Hiya Millie we love you welcome to North America ya'll are a sweet kind fascinating British couple via the UK come to Dallas we can check out Texas and see how Ya'll feel about it all Monica and Lee Ann cheers again via Dallas xx
"Tundra" is the flatland in the north of Canada and Alaska beyond the treeline; often where the ground is permanently frozen ("permafrost"); but Lawrence like many others is using the term in derision, comparing the bitter cold of the Great Lakes/northern Plains regions with the frozen landscape of the Arctic Circle...and as far as temperature is concerned, it's not that much of an exaggeration (without a protective mountain range in between, that cold air blows in directly from Hudson Bay and other subzero points north).
Back in 1978 we had an usually very cold spell that lasted almost a month. I affectionately referred to my treks across the campus as "trudging across the tundra".
Being a "melting pot" of many cultures, our language and traditions have evolved differently from the UK's, but we still have many similarities. On both sides of the pond, we all love to have fun and celebrate the Christmas season. Merry Christmas to you both! And best wishes in the new year!
Most of the differences are due to stagnation in some places in combination with changes. Sometimes we just don't follow the British change, like the H in herb. And in other cases, we use different suffixes than the UK, to differentiate the language origins of a word.
true that..being from Houston originally and having family via Louisiana and many European and UK friends and family friends this was quite lovely thanks it's very kind and heart warming yes xx
So just as British people call the last letter of the alphabet "zed" while we Yanks call it "zee", the pronunciation of "z" changes between continental Spanish (Castellano) and Latin American Spanish. You guys and Laurence pronunced the Spanish word for happy "feliz" as "feh-leeth" like someone from Madrid might do. But the composer and singer of the song, Jose Feliciano is from Puerto Rico, and most Spanish speakers here in the States are from Latin America. So they would say "feh-leece/feh-lees" with a soft "s" instead of the lisped "th".
They wouldn't celebrate the day we became independent from them tho. Not cause for celebration for the Monarchy. 😁However the two day Thanksgiving holiday is like our boxing day.
@@helgar791 Well, actually you said "the 4th of July". Specifically, our battle with them. I don't feel sad for them for that lack of a holiday since they probably have many more holidays we don't have.... like Boxing day. lol
@@helgar791 Haha I see that you're the type of person that can't admit an honest mistake. Therefore, going to such lengths as to change the parameters of an argument or changing the subject all together. Holy Wiki Batman!! 😆It's all good, not mad at ya!... wish we had boxing day & all those bank holidays. 😉
Bit of a twist. "Feliz Navidad" was recorded and made famous by Jose Feliciano who is Puerto Rican and thus an American citizen. Puerto Rico is a commoweath of the US and its residents are US citizens. The primary language of the island is Spanish. Language not withstanding, "Feliz Navidad" is very much American in origin and tradition.
@@Coonazz791 Agreed, one of more recent being the story of Klaus. There's a lot of stories and there will always be new stories which is why we'll always have a Santa/Father Christmas/etc. :)
These two are such a wonderful couple. Millie is a sweetheart, I'm so happy she has joined her Bf Beesley, she has such great reactions and she is so insightful. Happy Holiday's from Tucson Arizona in America.
Growing up in the 90s I never heard about Krampus, but he's become a popular horror figure over the last 20 years. Also, White Elephant exchanges are about giving awful, funny, or embarrassing gifts. The exchange rules can get a little detailed. In my family when it's your turn you can either pick an unwrapped gift or steal from someone. The person stolen from can then choose to get an unwrapped gift or steal, and so on. Each gift can only be stolen twice before it's considered out of the game, so the last person to steal it keeps it.
I am doing a White Elephant exchange this year with my family. I was torn between going with a gag gift or a practical gift. I decided to go with a practical gift that pretty much anyone would enjoy.
"Kris Kringle" back to the German "Kristkinl" meaning "Christ Child" and indicates the first documented use in English was 1830. Santa is Spanish for Saint. Sleigh - A vehicle like an open-air carriage, pulled by horses, using runners instead of wheels for use in winter on snow/ice. Sled - A small single-person conveyance to slide down hills, usually has runners, but may just have a flat bottom. Sledge - Any kind of flat conveyance to be dragged over the ground. Mele Kalikimaka - (Hawaiian Christmas Song) Hawaii is the 50th State in the Union.
This is why we don't do Boxing Day: "Boxing Day is held every December 26th in many countries associated with the British empire. It started as a day to give gifts to the household staff of Britain’s upper classes"
The only reason that Boxing Day is a thing at all in the US is because we all take our gifts that we didn't want back to the store for cash or credit. We return the BOX as it were. 2nd biggest retail day of the year.
The only reason that Boxing Day is a thing at all in the US is because we all take our gifts that we didn't want back to the store for cash or credit. We return the BOX as it were. 2nd biggest retail day of the year.
Yeah, as for a two day holiday. We kinda get that with Thanksgiving. The 4th Thursday of November is Thanksgiving & Fri after is a second day off for most people.
My family does the saran wrap game every year. I bet I spend more money on it each year than all the other gifts, but we always have so much fun. Seeing these big guys trying to unravel a huge ball of gifts wrapped in saran wrap with oven mitts on is hysterical. (Wow what a sentence) 66 years old and native Texan, but I’ve Never heard if Krampus.
yeah hmm me too "Krampus"? means "cramps @ Christmas time"? being from Houston and now in Dallas no never heard of "KRAMPUS"???/ a real head scratcher :)
Our Christmas traditions are heavily influenced by early German immigrants. With a dash of American ( hanging lights around houses , leaving a glass of milk and cookies ,or biscuits out for Santa Christmas Eve night) and there's the oft recited 1823 Christmas poem by Anerican Clement Clark Moore , called A Visit From St Nicholas or Twas The Night Before Christmas
The thing is, is that we have a huge Thanksgiving holiday...that is longer than your boxing day, so it really all evens out in the end. Coupled with New Year's holiday, it really isn't like we're missing much for time off. (Those of us in the frozen tundra (states with harsh winters, also sometimes call Snowmobiles/Snow Machines, 'Sleds'.)
07:00 White Elephant gift exchange is random. The order is jumbled randomly and the first gets to pick anything out. However, the people after may choose to take a previous gift chosen in exchange for the gift they drew instead. You may not necessarily walk out with the highest prized gift unless you were the last to choose. Secret Santa gift exchanges have a price limit, and everyone in the exchange picks out names from the hat [if you get your own name, you redraw after showing that your name was on the slip. Then your name gets shuffled back in.]
Hey y'all, there is a US Christmas program called Santa Claus Is Coming To Town on TH-cam, and I would guess it's available to watch in the UK, that is the American version of who Kris Kringle is, at least to us Gen Xer's. Nothing in the historical context, just a kids story that's cute to watch.
Absolutely, if you both can watch this Christmas program, you see exactly what those of us in our 50s and under have grown up with believing about Santa aka Kris Kringle
Wait, wait. . . y'all don't know about the Heat Miser and Snow Miser? A TV Christmas special that has played for, like, 50 years here. It explains all the Christmas folklore focusing on how a guy named Kris Kringle became Santa Claus. This includes unforgettable characters like Burgermeister Meisterburger and the aforementioned Misers. OK, now I need a video of different country's Christmas holiday TV traditions.
It is no surprise that these German terms have made their way into American Christmas culture, of all Americans of European ancestry, the most common nationality is German.
Not even next to English. Dutch and German are by far the largest cultural origins of the people in the north of the US at least. Christmas itself is Norse and Dutch/German in origin anyway.
@@davidcosta2244 Sorry, not next to the English. Irish is the second most common nationality and the English hold third place. In fact, there are almost twice as many Germans as there are English in the USA..
A lot of white elephant gift exchanges allow for repeat items to come back every year as well. In my family, we had a rubber ducky child's bath toy set that was brought back every year for about five years before it was finally used when someone had a baby.
Scientifically speaking the "Tundra" is the land areas near the polar Icecap, where trees no longer grow - because the ground remains frozen so much of the year. Colloquially, the "Frozen Tundra" is often used to describe areas that have long, (very) cold winters. In sports, the playing surface of the Home Field of the Green Bay Packers - Lambeau Field, is referred to as "The Frozen Tundra". It is an outdoor stadium, which can get bitterly cold, especially late in the season, or during the play offs.
You guys are a lot of fun! I’ve been in New England most of my 51 years, and I never heard of Krampus until recently, thank goodness! It would’ve given me nightmares!!!!
The whole gift swap thing has many variations - we never did it in my family growing up, but my wife's family does a version - but while the gifts are inexpensive, they are not intended to be "gag" gifts.
In the movie “Miracle on 34th Street” Kris Kringle in the name of the character who is the department store’s Santa. If you’ve never seen the movie you should try it out.
A more recent but fun Christmas movie is "The Santa Clause" with Tim Allen. When Allen's character gets arrested, he gives his name as many (all?) of the aliases of Santa Claus - Père Noel, Kris Kringle, etc.
In America, December 26 is used for sprinting to the mall to spend the gift cards you got yesterday. December 26 is also the day you angrily stomp off to the mall to return the physical gifts that you received that you hate and exchange it for cash using the purchase receipt the giver gave to you.
Hey y'all!!! Hope your trip is off to a great start, thanks for posting for us while your traveling. Love from Texas ❤. Millie just for you we will celebrate Boxing Day in our house since I am off!
Thank you for this video! Sometimes White Elephant gifts can be nicer than just a unwanted item. I've been to Church Christmas programs where we exchange gifts people have bought and these gifts can be quite nice. 😊
The way a White Elephant gift exchange works is that you look around your home, & find something that you really don't want to keep any more, & take it to the party, wrapped up - to unload on someone else. Sometimes you'll get a really nice item that you actually enjoy, but more often it's about getting rid of things that you don't want.
Tundra is a specific type of landscape that is treeless where the subsoil is permanently frozen. Used idiomatically to mean cold, snowy places in general. Kris Kringle is well knoen. On the other hand, Krampus is not at all well known in general American culture. White Elephant gift exchanges aren't confined to Christmas. They are popular for office parties. There is always a fairly low spending/value limit on the gifts brought by everyone for the pile.
In the white elephant gift exchange every person contributes a wrapped gift and they all sit sort of in a circle while all of the gifts are in the middle of the room maybe on a table. You take turns or draw numbers from a jar and you either get one of the gifts from the middle that are still wrapped or you choose and take one of the ones that somebody already opened that looks really good already. There might be a limit decided on how much people could spend on the gift to begin with so that all if the gifts are approximate in terms of value.
Not to be pedantic, but a "sledge" in the US is actually a very big hammer. I have a ten-pound one that will break concrete quite effectively (assuming a much younger man than me is swinging it!)
I'm a couple of years older than you and hadn't heard of Krampus until a few years ago. Krampus's legend was incorporated into an episode of a TV show I was enjoying - Grimm.
White elephant is fun and he didn't mention it but when your number comes up you can pick a present from the pile, which is random no names, OR you can steal a present from someone who picked before you and once it's been stolen twice it can't be stolen again. My family also does a lot of gag gifts for it but the best gift I ever got from the game was a dart board I stole off my cousin.
I love watching the two of you interact! Feliz Navidad, Prospero Año y Felicidad! From the song by José Feliciano, whose last name is almost a Christmas greeting in itself!😄
Definition of Tundra - a major zone of treeless level or rolling ground found in cold regions, mostly north of the Arctic Circle (Arctic tundra) or above the timberline on high mountains (alpine tundra). It's a term used in geology... that you probably should have heard in school at some point? Here, he just meant out into the snow, but it's a real thing.
Never in my life have I heard "Krampus" in any part of the country that I have lived...I'll have to pay attention and see if I do now after hearing it...
"White Elephant" is more like a party game, than a true gift exchange. The gifts range from gag gifts to inexpensive, but nice. Usually people with larger numbers can choose a wrapped gift or one in someone's hand. Therefore, it is always better to get a higher number. This also encourages at least someone to get something relatively nice. It's fun to watch one gift be stolen over & over. It's also funny to watch people's reaction when something goofy is opened, but they common courtesy still says they have to be nice. The last time I was at a party with a white elephant exchange I stole a coffee mug painted with one of Edgar Degas paintings. He's a famous French painter & I like pretty things. Plus, who doesn't need a coffee mug.
1) America is a nation of immigrants and their descendants. One side of my family is Italian-American (I'm third generation born in the U.S.). Some of our Christmas traditions and cuisine are specific to southern Italy, where my great-grandparents were born in the late 1800s. 2) I've never heard an American say they celebrate Boxing Day, and I suspect many have never even heard of it. I first learned of it years ago from the American TV program "MASH." It's a (mostly) comedy about army surgeons during the Korean War. In one episode they're taking care of a bunch of British soldiers who were wounded in combat. During a lull in the fighting, their comrades visit them in the hospital to celebrate Boxing Day. The Americans learn of it, and the officers and enlisted men switch jobs for a day (of course the non-doctors do not perform surgery!). 3) A "white elephant gift exchange" was unknown to me here in New England until just this year. I had heard of a "Yankee swap" from my elderly mother, but my understanding of it was that the gifts were merely inexpensive, not intentionally bad. 4) I had heard of the word "Krampus," but had no idea what it meant (there's very little German culture in New England).
White elephant usually means used. Like a thrift shop where items are donated and then sold. The money going to help charities, can also be called a white elephant shop.
Um, straight out of the UK Oxford dictionary: Tundra (noun) the large, flat, Arctic regions of northern Europe, Asia, and N. America where no trees grow and where the soil below the surface of the ground is always frozen.
Whenever I've heard Boxing Day in some old British movie I thought it must have something to do with the Boxer Rebellion where thousands of Christians were killed by.. the Boxers. Edit: Love your channel !!
I haven't heard Krampus very often in my area. The only time I do remember hearing was an episode of Scooby Doo. Merry Christmas and thanks for the fun videos!
Hi all! It's Dec 15, 2022 & I'm just now watching this.Good timing, huh? 🤣 I wanted to add that the white elephant was also something that we did in the office @ work. Loads of fun. Also, in my house, we have a tradition that on every Christmas Eve, everyone opens one gift. Unlike white elephant, though, since the gift is picked out by the person who's giving the gift to you. Everyone still opens one gift, making your family members decide which gift they want to be the first to open. (I hope that made sense.) Merry Christmas or Feliz Navidad! 🎄🎁
Tundra is the open plains in Alaska. In the mid-west, the snow covered expanse is also called the frozen tundra. A White Elephant is generally something useless found in your house and wrapped up.
Love you two!!! Are you a couple,or just best buddies?! Either way,you have touched alot of American s.Thank goodness you 2 are not like alot of people your age,lol.May the New Year bring you good health,peace,love much joy qith the people your heart is found of!! Mary ann USA 🇺🇸❤
We do two Christmas days - but it is Xmas Eve and Christmas. Boxing Day was always on our paper calendars as "Boxing Day (Canada)" Always wondered why the usually polite canucks were fighting the day after Christmas.
hahahahaha exactly right? what IS going on up in CANADA wow one day a year they all beat the crap out of on another up in the "PROVINCES" or well NOT? right :)
White elephant is random but you also have the option of taking a gift that has already been opened from somebody instead of picking a wrapped own. Then the person who had their gift stolen would pick a new one. A gift can be stolen up to two times before it gets frozen.
White Elephant is like Secret Santa, but instead of a random person being assigned a person to buy a gift for, people buy a random gift, then you pick out a random gift from the pile.
Tundra is land near the Arctic that is permanently frozen underneath, but thaws for brief periods on the upper layer, allowing for the growth of grass and other shallow root plants, but not trees. He is using the term here to exaggerate how cold it is there.
Krampus appears in about a dozen films of varying budgets. Universal's big movie referenced in the video is probably the best made. A Christmas Horror Story features William Sbatner as a drunk radio personality hosting a holiday portmanteau of Krampus, zombie elves and a mass murder in a mall. Other titles include: Krampus the Christmas Devil, Krampus the Devil Returns, Krampus Unleashed, Krampus the Reckoning, Krampus Origins, Slay Belles, Mother Krampus and Mother Krampus 2.
I love white elephant gift parties. Sometimes if a gift is actually good enough, people will fight (not literally) over it. Such as one time we wrapped up a "Handicap Parking" sign and everyone went nuts wanting to get it. Also when you play, on your turn you can pick a package, or steal someone elses. You also can't unwrap it until everyone has a package and has people stop stealing. Though the rules vary.
Our family does " white elephant" we each by a gift for 20 dollars and pick a number. We also have the rule that you can " steal" someone else's gift depending on what number you have rather then choosing one from the center. It's pretty fun. Merry Christmas you two! 🎄🎅
My family does "As Seen on TV," White Elephant Christmas. As it the title states, all the gifts have to be on an as Seen on tv commercial. Also a gift could only be "stolen" upbto three times.
My family did a Yankee Swap every year, but with us the rule was if someone wanted to swap gifts you had no choice but to do it. Mostly the gifts were just joke gag gifts, like a spare pump for a water heater, but occasionally some evil uncle would throw a squirt gun or plastic sword into the mix, and hen it was all out war between the young cousins!
Krampus is only featured by families from some European countries. It is not uniformly a part of Christmas traditions in the US. My father's family is from a part of Germany that did not tell children of Krampus. The family never mentioned Krampus. I only found out about Krampus in the last decade or so from television shows.
it is interesting that he chose the spaniard pronunciation of 'Feliz Navidad'. Lol no american would say it that way, except maybe me because thats the spanish I speak. Their way is much closer to the latin american way where the z has an s sound instead of a th sound.
For a white elephant gift example one time my Dad bought a box of chocolates. Removed the chocolates and placed a mirror inside. He painted a pig nose and ears on the mirror so that when you looked in the box it lined up with your face ( obviously) . He altered the box top of chocolates to have our family surname instead of the company name. White Elephant gifts are typically joke gifts ( or useless gifts if you aren’t creative… )
I live in New York State up near Lake Ontario, and we don't do a White Elephant gift exchange.....as a matter of fact, i never even heard of that phrase !!!.....some years, we exchange gifts, but not all. We pick names out of a hat though. And there is no Krampus where we live. We only call him Santa Claus, not Kris Kringle, even though some of the animated Christmas tv shows use that. And, oh yeah, We have always gone down hills on sleds !!.....or toboggans, or inner tubes !!.....or even a large piece of cardboard !!.....LOL
Seems you left out something about "Boxing Day" being a bank holiday, as well as Christmas day. When they fall on the weekend, the day off is on Monday. This year both land on the weekend, so you will have Saturday-Tuesday off. December 26th is just another day in the US. The 26th, the stores are also extremely busy with deep discounts on remaining holiday items as well as long lines of people making returns or exchanges. Sometimes worse than Black Friday. JOY JOY! 😊
First time I heard of Boxing Day was from an episode of Mash(a tv show filmed in the mid 70s to 83 I think. It’s about a medical unit during the Korean War.)
Feliz Navidad from José Feliciano who is blind. He wrote it and sang it in the sixties. “Feliz Navidad próspero Año y felicidad” translation: “Have a merry Christmas, a prosperous year and happiness”
Boxing Day is a specific holiday for the UK and countries under the British Empire. It is a Civil holiday which started out to offer boxes as a thank you to Civil service workers. I n the US , 26 December is a day you take off by choice if you have the ability to to do so. As far as offering gifts to Civil service workers in the US, this is something people do as a thank you to people who provide a service to you during the year (the receiver can be anyone) such as the postal worker, your apartment building doorman, delivery workers, your barber or salon worker, etc. The gifts are usually cash, except for postal workers who legally cannot accept cash gifts since the are employed by the US Government.
The original image of Santa Clause, at least in America, was created by Coca Cola to give people someone to identify with during the Holiday season. It was an advertising thing to sell more Coke also. This was between the 20's and 40's
In all my life I've never heard of Krampus. A white elephant party/gift exchange is a lot of fun. The higher the number you draw the better. The first person picks a gift, then the next person can either pick an unwrapped gift or the gift the first person got, and the first person would pick a new gift if theirs is taken. So the larger the number you draw the more you have to choose from because you get to pick anyone's gift who has already drawn or choose a new one. It can get really funny. These gifts are usually either inexpensive or gag (joke) gifts...... it's even funnier if everyone has a few drinks beforehand! 😵💫
Boxing Day" is something I noticed printed in my pocket calendar as well as many other foreign and religious holidays that I knew nothing about. Never looked up what it was, though.
Millie knocked this one out of the park. We accept her as an American 🇺🇸
Agreed! Millie is offically an honorary America! ❤🇺🇸❤
Amen!
Well, she is a Jersey girl... 😉
Agreed although I have to give props to Beesley for somewhat getting Krampus right.
Hiya Millie we love you welcome to North America ya'll are a sweet kind fascinating British couple via the UK come to Dallas we can check out Texas and see how Ya'll feel about it all Monica and Lee Ann cheers again via Dallas xx
The “frozen tundra” is an actual term, but also one that is used as sarcasm to describe a snowy or cold atmosphere
It's exaggeration or hyperbole.
So basically my house in the winter because heat is expensive and I'm cheap. If your cold put a sweater on.
"Tundra" is the flatland in the north of Canada and Alaska beyond the treeline; often where the ground is permanently frozen ("permafrost"); but Lawrence like many others is using the term in derision, comparing the bitter cold of the Great Lakes/northern Plains regions with the frozen landscape of the Arctic Circle...and as far as temperature is concerned, it's not that much of an exaggeration (without a protective mountain range in between, that cold air blows in directly from Hudson Bay and other subzero points north).
Unless you live in Alaska, we know EXACTLY what and where that is.
Or used to explain a very cold city for football!!
Tundra: a vast, flat, treeless Arctic region of Europe, Asia, and North America in which the subsoil is permanently frozen
Or a type of Toyota
For the sports-minded, Mr B, the football field in Green Bay is affectionately called the frozen tundra.
Back in 1978 we had an usually very cold spell that lasted almost a month. I affectionately referred to my treks across the campus as "trudging across the tundra".
‘Flexible Flyer’ sleds were popular in America for generations. A sledge is a large hammer. 😁
I still have my Flexible Flyer hanging on the wall from when I was a kid last century.
Being a "melting pot" of many cultures, our language and traditions have evolved differently from the UK's, but we still have many similarities. On both sides of the pond, we all love to have fun and celebrate the Christmas season. Merry Christmas to you both! And best wishes in the new year!
Millie in her best Band Aid Voice: "Do they know it's Boxing Day? Lala..." *: )*
Most of the differences are due to stagnation in some places in combination with changes.
Sometimes we just don't follow the British change, like the H in herb. And in other cases, we use different suffixes than the UK, to differentiate the language origins of a word.
true that..being from Houston originally and having family via Louisiana and many European and UK friends and family friends this was quite lovely thanks it's very kind and heart warming yes xx
So just as British people call the last letter of the alphabet "zed" while we Yanks call it "zee", the pronunciation of "z" changes between continental Spanish (Castellano) and Latin American Spanish. You guys and Laurence pronunced the Spanish word for happy "feliz" as "feh-leeth" like someone from Madrid might do. But the composer and singer of the song, Jose Feliciano is from Puerto Rico, and most Spanish speakers here in the States are from Latin America. So they would say "feh-leece/feh-lees" with a soft "s" instead of the lisped "th".
I wish I could like this more than once.
AND "we" pronounce "Navidad" with an ending "d" - "nah-vee-dahd".
99 percent of the time that an American says the word "sledge" it is immeditately followed by the word hammer
And often to the tune of the Peter Gabriel song... 🎵 🎶 🎵
Funny thing is as an American I really didn't even know what Krampus was
A year to late but, Krampus is actually from Central and Eastern Europe.
"Krampus"? cramps @ Christmas?
Our lack of Boxing day makes you sad. Your lack of a Thanksgiving and the 4th of July makes us sad.
They wouldn't celebrate the day we became independent from them tho. Not cause for celebration for the Monarchy. 😁However the two day Thanksgiving holiday is like our boxing day.
@@IAMHIM15 As I've just said, their lack of both of those days, Thanksgiving or any independence day, makes us sad.
@@helgar791 Well, actually you said "the 4th of July". Specifically, our battle with them. I don't feel sad for them for that lack of a holiday since they probably have many more holidays we don't have.... like Boxing day. lol
@@IAMHIM15 Yes. But on the whole the US have 12 national holiday's whereas Britain has 8.
@@helgar791 Haha I see that you're the type of person that can't admit an honest mistake. Therefore, going to such lengths as to change the parameters of an argument or changing the subject all together. Holy Wiki Batman!! 😆It's all good, not mad at ya!... wish we had boxing day & all those bank holidays. 😉
Bit of a twist. "Feliz Navidad" was recorded and made famous by Jose Feliciano who is Puerto Rican and thus an American citizen. Puerto Rico is a commoweath of the US and its residents are US citizens. The primary language of the island is Spanish. Language not withstanding, "Feliz Navidad" is very much American in origin and tradition.
He also lived in California.
@@anonygent That may be but he is Puerto Rican by birth and identity.
Kris Kringle in the US was Santa's name before he was given the powers to be Santa. That is pretty much the reason he is named that.
I’m always surprised at how many people don’t know the history of Santa. lol
@@catinthechat well, there are a lot of histories of Santa though lol
@@Coonazz791 Agreed, one of more recent being the story of Klaus. There's a lot of stories and there will always be new stories which is why we'll always have a Santa/Father Christmas/etc. :)
These two are such a wonderful couple.
Millie is a sweetheart, I'm so happy she has joined her Bf Beesley, she has such great reactions and she is so insightful.
Happy Holiday's from Tucson Arizona in America.
American here: Never have I heard the word Krampus.
A year too late but, Krampus is from Central and Eastern Europe.
And I've never heard of White Elephant unless it was something awkwardly out of place.
Growing up in the 90s I never heard about Krampus, but he's become a popular horror figure over the last 20 years.
Also, White Elephant exchanges are about giving awful, funny, or embarrassing gifts. The exchange rules can get a little detailed. In my family when it's your turn you can either pick an unwrapped gift or steal from someone. The person stolen from can then choose to get an unwrapped gift or steal, and so on. Each gift can only be stolen twice before it's considered out of the game, so the last person to steal it keeps it.
Grew up in the 60s. I never heard of him either.
Not all white elephant gifts are awful, funny, and/or embarrassing. Lots of them are.
I am doing a White Elephant exchange this year with my family. I was torn between going with a gag gift or a practical gift. I decided to go with a practical gift that pretty much anyone would enjoy.
I'm 42 years old and have never heard of Krampus, but I don't do horror/scary anything so that's probably why.
We call this Dirty Santa and whether the gifts are bad or good depends on what the host decides.
"Kris Kringle" back to the German "Kristkinl" meaning "Christ Child" and indicates the first documented use in English was 1830.
Santa is Spanish for Saint.
Sleigh - A vehicle like an open-air carriage, pulled by horses, using runners instead of wheels for use in winter on snow/ice.
Sled - A small single-person conveyance to slide down hills, usually has runners, but may just have a flat bottom.
Sledge - Any kind of flat conveyance to be dragged over the ground.
Mele Kalikimaka - (Hawaiian Christmas Song)
Hawaii is the 50th State in the Union.
Sledge is also used to refer to a hammer that weighs between 10 pounds to 20 pounds.
Hmmm... I wonder if he has ever heard "Mele Kalikimaka" - which is "Merry Christmas" in Hawaiian.
go HAWAII..."Mele Kalikimaka"...happy Hawaiian Christmas cool deal xoxoxox
We called it sled riding. Interesting that you call it sledging. Merry Christmas to you both from Oklahoma, USA
@Jason Schwarz Right. If it’s called a sled, it would make sense that one would go sledding.
White Elephant is an exchange of gifts usually at work sites/offices.
This is why we don't do Boxing Day:
"Boxing Day is held every December 26th in many countries associated with the British empire. It started as a day to give gifts to the household staff of Britain’s upper classes"
The only reason that Boxing Day is a thing at all in the US is because we all take our gifts that we didn't want back to the store for cash or credit. We return the BOX as it were. 2nd biggest retail day of the year.
The only reason that Boxing Day is a thing at all in the US is because we all take our gifts that we didn't want back to the store for cash or credit. We return the BOX as it were. 2nd biggest retail day of the year.
Yeah, as for a two day holiday. We kinda get that with Thanksgiving. The 4th Thursday of November is Thanksgiving & Fri after is a second day off for most people.
@@FEARNoMore Unless you happen to work in retail; then, it's all hands on deck to handle the Black Friday rush.
@@randlebrowne2048 Right. God have mercy on those souls. lol
My family does the saran wrap game every year. I bet I spend more money on it each year than all the other gifts, but we always have so much fun. Seeing these big guys trying to unravel a huge ball of gifts wrapped in saran wrap with oven mitts on is hysterical. (Wow what a sentence)
66 years old and native Texan, but I’ve Never heard if Krampus.
yeah hmm me too "Krampus"? means "cramps @ Christmas time"? being from Houston and now in Dallas no never heard of "KRAMPUS"???/ a real head scratcher :)
Our Christmas traditions are heavily influenced by early German immigrants.
With a dash of American ( hanging lights around houses , leaving a glass of milk and cookies ,or biscuits out for Santa Christmas Eve night) and there's the oft recited 1823 Christmas poem by Anerican Clement Clark Moore , called A Visit From St Nicholas or Twas The Night Before Christmas
Too bad Krampus didn’t become as popular😁
I would also leave carrots for the reindeer!
The thing is, is that we have a huge Thanksgiving holiday...that is longer than your boxing day, so it really all evens out in the end. Coupled with New Year's holiday, it really isn't like we're missing much for time off. (Those of us in the frozen tundra (states with harsh winters, also sometimes call Snowmobiles/Snow Machines, 'Sleds'.)
07:00 White Elephant gift exchange is random. The order is jumbled randomly and the first gets to pick anything out. However, the people after may choose to take a previous gift chosen in exchange for the gift they drew instead. You may not necessarily walk out with the highest prized gift unless you were the last to choose.
Secret Santa gift exchanges have a price limit, and everyone in the exchange picks out names from the hat [if you get your own name, you redraw after showing that your name was on the slip. Then your name gets shuffled back in.]
Hey y'all, there is a US Christmas program called Santa Claus Is Coming To Town on TH-cam, and I would guess it's available to watch in the UK, that is the American version of who Kris Kringle is, at least to us Gen Xer's. Nothing in the historical context, just a kids story that's cute to watch.
Absolutely, if you both can watch this Christmas program, you see exactly what those of us in our 50s and under have grown up with believing about Santa aka Kris Kringle
Wait, wait. . . y'all don't know about the Heat Miser and Snow Miser? A TV Christmas special that has played for, like, 50 years here. It explains all the Christmas folklore focusing on how a guy named Kris Kringle became Santa Claus. This includes unforgettable characters like Burgermeister Meisterburger and the aforementioned Misers.
OK, now I need a video of different country's Christmas holiday TV traditions.
It is no surprise that these German terms have made their way into American Christmas culture, of all Americans of European ancestry, the most common nationality is German.
Next to the English, just saying.
Are you speaking in terms of continental Europe? England and Ireland certainly left the most descendants.
Not even next to English. Dutch and German are by far the largest cultural origins of the people in the north of the US at least. Christmas itself is Norse and Dutch/German in origin anyway.
@@voraciousblackstn Except, the U. S. is an English speaking country from its founding, and immigrants to it adapted to those ideals.
@@davidcosta2244 Sorry, not next to the English. Irish is the second most common nationality and the English hold third place. In fact, there are almost twice as many Germans as there are English in the USA..
A lot of white elephant gift exchanges allow for repeat items to come back every year as well. In my family, we had a rubber ducky child's bath toy set that was brought back every year for about five years before it was finally used when someone had a baby.
Scientifically speaking the "Tundra" is the land areas near the polar Icecap, where trees no longer grow - because the ground remains frozen so much of the year.
Colloquially, the "Frozen Tundra" is often used to describe areas that have long, (very) cold winters.
In sports, the playing surface of the Home Field of the Green Bay Packers - Lambeau Field, is referred to as "The Frozen Tundra".
It is an outdoor stadium, which can get bitterly cold, especially late in the season, or during the play offs.
You guys are a lot of fun! I’ve been in New England most of my 51 years, and I never heard of Krampus until recently, thank goodness! It would’ve given me nightmares!!!!
The whole gift swap thing has many variations -
we never did it in my family growing up,
but my wife's family does a version - but while the gifts are inexpensive,
they are not intended to be "gag" gifts.
In the movie “Miracle on 34th Street” Kris Kringle in the name of the character who is the department store’s Santa. If you’ve never seen the movie you should try it out.
Great One.
A more recent but fun Christmas movie is "The Santa Clause" with Tim Allen. When Allen's character gets arrested, he gives his name as many (all?) of the aliases of Santa Claus - Père Noel, Kris Kringle, etc.
In America, December 26 is used for sprinting to the mall to spend the gift cards you got yesterday. December 26 is also the day you angrily stomp off to the mall to return the physical gifts that you received that you hate and exchange it for cash using the purchase receipt the giver gave to you.
We don't pronounce the z in Feliz like he's doing it. That might be how they say it in Spain but not here. Even in the song it doesn't sound like that
Christmas traditions are waaaaay different up north, down south, and from coast to coast here in the U.S.A.
Hey y'all!!! Hope your trip is off to a great start, thanks for posting for us while your traveling. Love from Texas ❤. Millie just for you we will celebrate Boxing Day in our house since I am off!
You have no idea how happy this makes me!!!! Have the best time ever ❤️
Hiya via Dallas come to TEXAS always welcomed thanks again Ya'll xxoxoxox :) cheers again xx
Never heard of Krampus before, and rather glad because I think he would have visited my house frequently
Thank you for this video!
Sometimes White Elephant gifts can be nicer than just a unwanted item. I've been to Church Christmas programs where we exchange gifts people have bought and these gifts can be quite nice. 😊
also theres Toboggan which is a type of Sled which has a curved up front, but also is what some call a Ski Mask
The way a White Elephant gift exchange works is that you look around your home, & find something that you really don't want to keep any more, & take it to the party, wrapped up - to unload on someone else. Sometimes you'll get a really nice item that you actually enjoy, but more often it's about getting rid of things that you don't want.
Feliz Navidad y Prospero Ano Nuevo!!
Tundra is a specific type of landscape that is treeless where the subsoil is permanently frozen. Used idiomatically to mean cold, snowy places in general.
Kris Kringle is well knoen. On the other hand, Krampus is not at all well known in general American culture.
White Elephant gift exchanges aren't confined to Christmas. They are popular for office parties. There is always a fairly low spending/value limit on the gifts brought by everyone for the pile.
In the white elephant gift exchange every person contributes a wrapped gift and they all sit sort of in a circle while all of the gifts are in the middle of the room maybe on a table. You take turns or draw numbers from a jar and you either get one of the gifts from the middle that are still wrapped or you choose and take one of the ones that somebody already opened that looks really good already. There might be a limit decided on how much people could spend on the gift to begin with so that all if the gifts are approximate in terms of value.
You two are so joyous and funny!
Sled, sledge, it's a horse a piece
Not to be pedantic, but a "sledge" in the US is actually a very big hammer. I have a ten-pound one that will break concrete quite effectively (assuming a much younger man than me is swinging it!)
Peter Gabriel was British and he had a huge hit named Sledge Hammer.
I am a 64 year old American, born and raised. I have never, until now, heard of Krampus.
Me, too!
I'm a couple of years older than you and hadn't heard of Krampus until a few years ago. Krampus's legend was incorporated into an episode of a TV show I was enjoying - Grimm.
White elephant is fun and he didn't mention it but when your number comes up you can pick a present from the pile, which is random no names, OR you can steal a present from someone who picked before you and once it's been stolen twice it can't be stolen again. My family also does a lot of gag gifts for it but the best gift I ever got from the game was a dart board I stole off my cousin.
I love watching the two of you interact!
Feliz Navidad, Prospero Año y Felicidad! From the song by José Feliciano, whose last name is almost a Christmas greeting in itself!😄
ok, Why call the next day after Christmas, Boxing Day? What are you celebrating. And we go sledding.
Not sledging.
Definition of Tundra - a major zone of treeless level or rolling ground found in cold regions, mostly north of the Arctic Circle (Arctic tundra) or above the timberline on high mountains (alpine tundra).
It's a term used in geology... that you probably should have heard in school at some point?
Here, he just meant out into the snow, but it's a real thing.
Never in my life have I heard "Krampus" in any part of the country that I have lived...I'll have to pay attention and see if I do now after hearing it...
I have lived in the US my whole life, I never heard of Krampus
"White Elephant" is more like a party game, than a true gift exchange. The gifts range from gag gifts to inexpensive, but nice. Usually people with larger numbers can choose a wrapped gift or one in someone's hand. Therefore, it is always better to get a higher number. This also encourages at least someone to get something relatively nice. It's fun to watch one gift be stolen over & over. It's also funny to watch people's reaction when something goofy is opened, but they common courtesy still says they have to be nice.
The last time I was at a party with a white elephant exchange I stole a coffee mug painted with one of Edgar Degas paintings. He's a famous French painter & I like pretty things. Plus, who doesn't need a coffee mug.
hmmmm ok gotta try that one christmas here in Dallas ? :)
When I was in school we'd typically get off for Christmas-New Years winter break. Dec 18ish-Jan 3ish. So ya, no Boxing Day.
Tundra is an area which isn't covered in snow always but is too cold for anything to grow (even weeds). So it's basically an ice cold rocky desert.
In The Bahamas, on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, we have a fantastic parade called Junkanoo, which is too fabulous to go into in a YT comment.
1) America is a nation of immigrants and their descendants. One side of my family is Italian-American (I'm third generation born in the U.S.). Some of our Christmas traditions and cuisine are specific to southern Italy, where my great-grandparents were born in the late 1800s.
2) I've never heard an American say they celebrate Boxing Day, and I suspect many have never even heard of it. I first learned of it years ago from the American TV program "MASH." It's a (mostly) comedy about army surgeons during the Korean War. In one episode they're taking care of a bunch of British soldiers who were wounded in combat. During a lull in the fighting, their comrades visit them in the hospital to celebrate Boxing Day. The Americans learn of it, and the officers and enlisted men switch jobs for a day (of course the non-doctors do not perform surgery!).
3) A "white elephant gift exchange" was unknown to me here in New England until just this year. I had heard of a "Yankee swap" from my elderly mother, but my understanding of it was that the gifts were merely inexpensive, not intentionally bad.
4) I had heard of the word "Krampus," but had no idea what it meant (there's very little German culture in New England).
White elephant usually means used. Like a thrift shop where items are donated and then sold. The money going to help charities, can also be called a white elephant shop.
Um, straight out of the UK Oxford dictionary:
Tundra (noun)
the large, flat, Arctic regions of northern Europe, Asia, and N. America where no trees grow and where the soil below the surface of the ground is always frozen.
Whenever I've heard Boxing Day in some old British movie I thought it must have something to do with the Boxer Rebellion where thousands of Christians were killed by.. the Boxers.
Edit: Love your channel !!
I haven't heard Krampus very often in my area. The only time I do remember hearing was an episode of Scooby Doo. Merry Christmas and thanks for the fun videos!
Hi all! It's Dec 15, 2022 & I'm just now watching this.Good timing, huh? 🤣 I wanted to add that the white elephant was also something that we did in the office @ work. Loads of fun.
Also, in my house, we have a tradition that on every Christmas Eve, everyone opens one gift. Unlike white elephant, though, since the gift is picked out by the person who's giving the gift to you. Everyone still opens one gift, making your family members decide which gift they want to be the first to open. (I hope that made sense.)
Merry Christmas or Feliz Navidad! 🎄🎁
Tundra is the open plains in Alaska. In the mid-west, the snow covered expanse is also called the frozen tundra. A White Elephant is generally something useless found in your house and wrapped up.
A sled is a device that children ride on in the snow and ice to go down sloping hills.
I have created a word to describe the shops in the US that start putting out their fall thru Christmas items in August, "Fall-o-ween-mas ".
Love you two!!! Are you a couple,or just best buddies?! Either way,you have touched alot of American s.Thank goodness you 2 are not like alot of people your age,lol.May the New Year bring you good health,peace,love much joy qith the people your heart is found of!! Mary ann USA 🇺🇸❤
We do two Christmas days - but it is Xmas Eve and Christmas. Boxing Day was always on our paper calendars as "Boxing Day (Canada)" Always wondered why the usually polite canucks were fighting the day after Christmas.
hahahahaha exactly right? what IS going on up in CANADA wow one day a year they all beat the crap out of on another up in the "PROVINCES" or well NOT? right :)
Never really heard of Krampus as a kid. People always said if you were naughty you would get coal in your stocking.
Feliz Navidad
Próspero año y felicidad
I wanna wish you a merry Christmas
From the bottom of my heart
White elephant is random but you also have the option of taking a gift that has already been opened from somebody instead of picking a wrapped own. Then the person who had their gift stolen would pick a new one. A gift can be stolen up to two times before it gets frozen.
White Elephant is like Secret Santa, but instead of a random person being assigned a person to buy a gift for, people buy a random gift, then you pick out a random gift from the pile.
Tundra is land near the Arctic that is permanently frozen underneath, but thaws for brief periods on the upper layer, allowing for the growth of grass and other shallow root plants, but not trees.
He is using the term here to exaggerate how cold it is there.
The first time I heard of Boxing Day was while watching the series Downton Abbey (great show). I’m always keen to celebrate another holiday 😁👍🏼😂
You should react to Abbot And Costello's "Who's On First."
Love Laurence. I love your responses to his videos.
Krampus appears in about a dozen films of varying budgets. Universal's big movie referenced in the video is probably the best made. A Christmas Horror Story features William Sbatner as a drunk radio personality hosting a holiday portmanteau of Krampus, zombie elves and a mass murder in a mall. Other titles include: Krampus the Christmas Devil, Krampus the Devil Returns, Krampus Unleashed, Krampus the Reckoning, Krampus Origins, Slay Belles, Mother Krampus and Mother Krampus 2.
I love white elephant gift parties. Sometimes if a gift is actually good enough, people will fight (not literally) over it. Such as one time we wrapped up a "Handicap Parking" sign and everyone went nuts wanting to get it. Also when you play, on your turn you can pick a package, or steal someone elses. You also can't unwrap it until everyone has a package and has people stop stealing. Though the rules vary.
Our family does " white elephant" we each by a gift for 20 dollars and pick a number. We also have the rule that you can " steal" someone else's gift depending on what number you have rather then choosing one from the center. It's pretty fun. Merry Christmas you two! 🎄🎅
My family does "As Seen on TV," White Elephant Christmas. As it the title states, all the gifts have to be on an as Seen on tv commercial. Also a gift could only be "stolen" upbto three times.
There is a portion of people that don't speak spanish, so we sing...."fleas on a dog". Sounds the same to me.😁
Or "the police nabbed ya," from the parody song... 😆
I always take around 2 weeks off around Christmas for that reason. A week before & a week after.
My family did a Yankee Swap every year, but with us the rule was if someone wanted to swap gifts you had no choice but to do it. Mostly the gifts were just joke gag gifts, like a spare pump for a water heater, but occasionally some evil uncle would throw a squirt gun or plastic sword into the mix, and hen it was all out war between the young cousins!
Or the ever entertaining whoopee cushion way too many laughs with those things
Krampus is only featured by families from some European countries. It is not uniformly a part of Christmas traditions in the US.
My father's family is from a part of Germany that did not tell children of Krampus. The family never mentioned Krampus. I only found out about Krampus in the last decade or so from television shows.
it is interesting that he chose the spaniard pronunciation of 'Feliz Navidad'. Lol no american would say it that way, except maybe me because thats the spanish I speak. Their way is much closer to the latin american way where the z has an s sound instead of a th sound.
For a white elephant gift example one time my Dad bought a box of chocolates. Removed the chocolates and placed a mirror inside. He painted a pig nose and ears on the mirror so that when you looked in the box it lined up with your face ( obviously) . He altered the box top of chocolates to have our family surname instead of the company name. White Elephant gifts are typically joke gifts ( or useless gifts if you aren’t creative… )
Us not celebrating Boxing Day is the same as you not celebrating Thanksgiving. ⭐️🎄⭐️🎄.
I am 75 and I have never heard of Boxing Day until I watched Lawrence and he talked about it.
Feliz Navidad is a song sung by Jose Feliciano and there is an english part of it sung by him.
I live in New York State up near Lake Ontario, and we don't do a White Elephant gift exchange.....as a matter of fact, i never even heard of that phrase !!!.....some years, we exchange gifts, but not all. We pick names out of a hat though. And there is no Krampus where we live. We only call him Santa Claus, not Kris Kringle, even though some of the animated Christmas tv shows use that. And, oh yeah, We have always gone down hills on sleds !!.....or toboggans, or inner tubes !!.....or even a large piece of cardboard !!.....LOL
Tundra is kind of an arctic desert. It is characterized by a frost under the ground that never melts called permafrost.
Seems you left out something about "Boxing Day" being a bank holiday, as well as
Christmas day. When they fall on the weekend, the day off is on Monday. This year
both land on the weekend, so you will have Saturday-Tuesday off. December 26th
is just another day in the US.
The 26th, the stores are also extremely busy with deep discounts on remaining
holiday items as well as long lines of people making returns or exchanges.
Sometimes worse than Black Friday. JOY JOY! 😊
Tundra is the vegitation found in the arctic. It is very dwarfed and if damaged can take up to 7 years to regrow
Never heard of Krampus. Only heard it in terms of some movie called Krampus.
First time I heard of Boxing Day was from an episode of Mash(a tv show filmed in the mid 70s to 83 I think. It’s about a medical unit during the Korean War.)
A sled is a smaller version of a sleigh. Usually meant for a single person.
Feliz Navidad from José Feliciano who is blind. He wrote it and sang it in the sixties. “Feliz Navidad próspero Año y felicidad” translation: “Have a merry Christmas, a prosperous year and happiness”
We always open our presents on Christmas Eve
Boxing Day is a specific holiday for the UK and countries under the British Empire. It is a Civil holiday which started out to offer boxes as a thank you to Civil service workers. I n the US , 26 December is a day you take off by choice if you have the ability to to do so. As far as offering gifts to Civil service workers in the US, this is something people do as a thank you to people who provide a service to you during the year (the receiver can be anyone) such as the postal worker, your apartment building doorman, delivery workers, your barber or salon worker, etc. The gifts are usually cash, except for postal workers who legally cannot accept cash gifts since the are employed by the US Government.
The original image of Santa Clause, at least in America, was created by Coca Cola to give people someone to identify with during the Holiday season. It was an advertising thing to sell more Coke also. This was between the 20's and 40's
In all my life I've never heard of Krampus.
A white elephant party/gift exchange is a lot of fun. The higher the number you draw the better. The first person picks a gift, then the next person can either pick an unwrapped gift or the gift the first person got, and the first person would pick a new gift if theirs is taken. So the larger the number you draw the more you have to choose from because you get to pick anyone's gift who has already drawn or choose a new one. It can get really funny. These gifts are usually either inexpensive or gag (joke) gifts...... it's even funnier if everyone has a few drinks beforehand! 😵💫
Boxing Day" is something I noticed printed in my pocket calendar as well as many other foreign and religious holidays that I knew nothing about. Never looked up what it was, though.