Christmas in England

Christmas in England

Father Christmas

Santa Claus brings gifts to good children during the late evening and overnight hours of Christmas Eve, December 24.

Christmas is the main public holiday in Britain and the USA when people spend time with their families and friends, eat special food, and drink a lot.

Every year in December they celebrate the birthday of Jesus.

Christmas Day is the most favorite day for children. They wake up very early in the morning to find their stockings have been filled by Father Christmas and excitedly unwrap the presents before going down to breakfast.

Traditional Activities on Christmas Day in Britain

1.Church service →

2. Christmas breakfast and Christmas Tea

3.The Queen's Speech→

4.Christmas dinner →

Christmas tea

They play games and fun, eat Christmas tea at about 6 pm.

Christmas Crackers

At the start of the meal, Britain people often pull a cracker, which contains a small toy, a paper hat and a joke

Christmas Pudding

The Christmas pudding is a brown pudding with raisins, nuts and cherries. It is similar to fruitcake, except that pudding is steamed and fruitcake is baked.

Brandy is often poured over the pudding, which is then set a light as it is carried to the table.

It is served with custard or brandy sauce.

Christmas Pud d ing

• 8 oz currants
• 8 oz. sultanas
• 8 oz. stoned raisins
• 8 oz. Barbados sugar
• 4 oz. grated beef suet
• 4 oz. fresh breadcrumbs
• 4 oz. ground almonds
• 4 oz. blanched almonds, chopped
• 4 oz. mixed candied peel
• 6 oz. cooking apple, peeled and finely chopped
• 8 oz. plain flour
• Finely grated rind of 1 orange
• 2 tbsp. lemon juice
• 3 fl. oz. stout
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 oz. ground mixed spice
• 1/4 tsp. grated nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• Pinch of salt
• 5 tbsp. brandy

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This dates back to the late 19th century. Although Christmas puddings should be made well in advance, it is possible to make this pudding on Christmas Eve with very successful results.

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl with 2 tbsp. of the brandy. Place a trivet in the base of a large saucepan. Lower the pudding into the saucepan and fill with enough boiling water to come two-thirds of the way up the sides of the basin. When the Pudding is cooked, pour the remaining brandy over the surface and re-cover. To reheat, boil gently for 3-4 hours. To serve, decorate with a sprig of holly.

Christmas dinner

The dinner usually consists of roast turkey (although other poultry such as goose, chicken, duck,) sometimes with roast beef or ham or pork; bread sauce; roast potatoes (sometimes boiled or mashed); vegetables (usually boiled or steamed),

Roast turkey

Place the vegetables and thyme in a roasting pan brush the back with butter. Place in a 400°F oven. ↓

Roast potatoes

Turkey may be the nominal centre piece of the Christmas table, but if you get roast potatoes, you could serve chicken nuggets.

Brussels sprouts

500g Brussels sprouts, washed and trimmed

Large knob of butter

100g flaked almonds

1. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Put the sprouts in, and cook from 5 to 8 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large frying pan, and add the nuts. Toast until lightly browned. Drain the sprouts, add to the pan and toss well to coat. Season and serve immediately.

Thank you!

The presentation was made by Olga Tsybulko, group K-508, Petrozavodsk.