It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
The leaves changing color. The morning beautiful with frosty window panes. Christmas tunes playing in the grocery store. Northeastern England flooded. Well, that last one is not especially pretty, but it has helped usher in Jack Frost.
In such a short span, we celebrate three holidays: Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. I am going to use this blog as a way to explain how those holiday look, smell, and sound to us here in England.
Halloween
Ghosts and Goblins make their way through the streets of Hartlepool (the town in which we resides) but not nearly in the numbers as seen in the states. Trick-or-treating isn't that big of a deal in England, but we were told that it is a somewhat new holiday here and it is just getting its bearings. Halloween has always been my least favorite holiday because it is a lot of prep work and rushing around, but it doesn't make me feel all warm and fuzzy like a Malibu and Diet Coke. I realize it is for the kids... what isn't for the kids? Making dinner is for the kids. Tear-free shampoo and body wash are for the kids? Rice krispie treats are for the kids- no wait, those are for all of us!
Anyway- it was raining a tad here on Halloween and the kids were off school on half-term break, so it was not rushed at all. In fact, we didn't purchase new costumes, but instead, they wore dress up clothes that we have had for years- BONUS! The older girls went with Dan to about 15 of the neighbour houses and got sub par candy, while I stayed with Emily and wrestled her for the Haribo gummy bears to give out to the 20 visitors we had. Luckily, our girls understood that Halloween wasn't a major undertaking in England and went with the slow flow of the evening.
Emily wore a devil dress, but wasn't really feeling photogenic that evening...
Thanksgiving
Even though Thanksgiving has its historical roots planted in England, they don't celebrate this holiday with America. So, it was out first experience not doing anything on that day except the usual- going to school and work, making a normal dinner, and getting ready to do it all over on Friday. Yes, that means NO BLACK FRIDAY... an experience that I oddly enjoy.
Fortunately, we were invited by two American, CAT families, to celebrate the holiday with a traditional meal this past Saturday. I made homemade rolls, an apple pie, and pumpkin squares (which did not turn out because I couldn't find all the proper ingredients- oh well) to take to our first meal. We passed on having a second meal, but had a wonderful time having a full social calendar for a day. Big thanks to the Daugherty and Kirschenmann families!
Christmas
Because we are so far north, it is dark here in Northern England. Not like polar dark, but a day of sunlight is from 7:45 am to 4 pm. This means that decorations, especially those with lights, are big hits. Each town has a lightning event where the town squares are "turned on" and Santa shows up. We have not attended a "switch on" but we hope to catch one in our area soon.
Luckily for me, I am obsessed with the holidays and it makes a lot of loneliness or homesickness fade... grab some popcorn and a hot toddy and take a look! (sorry about the audio at parts... I am a video recording novice!)
Have a wonderful holiday season.
Much love!
Kelly
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