English Christmas

Mood: Happy, Peaceful
Theme Song: "Candy" by Aggro Santos feat. Kimberly Wyatt

This year marks my first-ever Christmas outside the United States, and not spent with my immediate family. And while it was rather surreal to be so far away, I ended up having an absolutely wonderful time.

I think it's important to share that Christmas in England is taken very, very seriously. NOTHING is open, save for a few off-licenses (liquor stores) and quickie marts. It's not like in the U.S. where there are limited hours for last minute items or gifts. If you didn't plan ahead, then you're out of luck. Not even public transportation is running, so if you want to get around, you'd better have money for a cab (and patience to wait) or know someone with a car.

Yesterday, I was lucky enough to experience a true "English" Christmas dinner. I spent the day with Marianne and Joe Slade (see, Marianne, your name in lights AGAIN!!!) at Joe's grandmother's house.
So, what do the English eat on Christmas? I can't speak for every English person, and I'm sure that just like in America it will vary by region and cultural background, but here is what we had:

• Roast turkey - tasted the same, but the turkey was much smaller than what we're used to in America. I think it's called a "turkey crown" over here - just the top part of the turkey, because the ovens over here won't accomodate a full bird
• Turkey gravy - was delicious. Made from scratch and just perfect
• Roast potatoes - these are my all-time favorite side dish here in England. There are so many different ways to make them, the most traditional being with goose fat and bacon or pancetta.

MMMMMM.... POTATOES.... YUMMY YUMMY!!

• Steamed broccoli and carrots
• Roasted parsnips
• Mashed Swede (aka Rutabaga) - I didn't know until yesterday that a swede was a rutabaga
• Brussels Sprouts and Roasted Chestnuts - yum!
• Stuffing - English stuffing is different than American stuffing. It tastes similar, but is very different. It's made in a pan (like a casserole) or in a log.
• Small English Sausages - they look like cocktail sausages, but are REAL sausages and taste amazing
• Pigs in a Blanket - but not what you're thinking. These aren't mini hot dogs in bread. They are English sausages wrapped in English bacon, and they are deelish.

And then for dessert... or rather, "pudding" (because the English call every kind of dessert pudding, no matter what it is - and they don't understand what I mean when I refer to pudding (like Jell-O style)), we had:

• Sherry Trifle - absolutely delicious. Very sweet, and I think it's made from sponge cake and sherry (duh). Click the link for a full recipe to try yourself!
• Mulled wine - the first time I had this was when I celebrated Thanksgiving with Marianne and Joe, and I didn't care for it so much. (Turns out Joe had augmented the recipe with an overly generous helping of Cointreau, which explained why it tasted like something that could power a small SUV). Yesterday Joe made it normally and it was perfect for a cold, icy winter day.

You may have noticed that the Christmas dinner lacked the carb overdose which is so typical of American gatherings. More vegetables than potatoes, and no endless baskets of bread.

At 3pm, we turned the television on to watch the Queen's annual Christmas speech... which, to be honest, I didn't quite understand. I have to give Her Majesty credit, as I think she's about 85 years old and still going strong. However, her speech made no sense to me. I know it was about Christmas, and the Bible (they showed a lot of pictures of it), but the rest seemed to be about playing sports with various kids. Which I think is great, but I'm not sure how that had anything to do with King John or his Bible (which she talked about alot). But don't take my word for it - check it out yourself here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsVZmqXED1c. I was a bit disappointed because Joe had told me that it was tradition to sing the English National Anthem after the Queen's speech, so I had practiced the words and even emailed them to my phone. This, it turns out, was a joke.

After dinner, we tried to go the pub near my house for a Christmas cocktail, only to find that despite having all the lights and televisions on, it was closed. The sign on the door showed that it had only been open for 2 hours that day! In America, you can ALWAYS find a place willing to take your money and sauce you up! So we went back to my flat, where I served tea and chocolate and Joe fixed my wobbly table (*happy dance, happy dance*).

Today is Boxing Day and despite the fact that it is England's biggest shopping day of the year (like American Black Friday), I woke up to find that the trains aren't running! I knew that service was limited, but a friend of mine told me he thought that service was on today (because of the shopping). It turns out that there is limited bus and underground service only.

I wanted to go into town to meet a few friends and peruse the sales - to do so, I would have had to take 3 busses, a tram and the tube. Adding to the fun is that there is another tube strike going on so some lines are running, but with delays, or diversions. I honestly thought about chancing it, and while I'm pretty sure I could get there with limited drama, I'm not so sure about getting back. And so I'm having a lovely lazy day, updating this blog, drafting the first chapers of my book and catching up on all my recorded TV shows that I never catch during the week.

2011 is going to be a crazy busy year, and I have already made a list of things I will accomplish, so I am more than happy to chill in my jammies, drink tea and catch up with my peoples via phone and Skype.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, wherever you may be.
I for one can say that I am truly blessed. Sometimes the best gift of all is the gift of perspective. :)

Federman out.