英国文化小常识：像英国一样过圣诞！

　　It is very common for school age children to write letters to Santa Claus. But, the Brits take it a step further and burn the letters in the fireplace so the ashes fly up the chimney and Father Christmas can read the smoke. If, like many, you don’t have a fireplace/chimney … surely you can find alternative means. Just be safe!

　　给圣诞老人写信是很平常的事情，不过不去邮局寄信，而是把信烧掉，就是英国特色了。他们觉得这样信件就会直达北极圣诞老人的住所，可以省不少邮费呢!

　　2. Stockings

　　Rather than hanging stockings above the fireplace, British children hang them at the end of their bed hoping they will be filled by Christmas morning. That would be a nice surprise to wake up to. At the same time it might be difficult for “Santa” to fill without waking the wee ones.

　　在美国，大部分人家会把用来装礼物的Christmas stocking挂在壁炉上，等着圣诞老人送来礼物。不过在英国，人们会把它们挂在床边，这样一醒来就被礼物环绕的感觉会超爽，但是他们完全没有考虑过“圣诞老人”的感受啊，如何在不吵醒小孩子的同时把礼物塞进袜子真是个技术活儿呢!

　　3. Crackers²

　　The cracker¹ is a paper tube, covered in foil, twisted at both ends. It’s shaped like a large sweet with hidden treasures inside. Each person crosses their arms, using their right hand to hold their cracker, and pulling their neighbor’s cracker with their left. POP! The cracker will make a bit of a bang with the contents spilling out which usually is a joke to be read at the dinner table, a small trinket and a paper crown.

　　英国小孩子特别喜欢的一个游戏是玩儿“爆竹”，当然不是中国人过年放的那种，而是管状的类似糖果一样的东西，里面一般会有一些小装饰品，纸皇冠和一张写有joke的纸条。孩子们一人抓着一头，用力往两边拉，cracker就会发出“嘭”的一声，里面的小礼品也随之散落。

　　4. Crown

　　Everyone is a king on Christmas! The paper crowns are made of tissue paper and unfold into an actual crown. Adults and children alike don the crown making it a colorful sight. The paper hat was added to the crackers in the early 1900s and the tradition has carried on.

　　在圣诞节这天，人人都是国王哦!无论是小孩儿还是大人在圣诞节当天都会把这些纸皇冠戴在头上。画面很美对不对!人们最早在二十世纪初开始把这些纸皇冠放进Christmas cracker里面，这项传统延续至今。

　　5. Mid-Day Dinner

　　Christmas dinner is similar to that of the U.S. with a roast turkey, goose or chicken and trimmings. But, there are some specialty³ items that aren’t as common such as parsnips which are a root vegetable similar to a carrot. It’s a familiar taste but it’s fun to incorporate a new veggie to the table. Brits love their pudding but Yorkshire Pudding isn’t pudding-pudding like you would think. It’s more like a flakey, deflated⁴ biscuit with the center just waiting to hold your gravy⁵.

　　英国的圣诞菜谱跟美国比较像，主菜都是火鸡啦烤鹅之类的。但是也会有英国特色菜肴比如圣诞布丁，这不是普通意义上的布丁，去查图片就知道了。

　　6. Wassail

　　Wassail literally⁶ means “good health” or to “be healthy” and in this case is a hot, mulled drink. There are different ways to serve it like a hot cider but it may also be made with a base of wine. It was originally topped with slices of toast as sops⁷ (piece of bread to soak up the liquid.) Wonder why wine drenched⁸ bread went out of style? Well, Brits may question Americans’ craving⁹ for eggnog over the holidays.

　　英国人嗜酒善饮的特点全世界闻名，很多美剧里也常常把它作为一个梗来吐槽。主持人甚至说：在圣诞节，we soak everything in alcohol and set them on fire.

　　7. Royal Christmas Message

　　The tradition of sending out a Christmas Message to the public began in 1932 with George V. Current day the Queen gives a speech on Christmas Day at 3pm in England. You can gather around the TV with your loved ones and watch it on BBC America … that’s about prime Christmas present opening time on this end with the time difference. BBCA will air it later in the day to allow family time. Check your listings for exact times as the day approaches.

　　英国特色传统怎能少了超长待机的女王殿下，每年圣诞节的下午三点，女王殿下就会准时出现在电视屏幕里，回顾这一年发生的事或者历史上的今天什么的。有一年还用了3D特效，大家可以戴上3D眼镜看女王了呢!

　　8. Tea

　　Christmas tea usually rolls around 6pm and it is round two of a sit down with family and treats. Pretty much, any proper English event involves tea. Mince¹⁰ pies or sausage rolls might accompany the tea party. Rather than breaking out the Lipton, which would be spat¹¹ at by any visiting Brit, we suggest PG Tips that originated in the UK in the 1930s. If you can’t find them at a local shop you can do a quickie order from Amazon.com.

　　英国人多爱喝茶，不用强调了。几乎什么场合，都少不了茶。看过《唐顿庄园》的孩子们，脑补一下画面吧!

　　9. Boxing Day

　　Boxing Day follows Christmas day and is a nationally recognized holiday in the UK, also called a bank holiday. It was originally the day for servants and tradesman to receive presents from their employers but it’s now basically a big shopping day for Brits. It’s similar to Black Friday in the U.S. Your boss may wonder why you didn’t go into the office as it’s not an official holiday in the U.S. Maybe celebrate this one after work and get your shop on?

　　Boxing Day是圣诞节的第二天，它的起源比较有争议，有人说是这天会收到boss们的礼物，也有人说这天是人们送礼物给穷人，不过在今天，shopping就是Boxing Day的主题了!这跟美国的“黑色星期五”和咱们中国的双11双12差不多。

　　10. Next Year

　　Brits say you need to take your tree and decorations down within 12 days of Christmas or you’ll have bad luck for the next year. Don’t be that house on the street with blinking lights that go on through Valentine’s Day! Get that stuff down and get on with the New Year!

　　英国的习俗是在圣诞节过完的12天内要拆掉圣诞装饰，否则第二年就会走霉运。美国对于这个时间就没有那么严格啦。

　　Anyway，如今咱们中国人也会一起庆祝圣诞了，那今年，咱们要不要像个Brit一样来庆祝呢!

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