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I'm an aged Englishwoman in my eighth decade. My Victorian paternal grandmother set the pattern for our childhood Christmasses. The main rooms of the house were festooned with decorations during the final week before Christmas but the Christmas tree itself was not brought into the house and decorated until evening, after we children were in bed. We awoke on Xmas morning to find our stocking, filled with sweets and small gifts + the tangerine in its toe, and one other wrapped gift - usually the "annual" of our favourite comic or some other entertaining book - at the bottom of the bed. Our first sight of the decorated tree, with wrapped and labelled gifts surrounding it, was a marvel to behold on Xmas morning. We opened a couple of presents each between breakfast and lunch; then one or two more mid-afternoon, but two gifts each were kept for opening the following day, Boxing Day. The traditional Christmas "lunch", served approx 2pm, was always roast goose (never turkey) followed by a brandy-flamed Christmas pudding, with both custard AND cream, for dessert. When the light began to fail and dusk set in, my father lit the little red twisted wax candles on the xmas tree (electric tree lights only appeared years later). We were allowed to help ourselves from a side table, laden with mince pies, sausage rolls, nuts and sweets for most of the day, and teatime was a serving of cold goose, gammon, cheese and pickles, followed by a wedge of traditional Christmas cake and gallons of lemonade, cream soda and dandelion and burdock. If we hadnt yet eaten enough to make ourselves sick, the day was rounded off with chestnuts roasted on the open coal fire and toast browned over the same fire on long toasting forks. I have travelled to many places and seen huge changes in my 75yrs but, despite modern technology and today's greater wealth, those post WWII English christmasses remain extra special in my memories.

@amandairedale706

2 жыл бұрын

These are reminiscent days of my gran's era she would have been 117.

@jamesdalton3082

2 жыл бұрын

That sounds like the PERFECT Christmas observances to me.

@worldwearyuk178

2 жыл бұрын

@@amandairedale706 Exactly, Amanda. My Grandmother would have been 135 had she still been living. 🙂

@jaebee9308

2 жыл бұрын

Loved reading this! Also..."pushing 60" is definitely not "aged"! Still quite young, even if your aches & pains say otherwise. 😆💗

@amyrudolph1090

2 жыл бұрын

Oh that is beautiful, thank you for sharing your beautiful memories! 🥰

I'm an older American (pushing 60). Santa always left a a clementine, tangerine, or other citrus fruit in my stocking. I'm also old enough to remember when a large fruit basket was a big, extravagant gift at Christmastime. (More rare these days.) Decades ago, these fruits were more exotic and rare. We're so spoiled today that we take these fruits for granted. You can buy them all year round--even out of season--because they're shipped in from around the world. When I was a kid you only saw fresh citrus fruit during the winter months, when they were in season in sunny Florida. That's why it was such a big treat from Santa.

@jjohn4874

2 жыл бұрын

I am an American and we always got a large, naval orange in the toe of our Christmas stockings.... which were hung on hooks from the mantel of our fireplace.

@naomiwargel485

2 жыл бұрын

My mom is 92 and came from a large poor farm family. During the Great Depression, the Christmas was very spare. An orange was a great gift in the stocking. If no orange, they might get a kumquat or persimmon. The most she ever got was a homemade gift of a small doll or ribbon candy if she was lucky. She didnt know any other way, so she was very happy and appreciative. Love her old stories!

@kerryswier4173

2 жыл бұрын

Same here. In my 50s and we always had a clementine, tangerine, or mandarin in our stockings.

@lorikimmel5380

2 жыл бұрын

Yes! A coloring book, a tangerine, some walnuts, candy canes and pieces of small, hard Christmas candy that would get stuck together in the toe of the stocking; didn’t like the fruit filled candy but some would have chocolate in the middle.

@argon6548

2 жыл бұрын

I'm a Canadian in my 60's, my father was British and my mum was American, and we always had what we called a Japanese orange in the toe of the stocking! But we did hang the stockings from the mantle.

“Cider is always alcoholic otherwise we will call it apple juice” 🤣 so true

I'm a lifelong Chicagoan, now an expat living in Ireland for the past 5 years. My US Christmases did not include a birthday cake for Jesus, I've never even heard of that. However, Christmas cookies are a big part of American Christmases. And our Christmas drink was always eggnog. Like Julie states here, we wouldn't have turkey because we had turkey for Thanksgiving. But at our house, it was usually ham for Christmas - I suspect we were much less posh than Julie's family with their goose and chateaubriand! 🤣 I also never had a fireplace in America so our stockings were usually laying on a table and found filled in the morning. I have a mantle in Ireland (above a wood stove in the kitchen) but I've found it impossible to fill the stockings without removing them to the kitchen table because the heat of the fire would melt the chocolate Santas! I think that unlike the UK, and Ireland, American Christmases can vary a lot more from family to family, due to regional differences and different ethnic backgrounds. Whereas here in Ireland, and probably in the UK, there are cultural traditions that are pretty uniform from home to home.

@AGloriousLife

2 жыл бұрын

Agreed - I think what's not mentioned in the video is an acknowledgment that "Americans" (and their traditions) are comprised of many different ethnic, cultural and regional influences and backgrounds.

@Shanngab

2 жыл бұрын

True. I was surprised that deviled eggs played such a key role in her Christmas experience. She must hail from the Southern states. Egg nog and fruitcake were always a part of our Christmas but not really enjoyed by anyone. We had turkey but most people enjoy ham.

@elisaseverns2543

2 жыл бұрын

@@Shanngab our family also had turkey, eggnog and fruitcake. My mom’s homemade fruitcake was the best! Candied pineapple and cherries, dates and pecans, scrumptious!

@Shanngab

2 жыл бұрын

@@elisaseverns2543 ours were store bought. That must be the difference, plus we never added the butter-brandy sauce on it. I’d love to try all that, now.

@elisaseverns2543

2 жыл бұрын

@@Shanngab the store bought were made with candied citrus and had a weird sharp flavor. Not my favorite at all.

"The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there". Yeah, I agree with Julie that Christmas Stockings are hung on the fireplace mantle (easier for santa to fill on his busiest night of the year). : )

@lindaheath784

2 жыл бұрын

We didn't hang out stockings near the fireplace due to a fire hazard. . Sometimes they were hung on chairs or on the stairway.🤗 We were never told that Santa gave anything. We were allowed to open socks in the AM but had to wait to open the presents under the tree after the Christmas meal. Talk about growing patience but a we have a lot of great memories! 🤗

@DrNancyLivingCoCreatively

2 жыл бұрын

Seems Dickens might be correct.

@phyllisanngodfrey6137

2 жыл бұрын

Of course Clement Moore was a Yank.

@helenlayley

2 жыл бұрын

Ahh, we hung our stockings up (by the chimney with care) but when we woke up there was that glorious, crackling, heavy, something across our feet in bed . . . Luke described that so well! Yorkshire, England, 1970s onwards.

@sarahhayse-gregson689

2 жыл бұрын

@@lindaheath784 the idea of having the stockings at the end of the bed was to give the parents another hour’s sleep😁

You forgot the American favorite…egg nog and also leaving cookies and milk for Santa and carrots for his reindeer 🎅🏻🎄⛄️

@bookmouse2719

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah....what about Santa's Reindeers?! They get treats too.

@reneewilkinson2017

Жыл бұрын

@@bookmouse2719 fruitcake!

Well I’m American but we were brought up English style, thanks to my Mom, whose grandparents were from England. Also she is quite religious so we had an advent candle ceremony every night for the 24 days of December, where we did read little devotional stories, and learn to recite scripture, but each child had a turn at blowing out candles, opening an advent calendar window or cutting a ring off the countdown paper chain. On Christmas Eve, we did have Jesus’ birthday cake- so there’s one for the American side. We always watched Dicken’s “A Christmas Carol” on tv instead of some of the more American movie favorites. Our stockings- Dad’s old stretched out socks- were hung but then they appeared on the foot of the bed in the middle of the night by Santa. Everything in them was wrapped to slow the little early birds down. There was always an orange and an Indian head penny in the foot. 50 years on I can still remember the excitement to feel the heavy stocking crinkling as I flexed my toes around it in the wee smalls. Then in the late morning, my grandparents would come down from their upstairs apartment and we would all have huge breakfast in the kitchen around our blazing advent wreath. Carols were sung during breakfast and we little ones were squirmy the whole time, excited to see the tree, which was behind a firmly closed door. We cut and decorated our tree on Christmas Eve, but no presents appeared there until overnight. We would finally line up oldest to youngest or youngest to oldest, it changed, and be led in with our hands over our eyes. Everyone had their own dazzling pile, artistically arranged by my mom, and a designated place to sit. Then we went round the room to open gifts in turn, and everyone got to share in everyone else’s joy. Christmas dinner was ALWAYS standing rib roast and Yorkshire pudding. It still is for me 50 years later. My own kids have grown and gone their ways but they all still call in for the Yorkshire pudding recipe, much to the amazement of their spouses and friends, who’ve never heard of it. We always had glorious leftovers for Boxing Day, the 26th. Watching my grandchildren now, it’s a far cry from the old-timey slow moving month-long festival it was in my own childhood. Everything moves at warp speed now; the holidays are no longer savored. I now live in the wilds of Alaska so nowhere near the grands, but if I did, I would wish to put a little of the magical and the sacred back into their lives. How sweet it was!

@amyrudolph1090

2 жыл бұрын

"Magical and sacred" I love that, you have the right idea in my opinion! God bless 🥰.

@lizgriffin7381

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for mentioning the Christian aspects. Christians would usually go to church on Christmas day, as does Queen Elizabeth. Also people in England like to go to the Chistmas Eve service with all the candles.

@amandaelynch1

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for sharing! I really love learning about others traditions they grew up with both passed down and new. I have to really agree with you about how for the youbger generation the holidays are at a warp speed and not savoured. I’m near 34 now, no children yet, but I find myself every year reflecting on the holidays and wonder how i can slow it down more for next year, and why there is this build up that seems to end within hours. I crave a nostalgia of slowness that way. We are all in such a hurry, and as women we do tend to have this running list of things we need to do before the big day, but I long to just be slow and create magic at christmas. Anyways, thanks again for sharing!

@colinallers9982

Жыл бұрын

We open our present at 12 at night

@susanvinson2667

Жыл бұрын

That’s the closest description of my family’s Christmas with my British parents. Except the highlight was my mum’s steamed pudding with the most delicious sauce. I’ll never forget it. Standing rib roast was a regular dinner. Not just for Christmas.

These two are so funny to watch……love how unfiltered they are with each other and seemingly unedited before publishing!

I’m American, and my kids had one gift that Santa left…..usually the one they wanted the most. Santa never left all the gifts.

@dustin628

2 жыл бұрын

Really? I guess your parents didn't want santa taking all the credit lol!

Eggnog would be the American Christmas drink...with Brandy. My Grandmother always made the mince pies (and chest of assorted cakes). She was from Southern U.S. but mince pies are rarely seen these days.

@jleechadwick

2 жыл бұрын

My mom would make mince pies for Christmas also. We always had turkey for Christmas (as well as Thanksgiving of course). Mom would always make her cornbread and sausage stuffing. When she was making cornbread for the stuffing, she'd have to make two batches because by the time it was baked, we all wanted cornbread. Like Julie's mom, my mom always made deviled eggs for both Thanksgiving and Christmas.

@jeanjean2033

2 жыл бұрын

I think they're not made anymore because people don't have the time for all of that prep work it's a shame enjoy your holiday please be safe

@kayte13

2 жыл бұрын

People are still baking for Christmas

@jeanjean2033

2 жыл бұрын

I baked cookies all day today

@leannbeird1203

2 жыл бұрын

My grandmother would make mince pies (her mother was from Wales)

We didn't have a birthday cake, my Dad would read the Bible story in Luke then we would open our presents. Mom would make a huge breakfast. We had the silver tree & turning wheel of color. Lived it all. Precious memories.

For the holidays, my parents would always remember the cleaning lady, mailman, our teachers and the gardener with either a new wallet, or box of candy or something.

I grew up in Texas and was a child in the 60s. Our stocking was actually an old sock. We had no fireplace but we laid a sock by the tree. Santa put tangerines, apples and pecans and a piece of peppermint in it. Our presents were never wrapped but were displayed under the tree. We only got about 5 gifts each. Mother and all of my Aunts would get together before Christmas and make candies and fruit cakes. After we opened our gifts we went to my Grandparents and had Christmas dinner with all the family. I actually went caroling when I was in high school with friends. Our Christmas tree at home was always decorated with hand made ornaments. I do not remember but maybe a few store bought ornaments. Merry Christmas everyone 🎄🤶🎅

@Starry_Night_Sky7455

2 жыл бұрын

I loved reading this. 🙂

@CL-mp4vn

2 жыл бұрын

That is so lovely ! Merry Christmas, everyone 🎄🎅🎁☃❄

@bootsnsaddle8289

2 жыл бұрын

@Ni ni Merry Christmas, Y'all !!!

@merricat3025

2 жыл бұрын

We use old socks too. We didn't have a fireplace stick them on our heater

@dazeyday5699

2 жыл бұрын

Merry Christmas! Born in the 60s myself and loved reading about your memories.

Julie and Luke, I did a bit of research and found out something remarkable: The reason we place the clementines, tangerines or oranges in our stockings dates back to fourth century St. Nicholas! The clementine represents the gold coin that St. Nicholas in Turkey, placed in the daughter's stocking to allow her a wedding dowry. Isn't that little insight fascinating? Round, golden reminders of the Spirit of Christmas Generosity.

@MappertonLive

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for that! So interesting!

@juliepetitt4196

2 жыл бұрын

I believe also if you didn't get vitamin c. Hard to do back then especially in the winter children could get rickets.

@ssmith6694

2 жыл бұрын

I remember as a child growing up we always had an orange with a few varieties of nuts at the bottom of our stocking. Sometimes we have an apple with the orange and then it is filled with candy, and a candy cane at the top. Christmas morning we would see candy canes hung on the tree as a sign Santa had come. The stockings would be hanging on the fireplace or laid at the bottom of the tree.

@LoriCrabtree31

2 жыл бұрын

Agree with Julie, sure it's for preventing rickets and scurvy in the harsh winter months.

@chatterjeelinda4

2 жыл бұрын

When I grew up in England in the 1970s, we had a pound coin in the bottom of the stocking, and then a clementine.

I always received an orange in the toe of my stocking, my sister had an apple in hers. I’m not sure why my parents or grandparents did it that way. There was always candy, sometimes one of those life savers candy “books”, some chocolates & other small gifts. The stockings were laid on the couch because we didn’t have a chimney. “Santa” left one unwrapped special present & one wrapped one under the tree. The rest were from family. We opened presents first thing in the morning unless dad was working an overnight shift (he was a state trooper), sometimes we’d have to wait until 11am but we did get to have our stocking. We opened them one at a time so we could keep track for thank you notes-I think mom made us do it because she had a deep seated need to know what everyone received. Though we did write thank yous. Our children got to open one gift Christmas Eve: pajamas when they were young, now that they’re adults it’s pajama/lounge pants. The Christmas tree is put up the day after thanksgiving or the week after. It remains up until the first or second week of January. We use a fake (gasp) tree because the fresh ones sometimes bring in spiders 😱...one year there must have been a nest because there were several tiny ones on our ceiling. We don’t use tinsel because it’s dangerous for cats, so is putting ribbons on packages. So our packages are just paper & a name tag. The cat just lets us live in our house lol.

Carrot pudding in my family , with almond sauce. The recipe came over from England with my grandmothers. Growing up, we just used a large regular sock, but my husband's family had special Christmas socks. I'm 63, Canadian.

Never heard of a birthday cake for Jesus before. That's definitely a new one for me!

Interesting to learn about how Christiana is celebrated in the UK. Julie's been away for a long time. Eggnog is our Christmas drink.

@brett76544

2 жыл бұрын

The home made or the non-alcoholic store bought type.

@anna_m59

2 жыл бұрын

Julie must go through many challenge being in UK. As a Swiss I never could eat the food in UK . Luckily in California we have everything as term food.

@deborahwhite2339

2 жыл бұрын

My mother made home made eggnog. I couldn't get enough. But nowadays, too much risk of salmonella

@annaverano5843

2 жыл бұрын

@@anna_m59 nothing wrong with UK food .. I lived there for a year and came to the conclusion that is just a negative stereotype about the uk

@elizabethclaiborne6461

2 жыл бұрын

Ewww! We drink champagne.

You both are soooo funny!! The differences in words, traditions and stories are hysterical!!! 🎄🇺🇲🇬🇧🎄 🎄🇬🇧🇺🇲🎄

Omg I just found your channel yesterday and I just want to say thank you!! I can't stop binge watching this and American Viscountess! You guys are wonderful together and make laugh! I'm from IL and 28 but have been in love with everything British since I can remember! I have been very down lately with everything going on and you have made it 10000x better! Can't wait to watch more! I appreciate you guys!

@MappertonLive

2 жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoy content from our channels!

I’m American and I have to be honest, I’ve never heard of having a birthday cake for Jesus at Christmas. Great video, as usual. Merry Christmas everyone!

@Toronto2011NiA

2 жыл бұрын

I agree this is the first time I heard it.

@ashleyknight4122

2 жыл бұрын

Me either

@leannbeird1203

2 жыл бұрын

I'm from Michigan, and we didn't have cake either, we had delicious pies and a beautiful chocolate Yule Log cake

@bizburgess1947

2 жыл бұрын

@@Toronto2011NiA Glad to hear this...I am from Canada and thought Wow that is the best kept American secret I never heard!

@lonesomevalkyrie

2 жыл бұрын

Same. Never heard that before. (American)

Santa creeping around at the end of my bed is sort of terrifying.

@laurendefrank7380

2 жыл бұрын

I was thinking the same thing!

@collnss

2 жыл бұрын

I recently watched this: kzread.info/dash/bejne/f4qEkrpqfqvaqKQ.html

@ocgirl3574

2 жыл бұрын

right??

@ltm28

2 жыл бұрын

Santa is terrifying regardless lol

@virginiaschott4482

2 жыл бұрын

Strange man in your kids bedroom, you know here in the US, Santa gonna be shot.

My family still does the mulled wine and Christmas crackers, even though it’s been years since we moved back to America from England. There’s many parts of English Christmas that we miss!

We always found a tangerine in our stocking. I’m from a Pennsylvania German-American family and to this day when I smell a tangerine it brings me right back to Christmas. That and a candy cane, a popcorn ball, clear-toy (barley sugar poured into German Christmas candy molds) candy, and of course, a Hershey’s chocolate bar!

@lulubells930

3 ай бұрын

Me too.

When I was a child in Kingston, 🇯🇲 Jamaica, people visited each other, all the children got beautiful new clothes, went to the Christmas ( Grand) market, church and young people to Christmas morning concerts with the emerging recording artists. We got presents, fruit cake, sorrel drink, wine, dinner of rice & peas, ham, chicken etc. Boxing Day was fun all the way: for adults the opening of the theatre season of plays & pantomines, children went to fairs with clowns, Ferris wheels etc., concerts. It was a wonderful time to be a child!!

@patriciastaimee

2 жыл бұрын

Very true I missed those traditions from the caribbean...and Christmas music all over parrang..

@patriciastaimee

2 жыл бұрын

Not forgetting midnight mass...yea these were great days...celebrating Christmas...

My dad would always leave out a full glass of whisky for Santa.. He reckoned by the time he’d dealt with all the children he would need it..!!… “🎅🏻.. Anyway Santa’s air space was clear so he didn’t have to worry about having a little tipple”..🎅🏻 He’s been gone now since 79 but I still remember the great Christmases we had as children in the fifties… Merry Christmas to you all Madds⛄️🥰👵🇦🇺🇺🇸☃️

I’m an American, and I never had presents under the tree from Santa either - just stockings. It was a personal preference of my parents.

Here in Kansas, we hung the stockings to be filled with little gifts. The tree was surrounded by gifts from the family and Santa only brought one gift. That present usually things that were more traditional not electronics. When I was young my paternal grandparents were Mennonite so our Christmas was a candle light religious service and our gifts were functional items, handmade things for our "hope chests" or beautiful wood shelves (etc) made by grandfather's hands!! My mother's family was more "commercial" so my memories are not as vivid. With my own family, we now make homemade gifts, Christmas cookies, and other little traditions and take these things to those less fortunate, children's home, and the elderly. Because, we have made the decision to make the holidays about family, sharing traditions (when new spouses join) and making those magical memories for my granddaughter. Not what she gets but what we did, together and how special we make each other and other people feel.... So, from Kansas, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

The Christmas drink that the US has is Eggnog. Merry Christmas from Maine.

@themainer1267

2 жыл бұрын

Yes, eggnog. For the adults, eggnog with rum.

In the Deep South USA, we always had an orange in the toe of our stocking, with candy and walnuts and small trinkets. I have no idea why we got walnuts every Christmas and only at Christmas; we lived in pecan land. My brother would wake me up early Christmas morning to creep into the den where Santa had displayed the Big Bounty: Dolls, trucks, tea sets, Army men, Lincoln Logs, Fisher-Price peg people under the tree, all set up for play. It was magical. And then we'd go back to bed and fake surprise when we saw it with our parents about an hour later.

@jamesdalton3082

2 жыл бұрын

That was my family tradition too. The walnuts were English walnuts, which I guess made them a little more special. Liked the orange but never liked the walnuts. Of course, our local indigenous black walnuts, which us kids used to gather and sell for pocket money, were even worse, at least in my opinion.

@emmapeel925

2 жыл бұрын

In Alabama, we got an apple, an orange or tangerine and walnuts and pecans.

@rhondahewitt8196

2 жыл бұрын

In my home mom and dad stayed up late to be sure we were well asleep. Then they would set out "Santa" us kids woke early and excitedly discovered it all. Run to mom and dad to tell them Santa came and what he left us and of course they had to show us excitement what santa left us.

@michelecannady2393

Жыл бұрын

Same…the stockings were filled with candy, walnuts and tangerines. In front of the wrapped gifts from family around the Christmas tree, it looked like a department store display with unwrapped gifts from Santa. So exciting, it was! We always had turkey and dressing on Christmas along with many Southern casserole favorites. Yum.😊

We are excessive in America with Christmas to the point that I started to really dread the holiday. It's a lot of pressure on parents and their pocket books. We are a Christian family that dreaded Christmas because of the strain the "wants" of the child would put on our budget. When we moved to Virginia (part of theBible Belt) we made some valuable changes that put the meaning back in Christmas, the focus back on Jesus, and our budget an overhaul. Our dear friend told us that they give each child three gifts - just like Jesus. Our budget was $150 each child (small children don't need quite that budget)...that $150 was for teenagers. Anyway, one of those gifts would be a "big" present and the other two would be small. The "big" present would be the higher value. Stockings were filled with unwrapped presents as well. At times we would put smaller "Santa" gifts in there. One year we researched the meaning of gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh and bought something with that type of meaning. Many American homes do Christmas in excess. We told our children it's about THE GIFT and NOT the gifts. We now love Christmas and just enjoy being together and sharing memories and playing together.

@joseeallyn9950

Жыл бұрын

You are correct. Christmas does not need to be such a strain for parents.

@colbsterchick7

Жыл бұрын

I completely agree with this and can give the perspective of a child with parents who did overly excessive christmas. We are christians but i wish we had less focus on gifts growing up. There were too many gifts, took hours to open as we took turns and a lot broke soon after. I always felt overwhelmed and I started going into a depression every christmas from about 13 yrs old to honestly just about 5-6 years ago (I'm 37 now). My husband and i are trying to conceive and have pledged our Christmases are going to be more faith based.

@susanvinson2667

Жыл бұрын

The presents my parents bought my brothers and I weren’t big and expensive. Our stockings held stuff you could get at a dollar store today, but they were wrapped and that made it exciting. Wrapping that gift doesn’t seem like much, but it does make a difference.

I remember chocolate ornaments wrapped in foil with a gold thread to hang them on the tree! We also make gingerbread cookies with a red thread through them to hang on the tree. My mother's family immigrated to the U.S. from Canada. We always give a gift to the postman and the waste management workers for Christmas. Not everybody in America sends photos of their family for a Christmas card. The vast majority of the cards we get are Christmas cards, not photo cards. Merry Christmas y'all!

I’m from Chicago and I’ve heard of Birthday cakes for Jesus, but never personally experienced it. However, you didn’t mention the most prevalent Christmas sweet of all…CHRISTMAS COOKIES. Everyone has, makes, exchanges, and gifts Christmas cookies. They are everywhere. I wonder if this is true in England, also.

@karenryder6317

2 жыл бұрын

Neither myself, nor any of my eastern US seaboard friends ever did a "birthday cake for Jesus". That must be a Chicago thing. Plus we always left a plate of cookies out for Santa on Christmas eve and when they were all gone on Christmas morning, that was proof that there really was a Santa

@adventuresinlaurenland

2 жыл бұрын

Definitely must be a Chicago thing. I'm from Central Illinois and never heard of such a thing 😂 And no one around here gifts Christmas cookies either.

@marycarver1542

2 жыл бұрын

No, we have mince pies, and Christmas pudding. Fabulous. Look up the recipes.

@srkh8966

2 жыл бұрын

@@karenryder6317 I have family in Oregon, CA, North Carolina, Ohio, Kentucky, New Mexico, Maine and Texas. No one has heard of birthday cake for Jesus. Eggnog or sparkling wine at Christmas is common, but other than Christmas cookies (tho many different varieties) there isn’t a specific dessert associated with Christmas Day like there is for Thanksgiving

@SRose-vp6ew

2 жыл бұрын

From Wisconsin and we do a Birthday Cake for Jesus. They have party/cup cake decorations at some stores, such as Hobby Lobby or Christian Books, many churches also have these parties for the preschoolers during Sunday school and the whole month of December you see kids with party hats and horns. We just add a fisher price Jesus to a regular cake that says Merry Christmas and sing. Normally traditional "Happy Birthday" or the very slow "Happy Birthday Jesus" but this year my little girl liked this one. : ) kzread.info/dash/bejne/kYihmq2GetDMYNY.html

Haha, Father Christmas knows that parents need a sleep in so keeps the children occupied with the stocking presents for an extra hour in the morning. 😄

Poor Luke has no idea about how hard Santa and HIS ELVES work at the North Pole and if he wants to find out how Santa delivers so many presents in one night he should watch 'The Santa Clause'. 😉

In our home in the US, we have stockings on the mantle with little gifts/treats, but Santa typically brings each child one gift and then maybe a few to share amongst themselves (games, etc). The rest of the presents are from the family.

I also grew up with tinsel on the tree, which has gone out of fashion for quite some time. I miss it as it reminded one of the drafty windows at grandms's house, where it would sway and twinkle if there was stiff breeze outside. Grandma had also saved three generations of ornaments, some from her and grandpa's parents, and evenly the homely ones made when their children were little. They may not have been in the best places, but they made it onto the tree nonetheless.

@janetyoung6097

2 жыл бұрын

the tincel that i remember the most was the lead based one that hung on the tree. Instead of the plastic ones that stick to everything except on the tree.

@earlaagaard8175

2 жыл бұрын

@@janetyoung6097 This was what my grandma had -- she called it "rain". It was lovely to look at, but a PAIN to put on and take off to save for next year!

@carolweaver3269

2 жыл бұрын

I still use it and save it year to year in a plastic bag. It keeps very well. Do not have Angel Hair though and cannot find it as they stopped making it so it seems. Plus they evidently could not find anything else like it that would not scratch hands. I used to use plastic gloves and when the children were small I only put it toward the top where they could not touch the angel hair. My parents used it and my brother and I never had problems though. Our dad put it on the tree. I loved it as the tree looked like a Fairy land picture! Swirled around the hot lights and just glowed. The bubble light too, that would get hot with liquid in them and they would bubble up when near lit candles. Make believe candles lit on the tree are so lovely I think too! Love handmade and old fashnion ornaments.

@karenryder6317

2 жыл бұрын

Is the lametta (?spelling) talked about the British equivalent of tinsel?

@jethro1963

2 жыл бұрын

@@karenryder6317 I think he is referring to what we used to call icicles. Tinsel are long strands (like feather boas) I looked up icicles and they seem to be something else now than what was formerly accepted as icicles. I think they went out of favour because they were a pain to put on and take off. What looks like what they call icicles now are solid pieces that more resemble real icicles

Ok, so apparently being American I had a more British Christmas 😅 We always had an orange in our stockings and the stockings were always a surprise from Santa, but they were hung by the fireplace.

Growing up, my parents would put my brother and I's presents in sacks at the end of 'their' bed. My dad would then make a pot of tea so that he and mum could stay in bed and watch us kids open our presents. I think it was all about staying warm! We only had single glazing and no central heating so it took a while to warm up the house, though I think the excitement of the day meant I never felt the cold. Anyway, loved the video, hope everyone has a wonderful new year. x

Loved this! It was great fun. One thing they didn’t mention, which was so important for the kids to do, was to leave mince pies, carrots and a little Xmas drink for Father Xmas and his reindeer. If it was gone in the morning you’d know he’d delivered your presents. Our Christmas decorations, here in the UK, were often made by the children and they were usually paper chains or stars. The Christmas tree was only bought a few days before, not weeks, and was decorated on Christmas Eve. It would have to be the biggest my father could fit into the hallway. I remember that as being one of the most exciting parts of Christmas. While we were decorating it we would play Xmas carols and eat mince pies. The adults would drink Baileys or mulled wine so it got a bit raucous.

I'm in the US but grew up in Canada and had Russian and German parents. So we had a lot of mixed traditions. A family friend would always gift us the Christmas pudding - amazingly good! We never did stockings, but I now do this with my son. Only one present from Santa. Mulled wine and eggnog were the drinks. We had turkey for dinner. It was a huge feast. It doesn't seem to be such a big deal in the US. I bought vintage ornaments on e-Bay - most are European hand blown from Germany. On year my dad used spay snow and covered the tree. It looked like we had a huge snow fall. Our tree stayed up until Mid January to celebrate Orthodox Christmas and New Years. Merry Christmas!

@anna_m59

2 жыл бұрын

German hand made ornaments are the most beautiful One! We have a few and never broke in the last 30 years!

@cathytyssen8084

2 жыл бұрын

My Father was Irish. We did what we called Little Christmas in January. Then everything came down

@donnabittner69

2 жыл бұрын

Love Orthodox Christmas

@lizgriffin7381

2 жыл бұрын

When I was a child in England the Christmas tree had bits of cotton wool added to look like snow, but they do not sell cotton wool loose in bags now.

i'm canadian and we are a little in the middle. we hung the stockings but they did end with a tangerine/clementine (depending what we could get) and we always had 1 present under the tree from Santa the other gifts were from our parents and family and friends. There was always one wrapped gift in the stocking but not all gifts were wrapped in the stocking and we were allowed to open the stocking immediately. ps: we also have boxing day and it is a paid stat holiday :) Merry Christmas ;)

@judithlalande2773

2 жыл бұрын

🎀🎄⛄🎄🎀 Merry Christmas from Northern Ontario Canada ❣️

@conniemcconnell8347

2 жыл бұрын

Merry Christmas from Saskatoon SK!

@kristyhand6209

2 жыл бұрын

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM ONTARIO, CANADA!!!

@timothyj1966

2 жыл бұрын

MERRY CHRISTMAS from Hamilton, Ontario 🎄

@karenryder6317

2 жыл бұрын

Through many generations of my family (and many of those of my friends here in America) we most definitely tangerines in the toe of the stocking along with a bright, new penny.

Canadian here - a clementine is always in a stocking here :), presents at 2, turkey for dinner, Christmas pudding/fruit cake on fire (I never ate it), crackers, .. but also deviled eggs ... champagne cocktails are the drink of the day here

My nephew was always kind of freaked out by Santa coming in their house when he was little. If Santa had actually come in his room to fill a stocking he would have been terrified!

During the Great Depression in the United States, fruit in the stocking was considered a great treat. When my parents were still living and we were little, we always had an apple and orange at the bottom of our stockings. I’m sure this tradition was a sign of the times, especially for people who had little to give.

@whosaidcate4034

2 жыл бұрын

My grandma was raised on the California/Mexican border in the 30’s -she used to get oranges 🍊 and walnuts from Santa in their stockings. I think it was because they were incredibly poor.

@annie5831

2 жыл бұрын

My grandparents were raised in the Texas Mexican border, 1900’s, they also gave oranges, apples, walnuts in a sock. We continue this tradition In our family. Our mother wrote a special message for each grandchild as they came to pick up his/her stocking when she was 85.

@annehunt787

2 жыл бұрын

@@annie5831 Thank you, that made me tear up!🥲

@joankearney4029

2 жыл бұрын

An orange for Christmas in Chicago during the Great Depression was a treat.

@MsPrecious61

2 жыл бұрын

My mother kept the tradition of oranges and walnuts in our stockings on the 60s and I never understood why? She responded with “ that is what I got and I loved it”. All my friends got great candy and chocolates and some fun toys. I was disappointed and envious of my friends

Pumpkin pie, eggnog, yes Christmas cards too. Love the Christmas sweaters, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you. Dont forget all the Christmas cookies.

@donnabittner69

2 жыл бұрын

Yes, Christmas cookies

@shrtstufusa1

2 жыл бұрын

Oh yes the Christmas cookie exchange parties!!!!

@jukes243

2 жыл бұрын

And baked ham!

I am Canadian and we followed a number of UK & US traditions, mandarin orange in our stocking, left on our bed, Boxing Day and we opened gifts in the morning after our beds were made and we were dressed.

I cannot imagine making my six year old daughter wait until lunch time to open her gifts. She would go bonkers!! 😂 I just love how you let the public in on your lives as if we all were friends. It’s nice to see the people behind the titles. I hope you and your family had a very happy Christmas and a wonderful new year!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Now I know where the orange at the bottom of the stocking came from… my mother’s family is British.

@anjihc8797

2 жыл бұрын

Me too! British Isles, but now I know!

@karenryder6317

2 жыл бұрын

@@anjihc8797 Well, my family was not of British heritage, and we always did the tangerine.

@marciawalden

2 жыл бұрын

German Prince Albert brought many of these German Christmas traditions to Victorian England, including hanging the tree upside down from the ceiling. Many in my hometown in Pennsylvania did this. We also have Belsnickel who comes on December 6 and leaves candies and tangerines if we were good, and coal if we were bad.

@srkh8966

2 жыл бұрын

Oranges in stockings are common

My Dad being British we had a lot of British traditions. Orange in the toe of our stockings, which were hung by the fireplace, we could open our stockings but presents had to wait until after breakfast. Then we would go to my Grandparents and meet with family and open more presents. I kept as many of the traditions as I could. My bestest gift ever was the year I found out I was pregnant with my first child on Christmas day...oh my Gram would make a mincemeat cheesecake that was amazing...I wish I had the recipe...Now I spend Christmas alone and there are no traditions anymore...my kids drop by when ever they can...not much joy it it now for me. But Happy Christmas and may you have a joyous New Year

@qqq1q1qqqqqqq

2 жыл бұрын

I think those are some quite lovely traditions. Its definitely tough spending holidays alone. Only my daughter and granddaughter come around now, but I work all day every Christmas. I get paid really, really well plus don't have to cook, clean or deal with my extended family's drama. I prefer not to go see my relatives. They make you feel bad not good. So I choose to work. Some of my kids and grands live too far away to visit. And they need to be home for Christmas. Not sure what I would do if I had all seven grands on Christmas morning! That's exhausting just thinking about it. Six squealing girls and an infant boy......what a joyous noise it would be. But oh how MUCH noise it would be. I live in an upstairs apartment now so I don't think my neighbors would be pleased 😂😂😂. As a child we didn't have a fireplace exactly. Not the way most think of one. We had wood burning heaters or stoves for heat. And electric heat of course. So stockings went on the wall I believe. It's hard to really remember. When I lived in my house before the apt we had two fireplaces with mantles so stockings were definitely hung traditionally American!!!!! Now I have metal hangers and put them on the bar or on a table to hang. I do a little Christmas decorating for my granddaughter who is four now that she is old enough to understand things. I'm sorry you're alone for holidays. That's sad for so many. I enjoy working on holidays for the pay and because sometimes you might be the only pleasant thing in someone's holiday. For me it's a ministry of sorts. May your 2022 be filled with peace, joy and love. I think those are gifts we can ALL use. Especially right now!

@gothic7821

2 жыл бұрын

Empty nester, but with a baby on the way... I feel your words on a deeply personal level. The pandemic had also sucked away a great deal of the spirit of the season. I'm looking forward to bringing joy back into the holidays. Just wait, hopefully one of these days, you'll be hosting the holidays as a grandmother, and the festive joy will be renewed. 🎄🍀💛 cheers and best wishes

We came from the Midwest our stockings had nuts candy and an Orange. We had a box of candy from our church. Santa never wrapped the presents. Christmas Eve we opened presents from our aunts uncles and grandparents.

@ElizabethT45

2 жыл бұрын

Same here in Michigan! I have also always had Ham on Christmas, usually the spiral sliced, honey-glazed kind. We serve it with Au Gratin potatoes, candied yams, a green vegetable, dinner rolls, and then have pie or cake for dessert.

@theresamnsota3925

2 жыл бұрын

Scandinavian background?

I grew up in an English family in the US so there are things from both cultures in our Christmas traditions. But we always hung our stocking on the mantle on Christmas Eve and woke up to our stockings on the end of the bed in the morning. But my German in-laws open the stockings and most of the presents on Christmas Eve and just eat a feast on Christmas Day.

@patrickmckinley6679

2 жыл бұрын

Hi 👋 Luna, can I talk to you for a moment?

This was adorable- so much fun listening to this, as I am also American and married a Brit, I can relate! Happy Christmas to you both!

I live in the North of England, grew up working class and our Christmas has more in common with Julie's American Christmas. Stockings on the fireplace to be filled by Santa, not wrapped and small novelty gifts/sweets and chocolates. Wrapped gifts would be under the tree, which we unwrap first thing in the morning. Both sound like great Christmas', I like the idea of a happy birthday Jesus cake. We have chocolate Yule log and trifle for those who don't like Christmas pudding/cake. We also call Father Christmas 'Santa Claus'.

@izodman

2 жыл бұрын

Perhaps generational views differ depending on your culture and traditions. Here in America, some of what Julie says rings true but every one have their own way of celebrating Christmas.

@amandairedale706

2 жыл бұрын

Sadly, homemade trifle is now classed as an old fashioned dessert at Christmas time with the younger generation!

@bcbg11

2 жыл бұрын

@@amandairedale706 I missed trifle so much from my Christmases in the UK, I made one for my American family this year and they loved it. I missed the candied Angelica for the top though. No where to be found! I'm 43. Trifle is amazing!

In Texas: We had wrapped gifts under the tree from family. Christmas morning we had these little areas where Santa left each of us kids unwrapped gifts in our own little areas. The Apple cider we had was called wassail. Not sure on the spelling but we just added Apple juice and cloves and red hots candy to a pan and heated it up.

I am from the US and we had tangerines in the toe of our stocking. My parents also put nuts in the shell in the stocking along with small gifts like pens and erasers. My mom also did single strand tinsel like your husband was talking about. It does take forever but it comes out so beautiful! I don’t have the patience for it though.

@patrickmckinley6679

2 жыл бұрын

Hi 👋 Suzanne, can I talk to you for a moment?

Growing up in the US there was always an orange in the bottom of my stocking. AND, there are wrapped gifts in the stocking as well.

I'm from the USA and my family has maintained a little bit of its European roots for we do a navel orange or clementine or an apple at the end of our stockings. Growing up we would open gifts on Christmas day. However, my husband's family is from the Netherlands and Ireland, so we do a mixture of their traditions and ours. Instead of chocolate on the tree we do candy canes.

You two are so funny! I’m in the same boat as you. My husband is English, I was born in Belize but grew up mostly in the states. Our traditions are mixed. We do lunch at 2:00, always have crackers and at least four courses. We never ever do turkey and always a Christmas cake or Christmas pudding and mince pies on the dessert buffet. Our children and extended family enjoy the blended traditions. 🇬🇧🇺🇸🇬🇧 Happy New Year to you and your family. xx

This is fantastic. You learn so much about the two fantastic cultures

Forgot another tradition visiting Santa’s village getting your photo taken. I had a German and English in laws and they would do the English traditions. I’m Mexican and my family would do a Posada event singing and going to midnight mass.🎄🌟

My mother always put tangerines (and apples) along with candy and nuts, along with unwrapped little gifts we could tear into w/o our parents being awake. Our tree went up on Christmas Eve (undecorated) and Santa decorated it while we slept. So, when we woke and ran downstairs, our home was transformed into a Christmas Wonderland. My granddad was from England, so we had a very equal mix of both American and British style Christmas 🎄 PS. Julie, I've gotten Christmas pudding w/ brandy butter every year for 35 years now and even my grown children look forward to it. We LOVE it!! 🥰🥰🥰

I am an American & we put an orange in the toe of our stockings that were displayed hanging on our mantles! We had a goose for Christmas dinner. We woke our parents up at dawn to open our presents! We drank champagne on Christmas Eve after we did the Christmas pageant!

Ah, Yuletide bickering. Yup, a true family Christmas! Though I haven't put up a tree for years, my impression here in the US is that tinsel (strands) = lammetta (sp?) has gone out of fashion due to its being harmful to the environment and stops municipalities from taking the live Christmas trees and recycling them. More common now is garland, which is easier to reuse and remove from the tree. But, I remember the tinsel being very pretty on the trees. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, from Chicagoland!

@amyk9175

2 жыл бұрын

I always heard of the individual strands called “icicles,” but I haven’t seen them on a tree in 40 years.

@jaebee9308

2 жыл бұрын

Yep! I remember tinsel on trees in the 70's. It was harmful for pets too. Another reason it went out of style.

@be6715

2 жыл бұрын

@@jaebee9308 I had forgotten that. You're quite right. Cats especially.

@AGloriousLife

2 жыл бұрын

We always had tinsel growing up, but I fell out of style for many reasons, also of which is that it's dangerous for pets if they ingest it!

@pammillerhoward7785

2 жыл бұрын

In Ohio always a cut tree for one tree. And "icicles" . I love the English word "lumetta". Sounds Italian and means little light. All my adult life have decorated Christmas in the American adopted Victorian style. Have been given and collected the vintage " lead " icicles. They are heavy and not anything like the plastic ones. Every year take them off carefully and store them wrapped in aluminum foil for the next year. Our cats have always liked sitting under the tree and bat a few soft ornaments I put for them. Our Goldens always good- have secreted a soft ornament to chew but no one touches the icicles or I wouldn't use. Me, I have removed enough lead paint in my life restoring and I'm good.. Just don't let anyone, animal or child, eat them.

My mom would fill the stockings and lay them at the end of our beds. This way, when we woke up so early, we were occupied playing with the contents of our stocking, so she could sleep in a while longer. 😀 We would have a light lunch usually home made meat pies and devil eggs and then eat turkey for dinner or cornish game hens at around 5 pm. My mom also made mince meat tarts. She had British parents, so followed some of the UK Christmas traditions. We always watched the Queen's Christmas message at noon. Enjoy your videos. Thanks, 🇨🇦

I would like to add this small tidbit. As a child, being that Thanksgiving & Christmas are so close to one another, while my mom, for weeks, would be preparing the house & cabinets with food for Christmas, we children would also be allowed to start decorating our Christmas tree. But the one ABSOLUTE rule was, we were NOT ever allowed to turn the Christmas lights on, EVER, until the night Thanksgiving was OVER. Then, at EXACTLY Midnight, or rather 12:01, Mom would plug the tree lights in, and we children would "AWW & OHH", rather quite loudly, I might add. But NOT until the night Thanksgiving was over. As I said, 12:01, I'm sure the whole of the neighborhood heard us. As a matter of fact, several neighbors began to follow suit. Those are really great memories.

This is the first I have heard of citrus in the stocking. We live in Southern California and citrus trees are ripe everywhere in winter. We are constantly giving away oranges to our neighbors, coworkers, kids’ teachers, etc. And, egg nog is the traditional drink in America during Christmastime ☺️ Lovely video - thank you for sharing 😃

@marysharvey

Жыл бұрын

I was born in San Diego and we always had a tangerine in the toe of our stocking.

@marysharvey

Жыл бұрын

My husband was born in England. Our first Christmas together his Mother made a goose and plum pudding. I am sorry to say, I didn’t like either of them. I had offered to bring my families traditional Waldorf salad. It never appeared at dinner, but, after dinner his mother presented it declaring how lovely it was I had made a desert!

My family are originally from the West Marshes (both Scotland and England). Our traditional pudding that you have with dinner is a rice pudding. Some parts of England eat stodgy pudding (made with suet and are boiled), some eat Yorkshire pudding, etc. We did have a small Christmas pudding with a silver 6 pence in it. We always got the very posh ones that are 100 grams. We would get a very small slice and drowned it in Bird's custard. We also had sacks at the end of our beds. Posh people would have beautiful sacks that look like the sack that Father Christmas carries and all the presents are beautifully wrapped. Father Christmas comes down the chimney with his sack and leaves it by the end of your bed. If you were not that wealthy it was a pillow case filled with toys and sweets.

You two are hysterical together -- Eggnog is the US Christmas drink. I'm thinking the deviled eggs thing must be more of an midwest tradition. Really enjoyed the video -- YUCK to the Christmas Pudding (LOL)!

@cheryllee8717

2 жыл бұрын

I make deviled eggs ( goes with the ham)

You make me laugh so much! I agree that Christmas cake is UGH. However, it seems that Canadians have a lot of British traditions -- mincemeat, mulled wine. tangerine in the toe of the stocking. However, we have Christmas Dinner, not lunch, stockings by the fireplace and some presents from Santa under the tree. It looks like we are a mix of both. (PS We also get Boxing Day!!)

I spent a year in the States when I was a child so it’s interesting to see how the Christmases of my childhood were actually a mix of uk and us traditions…thanks for clarifying for me😀😀😀 Best wishes for a Happy New Year, Jinxy

What a fun topic! I’m from the Midwest in the states and we also had fruit and walnuts at the foot of our stockings. Santa would fill our stockings with small unwrapped gifts and also left one gift unwrapped under the tree for each of us. The wrapped gifts were from my parents and siblings! I’m one of 6 and our parents made our holiday season so special and they did so with so little and we never knew the difference. What fond and lovely memories. I enjoy these videos, although sometimes the talking over others makes it difficult to fully enjoy the details you’re sharing.

Interesting! I'm an American. Depending on where you work would depend on what days you can have off. Some give you Christmas Eve and Christmas. This year, I work every holiday. Eggnog and brandy, hot cocoa with peppermint schnapps, apple cider with cinnamon, and wine are the primary beverages.We don't have the pudding but we do have the dreaded fruitcake that we received each year from an elder when I was growing up. Presents were under the tree and stocking were for fun stuff like accessories such as shampoo's, fingernail polish, candies, etc. (I did this for my kids). I grew up poor so usually stockings were filled with apples and oranges and a couple of gifts under the tree (clothing). During my youth, Christmas was about opening a presents in the morning, football in the afternoon, maybe a parade on tv, relatives visiting and children were often sent to their room to play. In raising my children, Christmas was opening a present Christmas Eve (usually something to special to wear for Church), opening presents early Christmas morning, cleaning up the mess, lots of cooking and eating throughout the day with dinner/lunch about 2 pm and in the late afternoon we would take the kids to a Christmas movie. Extended family was always welcome.

Great fun! I'm a 68 year old American in the Northeast (Maine). When I was a child there was always an orange in the bottom of the stocking. Or, . . . our parish Monsignor Ward would hand out fresh oranges at the parochial school party before we left for Christmas vacation. Fresh oranges were, at that time, a real treat. And oranges and grapefruits, shipped fresh from Florida were a welcome gift! And, stockings were hung from a mantel or staircase. Christmas morning routine: No peaking into the living room where the tree was because we always had one "big" present unwrapped under the tree. Open stockings, out to Mass, back for Dad to make eggs & bacon breakfast (we were about out of our minds at this point!) AND THEN the presents under the tree. Opened presents were laid back down under the tree to admire. Followed later in day with big turkey & stuffing & "fixin's". Tree didn't come down until New Years Day. Happy New Year Mappertons.

@patrickmckinley6679

2 жыл бұрын

Hi 👋 Pat, can I talk to you for a moment ?

I'm Australian, and a lot of our traditions are English. When I was little I remember we hung a pillowcase on the end of our beds. We also loved the store bought stockings that were filled with toys & lollies. They had a Santa face mask on the top. We alternated between calling the man in red, Father Christmas, & Santa Claus. Christmas Dinner was in the middle of the day & was a hot dinner with ham. We had Christmas Pudding with coins in it that my Nanna made. Also traditional Christmas Cake, rich & fruity. As an adult, I don't always do a hot lunch, but it's not Christmas without Christmas Pudding & Custard, & gingerbread snacks. Christmas Crackers are something I remember going right back to childhood too. It doesn't snow here, but I still love singing Christmas Carols at church by candlelight & having extra services that time of year.

My grandmother always put a tangerine and walnuts in the stockings

Actually, oranges are a thing some places in the US. I have done that since I started doing stockings. I had done an interview with my grandparents during school, and they all told me about how they knew things were bad when they didnt get an orange for Christmas that year. They were all farmers, but we are up north, and they don't grow here.... so they weren't available that year.

My mom “Santa” always put an orange in the toe of our stocking and often there was a wrapped gift from Santa. It depends on each family tradition in the States.

Our family had Santa leaving one gift under the tree and he filled the stockings on the mantle. All the other gifts came from family and friends and were properly credited. Our gifts were opened at the one minute mark post the striking of the midnight chimes of the clock. The adults had a French gathering after midnight mass. Older kids accompanied them. The post mass gathering had dance and feast of Traditional French-Canadian MeatPies and such. Family Traditions are Bliss. Love the blending of cultures. Keep up the great life. Thanks for sharing.

My father's favorite part of Christmas was figuring out ways to make my presents rattle if they didn't rattle naturally. He loved carpentry, so he had lots of options. My favorite present that he ever gave me was a toy box that he built for me for Christmas when I was eight.

@marthaworthington6060

2 жыл бұрын

What a cute idea, to make presents rattle. What a clever and funny Dad.

This was fascinating! I now understand more clearly the traditions I grew up with were from my English heritage. My mother made an amazing plum pudding with brandy butter, and my father made the best homemade eggnog! Thank you!

@bluejay6184

2 жыл бұрын

My mother made the English plum puddings (I still have the molds), but found a way to do so without the suet. She always called the topping “hard sauce” rather than brandy butter, but is apparently the same thing. I never heard of it being set afire. Must be spectacular!

I’m in my seventies and living in Australia. Our Christmases are very similar to America. As the seasons are different all our gifts are placed under the tree and everyone comes together in the lounge in the early morning and I’m talking about 6 to 7 am. We then have a extra large champagne breakfast then around 2 pm we would have our lunch. Either outside or inside with aircon. In the evening most just pick for leftovers. Then it’s time to collapse for the day. I hope you had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I do enjoy your episodes.

Hearing this is what all of my Christmases have been. My mother and Grandmother are from Germany, my father is Irish and Scottish. My husband thought I was crazy for making sure Santa brought clementine for stocking and all the mixed traditions

Omg, I thought Boxing Day was when you put away the decorations back in the boxes 😂🤣😂. Now I know better. This was a fun video.

As the story goes..."the stockings were hung by the chimney with care..." 😆. I do however love the idea of the presents being from parents, family rather than Santa or Father Christmas! Eggnog was our typical Christmas drink, but have since made hot chocolate with a peppermint stick our traditional drink! I had to LOL when Julie said deviled eggs!! I am the deviled egg maker every year for at least the last 40 years!

@jeanjean2033

2 жыл бұрын

Yes that's where the stockings go by the chimney I have started my own tradition in our family and for 30 years I have given each one of my children a Christmas ornament I have brought that down to giving them to my grandchildren in-laws nieces and nephews so that every year whether I'm here or not they can say they got it from me I tried to make them personal if I can

@jeanjean2033

2 жыл бұрын

My grandsons are two and four this year we made ornaments for them to give to aunts and uncles and teachers

@vb1816

2 жыл бұрын

… as the American Christmas song goes…

@jeanjean2033

2 жыл бұрын

Making deviled eggs as we speak enjoy your holidays everybody May everybody be safe healthy and loved

Love seeing Sarah and Luke together sharing.

Here in New Zealand, we're celebrating Christmas in the middle of Summer. Our traditions are more British than American, but we have our own kiwi traditions too. Some families do the whole roast dinner and christmas pudding thing, but many of us have a bbq with steaks or lamb, seafood, salads, then dessert of pavlova with berries and trifle. Fruit mince pies are common, as is Christmas cake with marzipan icing. Because it's summertime, gifts are often sports equipment, outdoor games, beach and camping equipment etc. Our summer holidays coincide with Christmas, so it's often the start of at least a couple of weeks off work, and the schools don't start back until early February. Many people flock to beaches, lakes and rivers with their tents and caravans, or to holiday homes or motels in touristy towns. In New Zealand everyone gets a legal minimum of 4 paid weeks of annual leave, so some people have a whole month off to enjoy christmas and summertime. Bliss! Our traditional christmas drinks would probably be a cold beer or a nicely chilled New Zealand wine. We're all trying to cool down, not warm up!

@sandraswannell4170

2 жыл бұрын

Expat kiwi here living in Aussie. Yep same here. We stuff our faces with prawns. and oysters We always argue who invented the pavlova…. NZ of course and I introduced them to our boozy trifles. 🤣🤣 we also have a huge ham sometimes baked. When I was growing up in NZ like Julie’s husband our stockings were at the end of the bed. But they weren’t stockings they were pillowcases and yes there was an orange in there not a tangerine and nuts. There was always sixpences and threepences in the pudding. Mum made them around august and they were hung until Christmas time. 😄 arohanui.

@StaceeMassey

2 жыл бұрын

That sounds fun! All my favorite things to do and eat. But then, I do love Summer and sunshine.

So nice to learn about these traditions. Many in America including me just work all the time and find decorating, shopping, wrapping, cooking etc. ....is exhausting rather than fun. Trying to keep things simple and recapture the meaning of Christmas.

Love your good natured banter. Love your channel! Thank you

We had oranges or tangerines in our stockings when I was growing up. Eggnog would be a traditional Christmas drink in the states I think. Christmas cookies would be everywhere and are still everywhere for the holiday.

We put the stockings on the end of the bed, but also had a fireplace in our bedroom so father Christmas could come straight into our bedroom to leave our gifts.

Paying to go into Santa’s grotto freaked me out. I get that everyone gets a gift but still….. I’m American and we always put a Clementine in the bottom of our stocking and we always had turkey for dinner. I did love that there’s a definite Christmas season in Britland. I love Boxing Day …..Americans need to adopt that day. But obviously you need to watch the movie Santa Claus so everyone understands how Santa comes down the chimney and fills his bag with presents and makes it around the world. We gave up on icicles on our tree ages ago when we had cats. Pulling an icicle out of a cat’s bottom really cures you of having them on the tree. But I think I still have three boxes just in case.

@marycarver1542

2 жыл бұрын

Stockings on the bottom of the bed from Santa. Clementine, nuts and gold foil wrapped chocolate coins .... then small WRAPPED Christmas gifts. After breakfast, presents under the tree from family and friends. The stocking was always the most exciting though.

@peggyvick935

2 жыл бұрын

🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣 Pulling an icicle out of a 🐈 bottom. I’m laughing so hard! I needed that!

A microcosm of two nations separated by a common language (and traditions)!

I really laughed with this video. My Australian childhood had a real mix up of what you were talking about. You didn't mention the church service at midnight, Christmas Eve, with short bread and hot chocolate afterwards. Placing the wrapped presents under the tree and placing Jesus in the Nativity Scene before tumbling into bed. My father was an Anglican priest, so he had a few more services Christmas Morning. We would open the presents when he and my mother were home (my mother used to deliver babies). All 'meals of the day' were courses of the same meal. It's hot in Australia, so breakfast was salad, some seafood and cold berry pudding. Late lunch was the turkey, roast potatoes, and green vegetables. Dinner was the plum pudding (with silver threpences reused every year) and brandy butter. Boxing Day we would eat the ham with salad and the first mince pie. The next day we would eat some Christmas cake. The Christmas presents were mainly clothing, next year school stationary, mugs and something to eat like short bread, chocolates. Toys were mainly for birthdays. Now, I live in Mexico, and I can't accept my husband's family way of celebration. Fancy eating Christmas Eve (the fast day) and then left overs on the 25. It's cold and most work the 24 Dec morning. Much more festive and relaxed having Christmas in summer with the end of year break. There is a tendency to eat the most awful meal of the year (tripe). The pumpkin, guava punch drink is delicious though and so are the fried tortillas (bunuelos). In Mexico, the presents are opened when the three kings arrive 6 Dec. I've had years here and I am still rebelling. Lol.

@shinjineesen400

2 жыл бұрын

The Three Kings arrive Dec 6, not Jan 6? Interesting. I know that many (Lutheran) North European children get presents on 6 Dec from Sint Nikolaas/ Santa Claus. Oranges, fruits, nuts, chocolate or other sweets wrapped in gold foil or gilt. Swedish kids have Saint Lucia. I am not from Mexico or North Europe but I talked to Swedish and German friends about Christmas traditions. Some of it didn't make sense till this year!

This is absolutely Hilarious! I am a Southerner from the USA and this is hysterical to watch! I am unable to sleep, and it is 3:ooAM after Halloween, and I am not ready for the holidays until now! 😅 Thank you !!! I needed a rousing discussion over Santa & Stockings! Break out the Eggnog and cookies!

Loved this video! I grew up close to the U.S.-Mexico border on the Mexican side and Christmas traditions were a mix of a few Mexican and many American traditions back in the 70's when I was a kid. Going from the hideous shiny aluminum Xmas tree that seemed more like a Sputnik satellite had landed on the lilving room, to having the very delicious corn or carne-con-chile tamales alongside with turkey and mashed potatoes for dinner on Christmas Eve and breakfast Christmas morning. Saludos!

So here in Canada we (can't speak for all of us) have English-style Christmas too. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I grew up in the States, and Santa brought a real haul each year. LOVED IT!!

Watching this, I’m realizing how many traditions of my family’s Canadian Christmas echo the British traditions. Wrapped good gifts in stockings (though I think we also had Santa gifts under the tree), clementines in the stocking, turkey for the big meal - which was dinner, etc. It makes sense since we have British ancestry!

Eggnog (with brandy or dark rum) is both for Christmas and Thanksgiving in my American family. I never thought of deviled eggs as a Christmas food. We have them sometimes but that’s more of an Easter food. Ham and Turkey is served at my house. For non-meat eaters, we have portobello mushrooms stuffed with cauliflower dressing and we have tons of vegetables. Some eat fish so we usually have linguini with clams or an eggplant parmigiana dish. Happy new year!