Dear Anglophiles: While some Christmas traditions in the U.S. are similar to those in Britain, others are not.  Naturally, we Anglophiles are especially curious about those that "are not."  Here, guest writer David Harding, a Londoner, gives us the lowdown on Christmas traditions across the pond.

BRITISH CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS
by
DAVID HARDING

Many Christmas traditions started or evolved in Britain and spread throughout the Commonwealth and English-speaking world.  Other traditions stayed at home, some begun only recently.  What are these British Christmas traditions, both old and new?

The enduring popularity of the Charles Dickens' novel A Christmas Carol have led many to associate a British Christmas with Victorian England.  Below are a list of the traditions and a few recipes for you to try!

CHRISTMAS CRACKERS

Often accompanying food on Christmas Day, they were invented by the London baker - Thomas Smith - in 1846 and consist of a brightly coloured paper tube, twisted at either end. Two people pull the cracker, which ‘cracks’, and the contents of a brightly coloured paper hat, joke and toy fall out.

CHRISTMAS DINNER

Eaten on the afternoon of December 25th and consisting of Roast Turkey, with ‘all the trimmings’, which typically refer to: stuffing, Brussels sprouts, parsnips, roast potatoes, carrots, pigs in blankets, bread sauce and cranberry sauce.

CHRISTMAS NUMBER ONE

Quite simply, the single (song) that is number one in the charts closest to Christmas; it’s normally a novelty, charity or Christmas-themed song. Traditionally, sales of singles increase at Christmas, and it is considered highly prestigious to obtain the Christmas number one.

CHRISTMAS TREE

Technically a tradition ‘borrowed’ from Germany, it did not  become popular until Queen Victoria’s German husband, Prince Albert, introduced the custom to Britain in the 19th Century. Every year in Trafalgar Square, London, a tree is erected -- a gift from the people of Norway in gratitude for British support during World War II.

FATHER CHRISTMAS

The name typically given to Santa Claus in English-speaking countries outside of the USA and Canada, although in practice, the terms are now interchangeable. In the past, Father Christmas was also referred to as Sir Christmas or Lord Christmas and was associated with good cheer and not particularly with children or gift-giving. Father Christmas dresses in red and white but used to dress in green, signifying his pagan roots.

PANTOMIME

Popular amongst British children (and some adults!), pantomime plays are song and dance adaptations of popular fairy tales and often feature innuendo, audience participation and contemporary jokes, i.e. jokes about celebrities, politicians and songs from popular culture.


The Christmas panto Cinderella, in the video below, features songs and original music by Philip Pope, Kevin Powell on bass.

 

ROYAL CHRISTMAS MESSAGE

The reigning Monarch broadcasts a Christmas Message on Christmas Day, a tradition that began in 1932 with radio broadcasts and in 1957 expanded to include television broadcasts as well.  Now the message is broadcast on radio, television and the Internet--at 3pm, the time being chosen as a time convenient for the majority of the Empire.  Since 1993, Channel 4 has broadcast an ‘Alternative Christmas Message’ lampooning the Royal Message and featuring a controversial celebrity.

To read the history of the Royal Christmas Message on the official website of the British Monarchy, click HERE)

 

GUEST WRITER BIO

 David Harding is a 26 year old who was born and raised in South West London, now living and working there. When he was younger, his older brother moved to Australia sparking an enduring fascination with the culture, kinship and common language of the English Speaking People's all over the world.  @davidhardinguk

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Are any Anglophiles heading to Scotland this summer?  If so, lucky you!  Scotland will be abuzz with the Commonwealth Games! 

The Games, held every four years, run this summer from July 23 to August 3 in Glasgow.  Seventy commonwealth teams will participate in 17 sports, totaling 261 medal events.

(By the way, some are confused by the term "Commonwealth Nations," a term all Anglophiles should know.  The Commonwealth of Nations, also called "the Commonwealth" or the "British Commonwealth" is an association of nations that  voluntarily work together, promoting peace, democracy, and free trade.  Currently, the Commonwealth consists of 53 nations, most of which are former British colonies.)

The first Commonwealth Games, held in 1930 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, featured 11 countries participating in 6 sports and 59 events--so the Games have enjoyed great growth!  Since the first Games in 1930, they've been held every four years except during WWII.  

2014 EVENTS

The rental agency SYKES COTTAGES has created a great infographic about the Games.  Here 'tis:

VIDEO: A moving story about one of this years baton-bearers for the games.

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At the stroke of midnight last night, same-sex-marriage ceremonies became legal in England and Wales.  Last July, the Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) Act took effect, but couples were unable to perform ceremonies until now.  UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, said the law sends a "powerful message" about equality in Britain and "when people's love is divided by law, it is that law that needs to change." 

Scotland has also passed a bill allowing same-sex marriage, with ceremonies expected to begin this autumn.  Northern Ireland, however, has not passed such a law.

GUARDIAN VIDEO - Legalization of Same-Sex Marriage

 

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No group of people on earth have perfected “eccentric” like the British.  One wonders why we hear of the “British eccentric” and not about, say, the “Italian eccentric” or the “French eccentric” or the “American eccentric.”  Though all of those places do, undoubtedly, have eccentrics. 

The existence of the British eccentric as a thing, has long been documented.  In 1866, John Timbs wrote a two-volume tome entitled English Eccentrics and Eccentricities, which showcased oddball Brits living in the 1700s and 1800s, ranging from aristocrats and members of parliament to witches, dwarfs, and a whole section on artists. 

Later, George Santayana, an essayist, wrote about “the British character” in his Soliloquies in England and Later Soliloquies, published in 1922.  He had this to say: “England is the paradise of individuality, eccentricity, heresy, anomalies, hobbies, and humors.”

In 1933, English writer Edith Sitwell’s book, The English Eccentrics, added to the documentation of British eccentrics.  In the vein of “it takes one to know one,” Edith and her parents, I believe, would qualify as certifiable British eccentrics.  Edith’s relationship with her parents was stormy.  Her father had a sign over the entrance of their home stating, “I must ask anyone entering the house never to contradict me or differ from me in any way, as it interferes with the functioning of the gastric juices and prevents my sleeping at night.”  (Edith, herself, was strong willed, so we can imagine the fights that ensued in that household.) 

Part of Edith’s eccentricity was simply her physical appearance: She was six feet tall and had Marfan Syndrome, which can cause various particularities of the body, such as long, arachnid-like fingers.  Not a shy one, Edith was fond of dressing flamboyantly, in long gowns and gold turbans, with multiple rings on her fingers.  Little wonder she became fascinated enough about British eccentrics to write a book about them.

But what, exactly, is meant by “British eccentric”?  Does every kook with deviant or pathological behavior deserve the label?  No.  The term is reserved for those showing odd or quirky behaviors, deviating from “normal” for sure, but who can still function properly in society.  Eccentrics are generally highly intelligent and creative, and their thinking “outside the box” is what sets them apart and brands them “eccentric.”  These are not the mentally incapacitated standing on the street corner talking to themselves.  As one psychologist noted: People with mental illness suffer from their behavior, while eccentrics are quite happy.

On the other hand, I have little doubt that some who were labeled “eccentric” in the Victorian era or earlier, would nowadays be given a diagnosis from the DSM-IV—particularly those with obsessive hobbies.  Today they would be labeled “obsessive compulsive.”  Also, many eccentrics from the past who dressed “oddly,” might today come out as merely “transgender” or “gay.”

Many British eccentrics from bygone days were old, aristocratic males.  Oddballs who were obsessed with some unusual hobby and had the time and money to support the hobby.  Anyone who has studied Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs in Psychology 101 can easily understand this.  We must have the basics of life—food, water, shelter, etc.—before we can afford to “self actualize” by engaging in creative pastimes to meet our full, human potential.  Ragtag street urchins of the Victorian era didn’t have time to “self actualize," thus, none have been documented as "British eccentrics."       

Examples of British eccentrics abound.  From the Victorian era, consider The Very Rev. Dr. William Buckland (1784-1856).  This Englishman, a wealthy, learned man, kept a menagerie of animals in his house.  At one dinner party, his hyena ate a guinea pig before the dinner guests, causing quite a stir.  Buckland also ate wild animals, so some of his menagerie was doomed.  He prided himself on having eaten his way through much of the animal kingdom.

   British eccentrics may do any of the following:

• Dress oddly

• Demonstrate unusual lifestyles or personal habits

• Hold obsessions with hobbies

• Show interest in unusual animals

•   Be reclusive
  

• Feel different from others

• Hold non-conforming ideas
  

It should be noted that to qualify as an eccentric, one’s oddities must be intrinsic to his or her personality--not fake oddities adopted to get attention or with the motivation of becoming an eccentric.  That would be a “poseur.”

What gave birth to the British eccentric?  Edith Sitwell said, “Eccentricity exists particularly in the English, and partly, I think, because of that peculiar and satisfactory knowledge of infallibility that is the hallmark and birthright of the British nation.”

I believe the primary reason for the existence of the “British eccentric”—and the reason why the phenomenon of the eccentric isn’t found in other countries—is because Britain, for whatever reason, has long accepted, encouraged, and treasured the eccentric.  Many cultures across the world condemn those who do not fit in; Britain has a tradition of revering such people.  Perhaps, initially, the acceptance of eccentrics derived from the fact that the eccentrics were upper class.  Thereafter, after the term “British eccentric” was coined, the language shaped the reality…the “British eccentric” became a thing because a term existed for it.   

I’ve heard many in Britain lament that the British eccentric no longer exists, that their society has become complacent and conforming.  But I believe that British eccentricity will never die, simply because the term “British eccentric” exists.  Here are examples. . . .

For  modern-day British eccentric, I nominate the beautiful, award-winning, actress Helena Bonham Carter, known for her disheveled appearance.  (I don’t know the source of this quote, but someone described her as “a bag of laundry beneath a bird’s nest.")  Her hair is messy and her clothes are peculiar.  She says Marie Antoinette has influenced her style.  Also, Carter married America’s Tim Burton.  Yes, that Tim Burton...the Edward Scissorhands Tim Burton.  Surely, no odder coupling exists.  Burton, dark and macabre, is America’s finest example of an eccentric—but because the term “American eccentric,” doesn’t exist, at least not in a bona-fide manner, Burton is merely called “different” or “strange.”  Carter, meanwhile, is a “British eccentric.” 

I also nominate Sir Patrick Moore and Bruce Lacey for modern-day British eccentrics.  Both are featured in videos, below.

BRITISH ECCENTRIC: SIR PATRICK MOORE,
amateur astronomer, writer, researcher, radio commentator and television presenter

BRITISH ECCENTRIC: "PROFESSOR" BRUCE LACEY,
artist, actor, writer, professor, collector

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Dear Anglophiles: If you live in NYC or the metro area, you must check out the British sand-up comedian Luisa Omielan appearing this week at the hip, Noho venue Subculture. 

Luisa honed her show, What Would Beyoncé  Do?!, at the Edinburgh Fringe festival, where it played to full houses and received multiple 5-star reviews.  Luisa say's, "It’s about how Beyoncé  songs have helped me.  How I think I should be a diva but it hasn’t quite worked out that way. I showcase Beyoncé songs to highlight how very different my life is to what Beyoncé has."

The media is having a love fest with Luisa too.  British newspaper The Guardian wrote, ". . . there's the pleasure of seeing a brazen new talent announce herself to the world."  And a review in The Independent said, "In a year that's seen a dearth of really talented female comics coming through, she bucks the trend in her own brilliant way."  Luisa has a lot to say about the comedic side of love, and this week's TimeOut London is carrying her article, Luisa Omielan on how to survive being single on Valentine’s day.  (Read it HERE)

Tickets for the show are still available, and they're a very affordable $10-$12!


Subculture
45 Bleecker Street, NYC

Luisa Omielan: What Would Beyonce Do?!
Feb. 18 - 21  (Tue. - Fri.), 2014
Doors open: 9:30 PM; Show: 10:00 PM
Tickets: $10 - $12

BUY TICKETS:
* Tue., Feb. 18
* Wed., Feb. 19
* Thur., Feb. 20
* Fri., Feb. 21

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A fellow Anglophile asked me why the British love Heinz baked beans, and I think other readers may be curious too.  Heinz is, after all, an American company, headquartered in Pittsburgh—yet their beans are more firmly embedded in British culture than in ours.  On a list of quintessential British foods, baked beans--particularly Heinz baked beans--is up there with bangers and mash!  How can that be?

Enterprising Henry Heinz and a friend, back in the 1870s, filled a horse-drawn wagon with their homemade horseradish, sauerkraut, pickles, and vinegar and began selling  their culinary creations to Pittsburgh grocers.  They did well, but a decade later, Henry jettisoned his partner and went into business with relatives instead, launching the F & J Heinz Company.  The new, tweaked product line consisted of ketchup, chili sauce, sweet pickles, apple butter…and baked beans.  That is, beans in a tomato sauce, packed in a tin can.  Within a decade, the company began selling goods in the UK.  Henry and his family sailed to England, lugging five sample cases laden with the company’s “finest and newest products.”  The renown Fortnum & Mason department store in London, a Georgian-era startup famous for carrying exotic specialty products (and a leader in offering products in the newfangled tin can), and a frequent Royal Warrant holder, recognized a winner when they saw one.  In a game-changing moment, the F & M buyers told Heinz they would "take the whole lot.”  When Fortnum & Mason latched onto the product, the bean’s place in UK history was sealed.

In the 1920s, Heinz stopped exporting baked beans and ketchup to the UK and opened production factories for those goods in England.  There, a company executive, trying to sell more baked beans, came up with the bright idea of putting beans on toast—and the Brits loved it.  Later, during WW II, Britain’s Ministry of Food classified Heinz Baked Beans as “essential food” in its wartime rationing system.  In fact, Heinz UK was helping the war effort so much that the Axis twice bombed the Harlesden, London, factory.  Shortly after the war, the Queen issued a Royal Warrant to the company.

In the UK in the 1960s, Heinz’ ad slogan “Beanz Meanz Heinz” went viral, as they say today—becoming one of the best-known ad slogans in the UK.  The ad creator claimed that the slogan was “written over two pints of beer in The Victoria pub in Mornington Crescent.”  Four years ago, the company renamed the beans, “Heinz Baked Beanz,” with a "z."  (Of course, there’s Cockney rhyming slang for baked beans: "Steve McQueens.")  Today, other baked bean producers compete with Heinz in the UK, (e.g., Branston and HP), but Heinz remains the top seller.  Below, I offer two recipes for beans on toast.  Enjoy!

#BritishFoods #BritishCulture #BakedBeans #HeinzBakedBeans #Beanz #BritishRecipes #BeansOnToast

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Dear Anglophiles: If you are a history buff and as fascinated by Bletchley Park's role in World War II as I am, you'll love these two audio clips.  The first gives an overview of the decryption work done at Bletchley Park during the war and how those activities assisted the British military, and the second, delivered by Professor Mark Dodgson, of the Business School at the University of Queensland, gives his analysis of lessons learned at Bletchley about organizational structures.

Bletchley Park's role in World War II:

Professor Dodgson on Bletchley Park's innovative organizational structure:

Many of you may be aware of the fabulous show The Bletchley Circle, which aired on PBS last winter and is slated to return for a second season the spring of 2014, on Sunday nights.  The series is set in 1950's London and involves a group of female, Bletchley code-breakers who band together after the war to solve crimes. 


Trailer for the series The Bletchley Circle:

Another Bletchley Circle trailer (for last season's episode two, but watching it will give you an idea of the show's tone, pacing, and characters):

 

Purchase The Bletchley Circle videos:

Purchase books about Bletchley Park:

Purchase the movie Enigma  HERE 
(A fascinating tale of love, espionage, patriotism, and betrayal amongst the the code-breakers at Bletchley Park during World War II.)

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Anglophiles: Check out these links--they're sure to put a smile on your face! 

From BuzzFeed:  41 Most British Things that Have Ever Happened

Also from BuzzFeed:  14 Profound Quotes from Harry Potter Books

Youtube video by Improv Everywhere: HARRY POTTER IN REAL LIFE

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Dear Anglophiles: Today's guest post is written by author Jennifer Richardson, an American who enjoyed an expat life in Britain.  She gives us a scrumptious-sounding recipe too.  Let us know if you try it!

Ode to the Pheasant: It's turkey time, but I've got pheasant on the mind
by
Jennifer Richardson

My move to the Cotswolds started in 2007 with a rented cottage for weekends away from London. It only took six months until my husband and I were seduced by the countryside into buying our own place, where we, along with legions of other Londoners, continued the weekend ritual of self-imposed exile for the next year. Then, finally, in 2009, I took a job within commuting distance of our weekend village and left the city behind for good.

It was not, however, my status as a full-time resident that made me finally feel like a local. This, instead, was marked by the evolution of my attitude towards a bird, a feathered creature that dominates the English rural landscape by virtue of both its abundance and airheadedness. I write, of course, of the pheasant.

My early encounters with the creature were marked by fawning. While out on a bike ride I would stop to admire the miniature beasts as they foraged the fields: the male with his crimson masquerade mask over a hood of teal, the female cloaked in a humbler but still handsome pattern of nutty browns. (I couldn't help admiring mother nature for the role reversal from humans in giving the male the responsibility for seducing a mate with his sartorial flair.) But soon my fawning and photographing morphed into annoyance. Too often when caught off guard—which was, apparently, always—the pheasant would panic and scurry toward our bikes rather than away. On the steep downhills of the wolds, the pheasant became responsible for one too many near misses of going head over handlebars. The same was true for driving; these birds are drawn to rather than repelled by headlights. I suppose it was inevitable, but the time finally came when such an encounter ended badly for both bird and car. It happened too fast to be sure, but there, on the steep downhill-side of the Fossebridge dip in the moments before impact, I'm sure I spotted this death-wish-with-a-plume flying straight for the car grill.

Not long after, I had my second encounter with a dead pheasant, this time in a farmhouse kitchen where my husband and I had been invited for Sunday lunch. This weekly gathering is a fixture of English life, and a ritual I had admired since we first moved from Los Angeles to London. Now we had been invited to our first Sunday lunch since becoming residents of the Cotswolds, and we were titillated at the prospect. We joined our hosts and two other guests around a weathered pine table, where the pheasant pie was served in a puff pastry-topped casserole dish, much the same as an American chicken pot pie. When I remarked with enthusiasm to the hostess that it was the first time I had ever eaten pheasant, she dismissed the dish as an excuse to rid her freezer of them. (Hers is a sentiment I imagine is shared by hundreds of other spouses of game shooters all around the English countryside.) Despite this, I enjoyed the meal, relieved to learn there was a savory use for this majestic if dopey bird. The afternoon continued to deliver on all my expectations of a proper English Sunday lunch. By the time snowflakes started dancing outside the kitchen window, I wouldn't have been surprised if Hugh Grant and Emma Thompson had walked through the door and joined us for the cheese course.

My transition from London expat to Cotswold local had been gradual, marked by subtle milestones—the first time I wore tweed without irony, for instance. But it wasn't until I asked for a second helping of pheasant pie in that farmhouse kitchen that I felt like a real Cotswoldian for the very first time. Should you ever be in the position to make use of a pheasant that has met with an unfortunate end, here's that recipe for pheasant pot pie.

PHEASANT POT PIE

Ingredients
3.5 tbsp (about half a stick) butter
1/2 lb. pancetta
4 leeks, cut into large chunks
3 celery sticks, sliced
3 carrots, halved lengthwise and sliced
2 bay leaves
3 tbsp plain flour
1 and 1/4 cups cider
2 cups chicken stock
2 tbsp double cream
6 pheasant breasts, skinned and cut into large chunks
3 tbsp wholegrain mustard
1 tbsp cider vinegar
1 package of puff pastry
plain flour, for dusting
egg beaten with a little milk, to glaze

Directions
Heat the butter in a casserole dish and cook the bacon for 1 min until it changes colour. Add the leeks, celery, carrots and bay leaves, and cook until they start to soften. Stir the flour into the vegetables until it goes a sandy colour, then splash in the cider and reduce. Pour in the chicken stock, stir, then add the cream. Season, then bring everything to a simmer. Add the pheasant and gently simmer for 20 mins until the meat and veg are tender. Stir through the mustard and vinegar, then turn off the heat and cool.

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Pour the mixture into a large rectangular dish. Roll the pastry out on a floured surface, place over the dish and trim round the edges, leaving an overhang. Brush the pastry with egg, then decorate with any leftover pastry, if you like. Sprinkle with a little sea salt. The pie can now be frozen for up to 1 month; defrost completely before baking. Bake for 30-35 mins until golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 5 mins before serving.

GUEST WRITER BIO
JENNIFER RICHARDSON is the author of Americashire:A Field Guide to a Marriage, the 2013 Indie Reader Discovery Award winner for travel writing. The book chronicles her decision to give up city life for the bucolic pleasures of the British countryside.

You can find Jennifer online at:

Americashire.com

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