extremely sweet, so I only wanted just a little bit. My host woman got one for me just before I came back to the states. Probably the most well known dessert from the British is the Christmas Pudding. It's like a fruit cake with lots of dried fruit and spices in it. I was not able to try this because it mainly served exclusively on Christmas day.
The most strange British tradition (to me) is the Christingle. I first heard about this when they announced in my church that we would be having a Christingle service. My international friends and I were quite confused and proceeded to google it during lunch. Essentially it is a candle stuck in an orange tied with red ribbon with candy pieces sticking out. Strange, right? But, there is meaning behind it. The orange represents the world; the candle is Jesus as the light; the ribbon is his blood; and, the candy is different aspects to pray for. I helped make some of the Christingles at our Postgrad meeting, much to the amusement of my British friends. At the actual service, a giant Christingle was built at the front as the children's pastor explained each aspect and why Jesus is the light of the world. They then managed to hand out the small ones we had made to every child. I show the Christingles in the last three pictures down below.
Another Christmas tradition is the Queen's Speech which is held every year on Christmas day. According to the BBC, she discusses the meaning of Christmas and what it means to her. This tradition began in 1932 under King George V, and Queen Elizabeth continued that tradition in 1952. It was this year broadcasted at 3pm London time (9am our time) on the BBC.
British thing I learned:
What we call a Nativity or manger scene, they call a Christmas crib.
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