What actually happens on Christmas?

Boxing and dog racing and a flutter.
(Entirely alien to my background but my ex always used to go with his family as a child - greyhounds not boxing.)

If someone gave you turkey any other day of the year you'd feel mugged off. Idk why everyone accepts it on Xmas day.

That's what he said:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpMd_acIOxY

Our second Xmas in the UK, getting the hang of "the traditions" more this year as the little one is grown up and learnt a great deal about The Season at school.

This is going to be a controversial one and obviously not very London relatable or one I have joined in for a long time but growing up in the Westcountry, boxing day was also going out to see the hunt roll through town, bump in to friends and wish seasons greetings, mainly a reason to go out for a walk and get some fresh air but yeh, the excuse being a to watch blood sport :/
Still gets a big crowd back home

What actually happens on Christmas?

I eat a lot of fancy biscuits, which is my favourite thing ever

My family tradition was always straight onto the champagne and brandy cocktails as soon as the morning cup of tea was despatched, and then its onto the present opening. My mum doesn't drink normally so is routinely shedded well before the bird is put in the oven. Then half cut the family usually goes for a walk in some feeble attempt at off-setting the calorific onslaught that is to come.

Isn't the average Christmas dinner over 5000 calories? About double the normal daily allowance, which explains why our body actually shuts down and diverts all attention to attempted digestion, as we doze off on the sofa only vaguely catching the mutterings of the Queen's horrible anus.

Other things we only ever have at Xmas and never any other time of year include: Baileys, Matchmakers, After Eights, and fun-size boxes of Quality St/Roses. We used to have those sugar coated orange and lemon jellies, not that I've seen them for a few years. Also Brazil nuts for firing shrapnel at the dog.

Then there's usually some form of family board game trauma that drags on for an eternity, before that's inevitably sacked off in favour of pudding and moar booze, and then we embark on the specially saved throughout the year Xmas stash of various types of marrow-gee-wana, and melt into the cosey embrace of the sofa for some TV funnies.

Christmas rocks. This year is going to be different but normal service will be resumed next year.

It's free time off from work.
Eating too much and watching shit films is the added bonus.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_vGPplLaVC0

https://youtu.be/s6-XeyNMCJw

It’s a Festivus Pole. ;)

then a massive Zwift session?

Festive 500 by lunchtime

Could I get Brussel sprouts today, like anywhere???
Feels like Brexit has come early..

Tomorrow is weaponised presents from divorced parents day; 'I bought Hermione the Festival Ballet and Greece, SHE just got the poor kid a Unicorn'.

Turkey Curry is good

Certainly the best thing you can do with turkey.

I've seen that before, and (I don't know how) but forgotten how funny it is. I've actually shed a tear.

You are Church of Constanza too?
Happy Festivus!

Growing up we would mostly use Christmas/boxing Day/new years Day as an opportunity to travel back to the motherland. It's the perfect time, there are cheap flights, England is approaching it's bleakest whilst the southern hemisphere is in summer, you have to take the days off anyway etc. So in normal times I would recommend that as the best thing to do for brown people.

More recently as we don't have the cash to fly home every year anymore we tend to get together as a family and just hang out for however many days of holiday it makes sense to take. Same as we might on any bank holiday. The time of year does end up dictating our actions to some extent. My mother does actually like sprouts so we often end up eating them (not necessarily on Christmas Day) and in past times we sometimes went to the boxing Day sales, which is the closest we ever got to a tradition. I've enjoyed Xmas parties at some of the companies I've worked at too.

In hindsight I'm quite glad my parents never treated Christmas as anything other than an alien practice that we tolerated. I don't think there's anything to be said for taking on someone else's traditions for your own (outside of relationships, etc). Especially not as a POC in this xenophobic hellscape. Men are going to call me a paki from out the window of their cars for a long time to come. Putting up some tinsel won't make me feel any more integrated.

My advice would be to just treat it as any other bank holiday. Maybe you'll end up forming some routines around it, maybe you won't, if you do they'll be yours to own and might form the basis of a gestalt identity for your kid rather than just a capitulation to a colonising culture.

Usually - close pass on Dartmoor
2020- close pass on Layhams

Well whatdya know.
Happy Festivus, for the rest of us!

Merry Christmas everyone, and hats off to the first person to eat 50 mince-pies.

an opportunity to travel back to the motherland

That made me think of the typical habit of 'young adults' to go back to the parental home for Christmas. It's the one time in the year when everyone's likely to be home, so for several years between people leaving home and people settling down and making their own families, Christmas is also when you organise a big pub get-together with your mates from school/college/neighbourhood. I hadn't really thought of it as a tradition, but it kind of is. Also, feeling old and nostalgic now I'm long past the age of doing it.

Too much food and drink. Bitching about crap on tv. Awareness that many people spend it alone, not always by choice. Emphasis on family, as if that's the only time they get together. I stopped celebrating it years ago, reinforced when my mother died early December. For me it's a few days off work and usually when I head off to Jamaica to argue with an uncle, visit mum's grave, soak up the sun and drinks lots of Red Stripe sorrel beer - delish!

Roll on next December sob.

I haven't had a Christmas in the UK for 10 years, we always go to France to see my wife's family which basically turns into a week long episode of masterchef. I was never a big Christmas person but it's pretty much my favourite time of year now.

When I was a kid in London in the 80s we had Christmas Day at home. Presents under the tree in the morning, lots of chocolate, lots of phone calls to family, followed by Christmas dinner in the afternoon. Usually turkey or duck, once had pheasant. Boxing Day was a big family gathering with all the aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents at one of their houses. Everyone would bring food for the table.

These days we usually stay over at SWMBO’s parents. Christmas morning opening presents and over to her uncle’s for family Christmas dinner. Boxing Day, family come round, we all go for a walk while food cooks and it’s usually something like a home made terrine and roast beef.

This year is at home and we won’t see anyone because Tier 4. Little’un’s 3rd Christmas so it’s the first one he really recognises as a thing. We’re shielding again and the supermarket food delivery substituted off our Christmas dinner items, then a risky late night trip to the supermarket (which I shouldn’t do because of shielding) I came back with nothing as the shelves were empty. I managed to pick up a duck early yesterday morning when nobody was about though. Almost had a family Christmas dinner of sausages and single portion of frozen leftover beef stew!

Usual plan is to get together with my mum, step dad, brother and his wife and get egregiously pissed by about 1pm. Obviously that's gone out the window this year so the plan is just to do the egregiously pissed part and take the dog for a walk. Might see if I can swing The Shining as a Christmas film, seeing as there's so much snow in it.