To ask you what is the most English thing you do on Christmas?

[ConfusedWife1234]

As somebody who is not English I’d like to know.

I identify as British over anything. Scottish mother N Irish father, born and live in England but have also lived in Scotland. DH calls me a crossbreed.

I like crossbreed. Me too. Scottish Dad, English Mum and I grew up abroad. I’m British only and would not pick Scottish or English.

To make sure I’m covered for the rugby I was born on St Patrick’s Day and love holidaying in Wales more than anywhere.

Bread sauce

Xmas episodes of TV series

Christmas number One

I am not from UK, but the only difference I can see between mine and a UK Christmas is the little piggies in their blankets! Never heard of it....

Was that always a tradition?

Be an hour or so late serving food despite being able to produce a roast meal bang on schedule for the other 364 days a year....

I always watch the Queens speech!
Not a royalist really, but it's tradition on Xmas day.

Tipsy, chocolate overload, gluttony, heat, arguments, food spills on the floor (3 second rule works), stuffed full, exhausted, sick of the visitors, wrapping paper everywhere, kids over excited, forgot batteries for the toys, red face from the kitchen.

There are many more traditions, but those are the ones I am most familiar with!

Leaving out a glass of whiskey, a mince pie and a carrot on the hearth.
When dc in bed dc drinks the whiskey
We share the mince pie, and I bite the carrot
In the morning there are presents, an empty glass, crumbs and a carrot top with reindeer dribble on it 😉

DH drinks the whiskey!!!,,🤪

As a brit abroad, every year I bring Christmas cake and mince pies to the office

And every year, I have to explain that the mince pies are not chicken or beef - they are fruit. ‘Why are they called mince pies then’. Fuck knows. They just are. Eat them. They’re not even nice, but eat them.

I don't do this but I'd like to:

Eat a pork pie for breakfast.

Play charades and other parlour games.

Do you take communion on Christmas day because obviously that doesn't happen in the Church of Scotland,
But in the Scottish Episcopal church and the RC church it would.
British things that aren't as common in some other English speaking countries include church on Christmas Day, mince pies, and Christmas pudding.

Aw forgetting batteries for the toys is a classic!

When we were little we all had to go to church for the family service at 9am on Christmas morning. The minister would invite all the children to the front with a toy Santa had brought them, the amount of "Santa brought me toy this but he forgot the batteries" became a running joke every year.

But in the Scottish Episcopal church and the RC church it would

Of course, but as CofS in the national church of Scotland as CofE is of England it was the only Scottish/English difference over Christmas I could think of. Naturally that does not mean they are the only religions practised in either country and I never sought to suggest that

WeeBean,

Batteries missing happens every year here, despite all our preparations and lists!

‘Why are they called mince pies then’. Fuck knows. They just are. Eat them. They’re not even nice, but eat them.

Because they used to have mince in them. They go back to the 13th century, I think.

They are nice if you warm them in the oven and serve them with brandy butter or cream. (Controversial, I know)

Watching the Queen's speech.
Going for a walk afterwards before it gets dark.

Then whole "identity as" thing cracks me up. Surely you just ARE English and British or Scottish and British. It's factual. The caveat to this would be Northern Ireland obviously because of the GFA

Then whole "identity as" thing cracks me up. Surely you just ARE English and British or Scottish and British. It's factual

I think that there's an element of perception in it.

I was born in Wales to Welsh parents, but we moved to England when I was a toddler. Apart from living in Wales when I was a student and for a few years afterwards, I have lived the rest of my life in England and have an English accent.

I could technically call myself Welsh (and would like to), but I would feel like a fraud if I did. On the other hand, I am most definitely not English. I call myself British and that is how I self-identify.

@SexNotJenga my MIL has bought 2 huge bags of frozen sprouts for tomorrow (for 6 adults) and I'm fairly certain that at least 4 of us hates sprouts (especially the greyish mushy ones that we will undoubtedly be presented with tomorrow!)