英国人这样过圣诞节

　　Christmas time!!

　　The most wonderful time of the year has arrived! Finally!! It’s time to forget about your busy schedules, activities, school and other things, and it’s time to relax and enjoy the holidays with your loved ones. I have to admit I have been going crazy waiting for the Christmas season! Dreaming everyday about good food, gifts, and laughter with family and friends. And what about you? Is the christmasy feeling in the air getting you into the Christmas spirit?

　　And who can blame you! Signs all around suggest that Christmas season has arrived! Crowds of shoppers are flooding the High Street, while window displays are as bright as sun on a clear day. Nativity scenes in churches and Santa at the shopping centres are all over the country. Carols are being played on the radio, while you are busy decorating your home with (probably too many) beautiful ornaments. That’s when the true magic of Christmas is unveiled.

　　Imagine it is Christmas Eve… after weeks of preparation, choosing and ordering Christmas gifts, deciding on the Christmas menu, everyone will go straight to bed in anticipation of Christmas morning, but nobody will be able to sleep that night. Children will be wondering what Santa might bring them this year, while adults will be busy wrapping last minute gifts, filling up Christmas stockings, hanging mistletoe, and trying to make those Christmas lights work. Even Santa will be busy that night! He will have to put all those beautiful gifts under the Christmas tree without anyone noticing him at work! Imagine doing his job, you would end up very tired and hungry travelling round the world and delivering all those gifts! So to make his night more pleasant, everyone will leave mince pies and glass of milk (red wine very often too!), so that Santa can have some rest! Even Rudolph, Santa's reindeer, will be given a carrot or two as a treat.

　　In the very early morning of Christmas Day somebody will shout ‘He’s been! He’s been!’ in a very excited voice. We know that Santa's been because minced pies and carrots are gone! Everyone will gather round the Christmas tree and altogether will open all gifts, big and small. After the morning filled with excitement, children will probably go back to bed (lucky them!) or play with their new toys, while adults will start preparing Christmas lunch. Cooking a meal for up to 10 people (if not more!) takes a long time, and often Christmas lunch turns into Christmas dinner. But nevertheless, the feast will eventually start with pulling of a cracker and putting a Christmas crown on, and will go on for a long time, by the end of the night you will be saying ‘I will never ever eat this much again in my life!’

　　However, eating will continue the next day, and on Boxing Day we will tuck into roast turkey curry. When finally no more eating is possible, almost everyone will enjoy afternoon of shopping, as Boxing Day commences the start of sales and huge discounts across all shops. All will be pleased because it simply means more gifts for everyone! But Boxing Day wouldn't be completed without a visit to a pub, where children can enjoy a mug of hot chocolate with marshmallows, while adults will drink an abundance of mulled wine. Jolly atmosphere will carry on throughout the night. Often the merriness will not finish then, as most people will be off work until New Year, and, thus, celebrations will continue for a long time!

　　So now you see why we love Christmas! It is difficult not to!