Have a cool Yule!
Once again it's time to celebrate debts and family arguments. This is when we remember how mean or generous our friends and acquaintances were last year. Now we can either punish or reward them with the size of this year's presents.
Only joking.
It's Christmas time! Where will you be on the twenty-fourth? If you ask that question here in Poland, most people will give similar answers. If you ask it in Britain, there will be a lot of replies. This is because Christmas Eve is not so important in the UK, so there is not one single tradition that most people follow.
Some children go to a pantomime at their local theatre. This is a children's play, usually based on an old fairy tale such as Aladdin or Cinderella. According to tradition, one of the male characters must be played by a woman and one of the female characters must be played by a man. For example, in Cinderella, Prince Charming is played by an actress and the Ugly Sisters are played by two rugby players. The audience join in the play by shouting out 'He's behind you!' and 'Oh, no he isn't/Oh, yes he is!' at certain points.
Christmas Day is the most important part of the holiday period. Children get up early to see what Father Christmas (Santa Claus) has left them in their Christmas stockings. The larger presents are sitting under the Christmas tree, which is decorated with fairy lights, tinsel, baubles and other decorations. These are the gifts that the family give each other (in the morning usually).
Christmas dinner is not the fish-centred meal of Poland but something taken from American Thanksgiving: turkey (it used to be goose). People eat it with roast vegetables and Brussels sprouts. I don't understand this last part. I love sprouts but I have never met a child who does. Still, they eat them because otherwise they can't have any Christmas pudding. If you want to make a Christmas pudding, you need a lot of dried fruit, a lot of butter and a lot of time. It takes over ten hours to cook. It's worth the wait though, as it is the most delicious desert you will ever taste in Britain (so long as you make it yourself and don't buy it from a supermarket).
After a dinner like that, you won't want to do anything energetic for a long time. That's why the washing-up stays in the sink until Boxing Day.
However, some of us don't celebrate Christmas (also known as Xmas, Noel, Yuletide and 'the festive season'). This year I'll probably celebrate the short queues for the ski lifts again, before they return to normal on the 26th.
Merry Christmas!
Glossary
debts długi
argument sprzeczka
mean skąpy
generous szlachetny
acquaintance znajomość
punish ukarać
reward nagrodzić
similar podobny
reply odpowiedź
local pobliski
based on na podstawie
fairy tale bajka
According to według
audience widownia
join in uczestniczyć
provide zapewnić
stocking pończocha
fairy lights lampki choinkowe
tinsel lameta
bauble świecidełko
roast pieczony
Brussels sprout brukselka
otherwise inaczej
worth warty
energetic energiczny
sink zlew
ski lifts wyciąg narciarski
True or False?
- People in Poland and Britain do the same things at Christmas.
- Children watch rugby on Christmas Eve.
- The audience say some of the lines in a pantomime.
- In Britain, people open their presents on the 24th of December.
- People in Britain decorate their Christmas trees.
- Christmas puddings take a long time to cook.
- Everyone celebrates Christmas.
- Christmas and Xmas are the same thing.
Important dates:
Christmas Eve: 24th December
Christmas Day: 25th December
Boxing Day: 26th December
The four weeks before Christmas are called Advent.
KEY
1 False 2 False 3 True 4 False 5 True 6 True 7 False 8 True