Hello there!
Today I have lovely Lottie as a guest on my blog! Lottie is a blogger and, as she lives in the UK and I live in Russia, we decided that it would be nice to talk about different traditions of different cultures.
I hope that you'll find it interesting and some of you, maybe, will know something new!
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Hi! I'm Lottie, and me and Daria have decided to swap blogs for a post!
We thought it would be a nice idea for me to write something about English traditions at Christmas time for Daria's blog, and for her to write about some Russian traditions over on mine! Keep reading for my post, or click the link for Daria's post.
So, let's get started!
First up, Christmas trees. Most families have a Christmas tree up during December. Usually, choosing and decorating the tree is something the whole family does together, (siblings arguing over who should put the Angel on top).
Christmas Tree's were first introduced to the UK by Prince Albert (the husband of Queen Victoria), who bought one for his wife.
Christmas Tree's were first introduced to the UK by Prince Albert (the husband of Queen Victoria), who bought one for his wife.
Most towns and villages are decorated with Christmas Lights. Usually, at the end of November/ beginning of December, a famous person with a link to the particular city switches them on, and lots of people go to watch.
Children believe that Father Christmas watches them throughout the year, deciding whether they belong on the naughty list or the nice list. If they are on the nice list, on Christmas Eve, Father Christmas comes down the chimney and leaves them presents under the Christmas tree or in a stocking at the end of their bed.
A very modern tradition is something called 'Elf on the shelf'.
On the first of December, a letter will be written from one of Father Christmas' elves, which tells the Children that Father Christmas isn't quite sure whether they should be on the naughty list or the nice list, and so he has sent an elf to watch over them.
The elf sits still during the day, but each night, the parents move the elf to look like he's doing cheeky things (making a snow angel in flour, taking selfies on their parent's phone), etc.
The children love coming downstairs each morning to see what the elf has done!
Search #ElfOnTheShelf for lots of ideas, there are some quite funny ones about!
A traditional Christmas Dinner takes place at around midday and usually consists of...
a cooked turkey, Yorkshire puddings (my personal favourite!), stuffing, Brussels sprouts, roast potatoes, carrots, runner beans, peas and gravy.
For dessert, Christmas Pudding is typically served with brandy butter or cream.
In 1647, the leader of England was Oliver Cromwell. He decided that Christmas should be illegal, and so banned all festivities from taking place. The ban only stopped when Cromwell lost power in 1660, after 13 years.
Everybody usually finds a Christmas cracker at their place on the dinner table. You pull your cracker with somebody, and inside is a (not overly hilarious) joke, a paper crown and a small something. Nail files, key rings and dice are common things that are found in crackers.
So that leads me to the end of my post. I've loved writing about English Christmas time, it's my most favourite time of the year.
Thank you to Daria and her readers for having me!
You can read Daria's post over on my blog by clicking on this link:
http://lottielogan.blogspot.co.uk
Love, Lottie xx
