UNIT 6

UNIT 6: What do I do at Christmas time?

    And best time of the year arrived! Yes! Christmas! I do not like it… I love it! It is the most perfect time of the year. Time to visit the family, open presents, play with your cousins, put up the tree, decorate the house, light up the fireplace… People start doing all this in November more or less. I think it is different than in Spain, and I think I know why.

    In England we celebrate Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve. I am going to explain you more or less what we do in each day. But first… do you know what the Advent Calendar is? Because, we celebrate Christmas those days, but we prepare for Christmas Eve from the very first day of December. Each day we have to open a window of the Advent Calendar and take the small present that is in there. That way we know how many days we have left until Christmas.

    In Christmas Eve, at night, all the family gathers in a house to have dinner and open the presents that Santa put under the three. It is a tradition to hang socks by the fireplace as well so Santa can put more presents there. All family has dinner in the dinning room, and when they finish it is time to open the presents. Last year I got three books, one board game, a bicycle and a microscope! I think I was a really good boy, so let’s see what happens this year.

    Next day, Christmas day, the family joins another time. My grandma spends all morning cooking and setting the table with beautiful glasses, plates and napkins. In each plate there is a cracker as well. A cracker is a coloured paper tube twisted at both ends. When we finish eating, each person pulls on the end of a cracker, and when it breaks, more presents come out.

    And here in Britain we also celebrate the 26^th of December, which is called Boxing Day. We have more presents, but this day appeared centuries ago when people gave presents to poor children in boxes. That is why it is called Boxing day, because of the boxes. I think it is just another excuse to join the family together.

    New Year ’s Eve is another day when we have dinner altogether. I think in Spain you take twelve grapes (it is really strange) but here we do not do anything of that. We just hug and kiss each other when the new year starts, and we sing the song Auld Lang Syne.

    And, what about you? What do you do in Christmas? Is there any tradition in your family you want to say? Tell me!