Europäische Weihnacht – in Vielfalt geeint - Sutter GmbH & Co. KG

Großbritannien/Great Britain
well-meaning ghosts is ideal to read underneath the
Christmas tree to children aged eight and older, to
shorten the time until they can unwrap their Christmas
presents.
Dickens was a great friend of Christmas even in real
life, so a nice little anecdote tells us. Every year, the
poet invited his best friends to join him on Christmas
Eve for an opulent Christmas dinner. Once the
goose was on the table and cosiness had fully unfolded
in the warm room with foods aplenty on the table,
Dickens got up from his chair, walked to the window
and opened it a touch. Steps were then heard outside
in the deep snow. A lonely wayfarer obviously was
passing by in the cold night and just as he passed
underneath the window he stopped, condemned the
cold and crossed his arms to keep warm before
moving on, grunting and groaning. Only after
Dickens had died did his friends find out that he had
ordered this freezing wayfarer and paid him, to
highlight the homey atmosphere inside with this contrast.
The British are equally known for their oddness as
for their eccentric ideas – one of which is without a
doubt their famous plum pudding, the preparation of
which has presumably as many recipes to fall back
onto as the entire works of Dickens have pages. One
particularly elaborate variety is the Christmas Pud,
whose preparation must start no later than on the
first of advent, to ensure that it is ready in time for
the Christmas dinner.
When wanting to wish friends in Great Britain a
“Merry Christmas” by phone, it is best not to do so on
Christmas Day at 3 o’clock (local time) – as this is
traditionally the time the Queen’s Christmas speech
is broadcast on BBC. (These days a short version of
the speech can even be received as a text message.)
Those experiencing British Christmas for the first
time might think that New Year’s Eve is part of the
celebrations. How else to explain the firework-like
popping which goes back to Victorian days with the
giving of gifts at Christmas? When taking a closer
look one quickly realises that these are not fireworks
which explode, but Christmas Crackers, containing
tiny tokens inside and rolled-up notes with witty
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little sayings. The great moment for these Christmas
Crackers is right after the actual giving of the gifts.
Two people hold either end of the cracking crackers,
pull it hard and – peng! Surprise! Typically, an
English Christmas carol is sung, such as the one
about the red-nosed reindeer. What was it called
again? Oh yes:
Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer
As eccentric as some of the customs of the islanders
may appear to us continental Europeans, they are
surely not eccentric enough to celebrate a box fight on
Boxing Day. So why is this day called Boxing Day
in Great Britain? It is much rather named after the
box in which formerly the servants collected their
Christmas bonus on this day.
A shortened formulation of the word Christmas
allows British scrabble® players to rid themselves of
the letter X, which usually is hard to place, not only
at Christmas of course: Xmas. And what is this all
about? Quite simple: X is the first letter of the name
Christ in Greek.
A sister of Befana from jItaly roams around England
on January 6: Mari Lwyd, a woman in a
white disguise, ringing doorbells, setting a riddle
and wanting to be asked one herself. Those who
can not come up with a smart brainteaser are bitten
by Mari Lwyd and will then have to donate
sweets, fruit and nuts to her. Surely she will not
decline the leftovers (if any) of the Christmas Pud -
see above.