Great vid guys. We traditionally leave mince pies for Santa (not meat pies). This is a British quirk, that we have a mixture called ‘mince meat’, which is actually a mixture of spiced fruit, and nothing to do with meat. So a ‘mince pie’ is actually a sweet pastry pie filled with a spiced fruit filling. Very traditional and festive. Happy (or Merry) Christmas to you and the family. Hope you have a special one here in the UK
It’s customary for the pulling of each cracker to be done by two people, not just to open it yourself. Typically you turn to the person next to you at the dinner table, offer them the other end and you both tug. Whoever wins the part with the contents gets to keep them. The jokes are meant to be terrible which makes the groans that follow part of the tradition as well
My father was a local theatre journalist when I was a child so I would see several Pantomimes every Christmas, the classic pantomimes are Dick Whittington, Cinderella, Aladdin and Jack and the Beanstalk . Dick Whittington is based on a true character who became mayor of London in the 16th century
Oh wow, thank you so much for sharing how cool is that! That must have been a cool experience. We hope you had a wonderful christmas celebration and have a lovely new year. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Right, would you like us to have not given our true reaction? 😉 I'm so glad you all got a giggle, and we absolutely love sharing our learning experience with you all. We hope you all had a wonderful christmas celebration and have a lovely week ahead as we roll into the new year. Cheers 🤍 Jess & Chris x
Christmas crackers are great fun. Usually placed on the Christmas day dinner table next to the cutlery and knapkin. One person holds one end and another person the other end. Like a tough of war you pull until the snap goes off and the cracker rips. The person with the majority gets the gift and jokes. Usually the kids get everything anyway. The jokes, riddles and general knowledge questions are to help stimulate conversation at the dinner table. In the UK when you sit down for Christmas Dinner you're there for the long haul even if it isn't a three cause meal. The meal with wine or beer, Christmas pudding soaked in brandy that is brought to the table lit on fire. People tend to then have liqueur or schnapps to aid the digestion followed by coffee and chocolate after dinner mints. All spread over the afternoon. The King's speech is usually watched on TV. The evening meal is usually a cold cuts buffet. The gifts used to be better such as mini nail clippers, small magic tricks, keyrings, toys. In time it became cheap plastic junk that even the kids didn't want so it all went in the bin. Now we live in more environmental times I've noticed usually the gifts are paper based. Luxury crackers are expensive but usually much better for gifts.
Fabulous! Thank you so much for the wonderful insight. We truly appreciate your support and all of the comments. We have now truly experienced the luxury crackers and agree. That will be something that we take with us even back in the US. We will definitely be carrying some of the UK/england traditions back home with us when we have to return. This is just a brilliant time exploring and learning and loving every bit of it. We truly hope you all have a wonderful week ahead as we roll into the New Year. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
I agree with you highly recommend for anyone that has never been. Hope you had a wonderful christmas and have a happy new year! Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
I admire the way both Jess and Chris are gently adopting many English/British ways while they are in the UK. It will be a little bit sad to see them go when they have to return to the US. I get the feeling they'll be back here for holidays though......
We truly appreciate your support it means so much to our family! We have the best people on youtube to love and support ever. We're just so blessed. It will be a sad day when we have to leave, but we will take you along to our small holding in the US and still share our love for the UK and all our US adventures. We for sure we'll be back to visit I'm sure of it. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
When I return back to the United States, it will be what I sell in my store as well! Absolutely love them! Once we figured out how to use them, haha... Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Merry Christmas, I'm from England(Nr Mildenhall) I use merry Christmas more than happy .Crackers are pulled between two people,holding each end.We don't call cookies ,biscuits.We have cookies and biscuits.Just as we have fries and chips.Fries are thin ,chips are fat.Loving your vids.Merry Christmas you two.
Thank you so much! We have now experienced crackers the proper way and luxury ones... We just wanted to share the true raw unfiltered experience of our crackers.. Thank you so much for the insight and all of the information. Hope you had a wonderful Christmas celebration and have a lovely weak ahead as we roll into the New Year. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Oh dear friend. I know, but we will take you along when we do return.. As long as you all stay along for the ride on all our crazy fun adventures. We will definitely be back to visit once we have to return to the US. It will carry a lot of the uk traditions back home with us. We just love it here and the wonderful people. We hope you had a wonderful christmas celebration. Cheers 🤍 Jess & Chris x
Great video, thank you. I have to admit that I was very confused when you said that in Britain we leave a meat pie out for Father Christmas as I’ve never heard of anyone doing that, but then I realised, reading the other comments, that I think perhaps you got confused with a mince pie which is sweet and has no meat in it, which we do traditionally leave out for him. I love your Christmas tree by the way, really nice, and I particularly like the horse brasses on it, that’s very original and charming. I wish you and your family a very Happy Christmas!
Yeah, that's what we've been told that sometimes people still have meat in them. That's why we had a disclaimer at the beginning that some things may be done differently. We hope you had a wonderful christmas and a great week ahead as we roll into the new year. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Friend, we're so glad you enjoy our videos and what we share. It means so much to us to have wonderful friends to share with. Hope you had a lovely Christmas and week ahead as we roll into the New Year. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Happy Christmas..and ..Merry Christmas, (we do say both) to you and your family.. Mince pies are very sweet these days, many years ago housewives..Mums and their kids would make their own, homemade..and they were the best, they might have not looked the best, all odd shapes but were very special, proper mixed fruit etc with not so much sugar
Thank you so very much for all of this and wonderful information. We really appreciate your time and your support. It truly means the world to our family. We hope you had a lovely christmas celebration and have a wonderful week ahead as we roll into the New Year. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Thank you very much, ours was proper! Hope you had a fantastic Christmas celebration. Also, we hope you have a lovely week ahead as we roll into the New Year. Thank you for the support. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Ooh, and don’t forget to watch the King’s speech on Christmas Day. This is a tradition in which the monarch addresses the country each year. Previously the Queen’s speech, but Charles continues the tradition. Catch it at 3pm on the BBC Christmas Day. Your traditional British Christmas will be complete 😊
3pm Christmas Day, almost every channel. We all enjoy Christmas dinner but we always have an eye on the clock to make sure it's over by 3pm for the Queen's (now King's) speech.
Wow, thanks, friend, for sharing. Unfortunately, we don't have cable TV. Will have to see if it was shared on TH-cam. We truly appreciate all your support! Hope your Christmas celebration was great and that your week ahead is lovely as we roll into the New Year. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
My Dad lied to me all those years, mince pies and milk, not in my families home lol was mince pies and a glass of whiskey hahaha dad knew how to play his part in style 🙂
Haha, Chris agrees with your dad, and he did it the right way. Thank you so much for sharing! We appreciate your kindness and support. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
It varies what people call their tops what they are wearing sometimes they say jumpers,sweaters, hoodies, cardigan, depending on the design of the top.
I don’t think we refer to “our” Christmas jumpers as “nasty” - most of them are lovely! There are - of course - a few ‘rude’ and suggestive ones 😉😅 but most of them are fun and not intended to be tasteless or horrible. I’ve got a dozen “Christmas jumpers”, as I had to wear one as part of my “uniform” in my supermarket workplace and I had to resist temptation to not buy a new one each year! Happy Christmas - and oh, you end take an end of a cracker to pull! And the winner keeps the naff present inside! 😂
Haha, thank you for the correction! Calling them Jumpers are what are different. Thank you! Hope you have a wonderful Christmas! Thank you for your time and support! Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Thank you very much. We hope you had a fantastic Christmas celebration. Also, we hope you have a lovely week ahead as we roll into the New Year. Thank you for the support. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Yep, Twelfth Night is a custom for many, of when to take down the Christmas decorations as it is the end (the last night) of the twelve days of the Christmas aka Christmastide. [It was traditionally such a big thing (last day of the holidays) that Shakespeare even wrote a special romantic comedy play to be performed on Twelfth Night - very unoriginally titled 'Twelfth Night'!]' Happy Holidays is more common in ethnically diverse places eg London.
Thank you for the insight! We appreciate your time sharing with us! Hope you have a wonderful Christmas! Thank you all your support! Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
It means that we need to take them down by 6th Jan, so we tend to wait until new year has passed then if the weekend falls before the 6th we take them down then we are not doing it on a workday. But it doesn't always workout like that. I enjoy your videos.xx
Thank you very much, ours was proper! Hope you had a fantastic Christmas celebration. Also, we hope you have a lovely week ahead as we roll into the New Year. Thank you for the support. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
The twelve days of Christmas are because the traditional date that the 3 kings visited was supposedly on the 12th day after christmas (the epiphany). Some countries traditionally celebrate gift giving on that day rather than Christmas (ie in celebration of the gifts of the kings rather than having anything to do with Saint Nicholas), for example parts of Spain/Latin America. Historically in England, twelfth night was a day of overturning conventions with some peasants being placed as Lord and Lady of Misrule in any particular village for a night of revelry, but I'm not aware of any such traditions in England today. One of Shakespeare's best comedies is called Twelfth Night in reference to this. Perhaps pantomimes have some of their anti-convention roots in this feast and indeed the play Twelfth Night involves cross-dressing.
Wow, thank you so much for taking the time to share with us! We really appreciate your time and your support. Absolutely love reading all of the comments. We hope you had a lovely Christmas celebration and a wonderful week ahead as we roll into the New Year. Thank you for your support. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Right, I absolutely loved it! Thank you for your support and kindness. We hope you had a lovely christmas and have a wonderful week ahead as we roll into the New Year. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
The pantomime is normally a child’s first encounter of the theatre, the dame is always played by a male, even a local panto is great fun, merry Christmas and happy new year to you all.
It was fabulous! Thank you so much for your time watching and leaving us this wonderful comment. We hope you had a wonderful christmas celebration and have a happy new year! Cheers 🤍 Jess & Chris
They are "Christmas crackers". "Crackers" in the UK means much the same as crackers in the US - you put cheese/spread on them. The 12 days of Christmas 25 Dec-05 Jan or Christmastide dates from ancient times and is the official religious holiday of most Christian churches. "Mince pies" are not meat. They are filled with a mixture of sweet dried fruit and spices traditionally served warm. Here in UK we also don't eat meat pies on Christmas eve ! Dick Whittington is a traditional story a lot older than movies - try the 15th century. Merry Christmas.
Right, but we have never heard of "Christmas crackers," as we were saying. When I hear cracker, that is what I automatically think of is the traditional cracker. 😉 We hope you had a wonderful christmas celebration and have a lovely week ahead as we roll into the New Year. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Because Father Christmas is an adult (Yo! Ho! Ho, ). We normally put a small glass of spirits (brandy, whisky or even port or Sherry) and almost always a mince pie and a carrot and next morning someone has drunk the drink and had a big bite of the mince pie and the carrot well for some reason some thing has taken a bite out of that too! The question is which reindeer took the bite and brought the rest of the carrot back down the chimney???? Part of the mysterious magic of Christmas!!! Here’s something for you look up “First Footing” on New Year’s Eve!!! It’s a notable Scottish Tradition but has been done by the English too! It’s easy to get on Google!
Thank you very much, ours was proper! Hope you had a fantastic Christmas celebration. Also, we hope you have a lovely week ahead as we roll into the New Year. Thank you for the support. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
There have been some famous Americans who have regularly performed in Pantomime in the UK; Mickey Rooney was a huge fan, David Hasselhoff too, Pamela Anderson has done it, Priscilla Presley, Jerry Hall, but the one who really gets it is Henry Winkler, who apparently tried to stage one in the US. Don't know how successful it was though.
Truly appreciate all your support! It really means so much to our family. Hope your Christmas was full of cheer! Have a wonderful week ahead as we roll into the New Year. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
70 years old and not superstitious at all (still, wouldn't dream of not taking down the decorations on January 6th😮). Traditional to leave Father Christmas a mince pie and a tot of sherry/whisky. We think of 'holidays' as (summer) vacations, whereas the Yuletide season is usually called 'Christmas'🎅 Happy Christmas and a joyful New Year to you all!🎄☃🥃
Oh, I completely understand where you're coming from thank you so much for the insight. We were so happy that we were able to share our thoughts and our takes on traditions here. We hope you had a wonderful christmas celebration. Thank you for the continued support. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
I heard happy christmas more than I have Merry Christmas. Here is just something different for us.. Thank you so very much. Have a lovely day. Cheers 🤍 Jess x
@@DaydreamersBarn I think if it's just Christmas greeting it could be 'Happy Christmas', but if followed by New Year greeting then 'Merry Christmas and Happy New Year' A merry New Year don't sound good, unless you're planning to go on the booze.
We do say ‘merry Christmas as well as happy Christmas, especially when we are saying merry Christmas and a happy New Year but you’re right we don’t say happy holidays.
Hey Jess. Panto is based around a few popular children's stories. They are for all the family with jokes for kids and sky adult jokes slipped in. Singing and participation is usual. The York panto I grew up on was known for decades as its main character and writer was Berwick Kaler (a well known TV supporting actor). He was known for suddenly as libbing or talking about the actors real life throwing them off their lines! BTW...What is a British accent to you guys? Sorry this confuses many Brits as there's 10s of different accents in the UK. I think it changes every 20 miles.
A panto is the first time children see a live stage show. It is very interactive and some times the cast will go into the audience and hand out sweets.
The pantomime was wonderful, and we enjoyed it tremendously! We definitely appreciate all the different things here in the UK to explore and experience. How we would describe some of the accents. Some talk very fast and use slang words and not fully anunciated words for us to follow. Much like in the US, all different accents that are hard to follow along with at times if you're not familiar with them. Hope that helps. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Fab, thank you for your comment! We appreciate your time watching. Hope you have a wonderful Christmas! Thank you for your time and support! Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
I was brought up with superstitions so yeah 12 days after Christmas is something that is a must do and on new year day I was brought up that it's bad luck to do any clothes washing on that day another one we used to do but haven't done for years something I rememberbl my dad doing was putting out a piece of coal and 50p coin over the Christmas period for God luck that was back in the early 80s
Firstly, I wish you all a peaceful Christmas. As others have commented, the pie left for Santa is a sweet mince (not savoury mince or meat) pie!!! My Christmas tree usually comes down around 12th night (6th January). The tradition is that a man plays the part of the Pantomime 'Dame' and the 'Principal Boy' is usually a girl. There are many, many more pantomimes other than Dick Whittington, such as Aladdin, Puss in Boots, Cinderella to name but a few. Enjoy the festivities, y'all!! (I've associated with a few Americans, both here in the UK and in the USA. Hence the occasional use of words/phrases from 'across the pond'.)
In Wales we always say "Merry Christmas" and not "Happy Christmas" but we do say "Happy New Year". The way Americans say, "Happy New Years" sounds really odd to us.
Hi guys, when you say meat pie you mean mince pie which is made of rich fruit, Santa would also get a glass of Sherry .Christmas Crackers are meant to be pulled between 2 people across the dinner table while also wearing Christmas hats for most of the day . I hope you and you family have a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year , or Happy Holidays . great video .
Hundred percent it's just what we were able to find out. We made a disclaimer in the beginning. Stating that not everything that we said was going to be the exact way that everybody does it. We truly appreciate your time and your comment. We hope you had a wonderful christmas celebration! Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Happy holidays from 40 degree above average west Michigan But Monday I lost power from a tree falling on my private road from a blizzard You share a Xmas cracker one who gets biggest part wins prize So on a turkey you get the wish bone which two people pull the one who gets biggest part wins wish which they thought of as pulled crackers give everyone a wish chance everyone gets to pull. Normally b4 you eat so paper hat on during dinner Xmas Decorations come down by 12th day after, I've heard Italian or scillician leave up till Easter? You see locals more often in uk so happy Christmas before and then after will be happy new year until the 5th then you drop Smaller communities closer knit Like the local possibly knows your names after 2nd visit Merry Christmas and happy new year
Thank you for sharing! We're definitely missing the snow. Hope you have the most amazing Christmas friend! We appreciated your time watching and sharing with us. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
The Happy vs Merry Christmas isn't as cut and dried as it's made out to be. I'm 53 and it's mostly been Merry Christmas most of my life.i work in a customer facing environment and i haven't heard "Happy Christmas" once this year and for many years previously.
Fab, thank you for your insight. Hope you had a fantastic Christmas celebration. Also, we hope you have a lovely week ahead as we roll into the New Year. Thank you for the support. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
The big city pantomimes in the uk will usually star a well known tv star, singer or celebrity. Some actors have made careers just from being “Dames” in pantomimes. The Dame is the character where a man dresses as a woman
Hiya. My stuff stays up until the 6th January, the Feast of The Epiphany. That's when the Wise Men arrive. All my non-Christian and Other Religion friends wish me a Happy/Merry Christmas and I wish them the same. It's not a problem in the UK. Are Americans too sensitive, maybe? The crackers, btw, you take an end each when at the dinner table and pull. The person with the bigger end after gets the hat and the trinket. You then pull crackers until everyone has a hat, at least, and then Christmas Dinner starts. Finally, it's a MINCE pie, not a MEAT pie. The mince being spiced fruit. Have a Very Merry Christmas and a Wonderfully Happy New Year. Stay safe. All the best to you.
Friend, I think they may be a little too sensitive now a days. We have now properly experienced the cracker at my work "breakfast club". We definitely wanted you all to see our true raw experience with the crackers and share in so giggles. We hope you had a joyous christmas and a happy week ahead rolling into the new year. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
No one has mentioned the tradition of either a silver threepence or sixpence in the Christmas pudding. (Pre decimal currency) Who ever found it was king for the day , in medieval times. Not so popular since most buy their pudding from the shops. Christmas crackers were brought in during Victorian era, Thomas Smith from Norwich first produced them, still going. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Pre Christianity we celebrated Yuletide, greenery was brought into the house and usual excessive eating. So event is very old. Would recommend you listen to "the Coventry Carol " old Carol from the medieval era, even they had "Waits".
Oh, fabulous thank you so much for that wonderful information! Thank you so much for taking the time to share with us. We hope you had a wonderful christmas celebrity. Also, have a lovely week as we roll into the New Year. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Btw regarding the New Year; do you Americans practice ‘first footing’? It’s a Scottish tradition, the first person to cross your threshold after midnight on the 1st of January should be a dark-haired male carrying a piece of coal, shortbread and whisky to bring good luck for the coming year. Although English, think this was introduced to our household by my Scot’s brother-in-laws; being blonde, I was never chosen to first foot! 🙂
No, but that's probably a new tradition that we will probably take forward.... Thank you so much for sharing how cool it is to learn something new from each of you. Hope you have a merry christmas! Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
If you really want to get into the festive spirit watch, The Hog Father. It's full of classic British humour with a weird twist. If you can find it, Sinderella is one of the best adult Pantomimes.
Some of us say Happy Holidays , due to the fact that before the christians stole the celebration of the Winter Solstice and made it xmas , it was a pagen holiday held around the dates from 21 - 26 dec.they done the same thing again at easter
I remember growing up watching movies like National Lampoon's Christmas vacation and Scrooged and just thinking that Americans just do it bigger and better. We're caught up a bit in the last few years but I would love a year at Christmas over in the US.
Oh yeah, I definitely love those movies. Christmas is a very Big to do in the US. Some communities go all out with decorations. I know you would love it like we love exploring and learning while we're here. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
It said it was back in the day... That's what we were talking about. We said that some things may be different and not the same. Thank you for your comment and your support. Have a Merry Christmas, friend! Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Normally for us its during the 12 days before, but definitely take them down during the 12 days after. Also there is coal mining family tradition but anyone can do it, it is to leave a peice of coal outside your door for the poor. It's the person with the darkest hair in the house at the time before midnight on new years eve, they miss the old langs eye but get the privilege of doing the good deed. I don't know if that has an Irish background to it aswell because my grandad were/is Irish.
@@liamloxley1222 I was abit drunk at the time and I probably couldn't remember how to spell it, so I ended up winging it I guess. But you understood what it meant, so who has been abit of a numpty and scrooge on Christmas day. Did Father Christmas forget to bring you abit of cheer this year, or did you forget to ask him for some.
@@liamloxley1222 Sorry, that last bit was a bit harsh (still stands to some degree). But I hope you can learn how you want to be treated kindly, then do it onto others. The world would be a better place if people understood that tit for tat, etc exists. But you reap what you sow kinda thing. Keep safe, vigilant and bless.👍
Never milk in UK always Port wine or Sherry,a glass of brandy or Whiskey & a mince pie (fruits & spice) or a Sausage roll, & a small carrot for the Reindeer!!
💯 whiskey is a win in our books! Will be taking that tradition along with the crackers and January the sixth to take our decorations down! Hope you have a wonderful Christmas! Thank you for your time and support! Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
You would normally put a Christmas cracker on every plate setting of your Christmas dinner table. Then people will pull their cracker with another person at the table. The person who ends up with the middle of the cracker "wins" the prize inside. After the reading of all the terrible jokes, everybody will end up with a paper hat and Christmas Dinner can begin.
Where was the small cheesy gift in the crackers? I've never heard anyone say 'Happy' Christmas, it's always 'Merry'. Yes, it's common to take down your decorations before twelfth night (Shakespeare had something to say about that); it's bad luck afterwards. In a panto, the leading man dressed rather flamboyantly as a woman is called a 'dame'. The British do love smut, which is slyly introduced for those adults in the audience (I'm sure some reference was made to 'dick' in the panto you watched). It's been a pleasure to watch you guys (and children) over the last few months, and I wish you all a hearfelt best wishes for Christmas (it's the Eve that I write now) and the New Year. Robert, uk.
Unfortunately, we had the cheap crackers this first time, but we have now experienced the luxury one now. We'll carry those with us from now on and do those every christmas, even in the US, when we have to return. We really hope your christmas celebration was lovely and you have a wonderful week ahead as we roll into the New Year. We appreciate your support! Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
@@DaydreamersBarn ...Well, thank you for the kind wishes, which I indeed return to you. Just to add, I was speaking to an old mate of mine on the phone a few days ago, and he said, to my amazement, Happy Christmas! So, yeah, I was apparently wrong about that...ho ho. Robert, uk.
Fab, unfortunately, we don't have cable. We are looking for it on TH-cam. Hope you had a fantastic Christmas celebration. Also, we hope you have a lovely week ahead as we roll into the New Year. Thank you for the support. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Re Pantomime, as adults its a good idea to attend the last showing of any panto , the cast dont give a damn if things go wrong and its usually a bit more adult , I swear when we went to our last one the cast had been hitting the drink
Fantastic, thank you for the information. We will look into that! We hope you had a wonderful christmas and have a lovely week ahead as we roll into the New Year. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Nooooooooooo! Christmas crackers are a social experience and should be pulled by two people (one on each end). Apart from the Christmas hats and jokes in the crackers one of them usually gets the toy prize inside. As you're Americans and not used to this British Christmas tradition you get a pass this time. Brits also do the edible crackers with a cheeseboard (selection of cheeses) often served on a wooden cheeseboard with grapes, pickled onions, antipasti meats, olives, nuts, and other nibbles which is a British & Italian nibbles mash-up selection over the Christmas and New Year period. Glad you liked your first panto. Pantomimes are aimed at kids but the whole family usually enjoy them. Make sure you go to bed in time this eve or Father Christmas won't bring you what you want. Take your Christmas tree & decorations down by no later than the 6th of January if you're superstitious. Happy & Merry Christmas to you and all your family! And cheers! 🍾🥂🍺🍻🍷🥃 🎄🎅☃❄🎁🎁🎉🎈🎊🎍🍳🍖🍗🥩🌰🥜🧅🧄🥦🍒🍎🍏🍇🍊🍋🍠🥧🍮🫖🍾🍷🍸🍺🍻🥂🥃🥤🧊🍽🥄
We really just wanted ya to experience them with us. So we did not search them up. We just figured it out for ourselves. So that was our true reaction to crackers for the first time. Now we have experienced them with other at with our friends at my works breakfast club. We truly hope you had a wonderful christmas! Cheers 🤍 Jess x
Mince pies not meat pies and a carrot for Rudolph. The word mince originates from middle English mincen, and old french mincier. Traceable to Latin minutiare meaning chop finely. Meat used to be a term for food in general not just animal flesh. Although mince pies did originally contain meat. The meat content was dropped over time but the name stayed the same.
That's what we've been told that some people still have meat in them. That's why we had a disclaimer at the beginning. Not everything that we mention is going to be exactly the same way everybody does it. Even in the US, everyone has their own traditions, and it makes it unique to each family. That's the wonderful thing about the world. Everyone has different ways to do everything. We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and week ahead as we roll into the New Year. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Oh, I am a hundred percent aware at love it. Thank you for the information and for taking the time to share. We appreciate your comment. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Oh yeah, we understand that we were just talking about how it used to be served. We definitely made a disclaimer at the beginning of the video, making sure that not everybody is going to be doing it the same way. We really hope you had a wonderful christmas celebration and have a lovely week as we roll into the New Year. Thank you for your time and your comment. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Traditionally, if you leave decorations up after 6th January, fairies hide in them and stay to plague you all year. I'm a Christian druid who loves the Good Neighbours, so I leave mine up an extra day so they know they are welcome here.
I hate panto', as a few do..........geared for children,......who like it, so it's fine..........only a few variants................Dick,.........was the first Lord Mayor.of London..............oh, have a beautiful Christmas..........& obviously your family................xx
Don't know if Boxing day is celebrated in the US, but over here it's traditionally the day when husband, wife and kids each don a pair of boxing gloves and knock 7 bells out of each other for not getting the present they wanted.😉
Not meat pies .....mince pies ,there is no meat in mince pies , Dad always siad it should be a glass of beer , not milk , and he was right it was alawys gone xmas morn .
Pantomimes are very much a UK thing. It's very much a family thing and tend to be quiet cheeky with innuendo that adults would get but children wouldn't. It's essentially a play with audience participation. The idea of a man dressing as the main female character called the dame probably has it's origins from a time when women were not allowed on stage . Google should fill you in better. It could be superstition based like women on sailing ships was bad luck. They tend to follow traditional European fairy tales like, little red riding hood, goldilocks and the three bears or jack and the bean stalk. The closest American version would be vaudeville.
One hundred percent they are so fantastic! It's definitely something the US is missing out on. Thank you so much for your amazing comment. We hope you had a wonderful christmas celebration and have a lovely week as we're rolling into the New Year. You so much for your comment, your time and your support. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Don't feel obliged to pretend that pantomimes are anything other than horrific. My youth was polluted by these annual events. Parents assume you'd love it, but you'd rather be anywhere else in the world. Horrendous.
Haha, We definitely had a good time. Something we have never experienced before. But I understand where you're coming from, friend. We hope you have a lovely day, and we appreciate your support. Cheers 🤍 Jess & Chris x
The tradition is to take decorations down on or before Twelfth Night but not necessarily on the day itself. If you want to take them down even as early as Boxing Day (26th December) then that is fine. But odd. I think that Chris misread the one about Santa. It probably said Mince Pies which, unlike hundreds of years ago, no longer contain actual meat. The "Happy Holidays" thing is creeping in here with our younger generations thank to an advert by a certain drinks company's TV adverts featuring a huge truck and the sung theme "Holidays are coming". I'm sure you know the firm in question. 😉 For many British children going to the Pantomime is usually the first time that they go to the theatre. A lovely introduction. The stories used are not those from films (movies) but may reference recent ones. They tend to be traditional stories like Dick Whittington that you saw who was a real life character: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Whittington_and_His_Cat
Thank you so very much for all of this and wonderful information. We really appreciate your time and your support. It truly means the world to our family. We hope you had a lovely christmas celebration and have a wonderful week ahead as we roll into the New Year. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. They are not meat mince pies , the mince is fruit mince , left out for santa is fruit mince pies/ wine, sherry or spirits. First footing is another thing which happens on New Years Eve. Sadly is becoming less and less of a tradition. ( this is more of a Northern thing.).
Q , Are you back in America now if so hope you will visit England again. You areva lovely family , i hope everything goes right for you all and you succeed with your farm !!
We are not back in America yet. We will be here for a while before we return. Thank you for the well wishes in our farm's success. It truly means a lot. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
Great vid guys. We traditionally leave mince pies for Santa (not meat pies). This is a British quirk, that we have a mixture called ‘mince meat’, which is actually a mixture of spiced fruit, and nothing to do with meat. So a ‘mince pie’ is actually a sweet pastry pie filled with a spiced fruit filling. Very traditional and festive. Happy (or Merry) Christmas to you and the family. Hope you have a special one here in the UK
Yes mince pies have not contained meat for a couple of hundred years. I don't think a meat pie left on a fire place would be a gift.
They did used to have meat in them though.
That's why the spices were added, to preserve the meat..I wouldn't have eaten one!@@gibsonms
@@margaretflounders8510
I have made traditional mince pies with meat in them.
They are great.
@@johnclements6614Tudor times when lots of food was a mixture of sweet and savoury.
It’s customary for the pulling of each cracker to be done by two people, not just to open it yourself. Typically you turn to the person next to you at the dinner table, offer them the other end and you both tug. Whoever wins the part with the contents gets to keep them. The jokes are meant to be terrible which makes the groans that follow part of the tradition as well
Thank you for sharing we truly appreciate your time. Merry christmas and happy new year! Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
My father was a local theatre journalist when I was a child so I would see several Pantomimes every Christmas, the classic pantomimes are Dick Whittington, Cinderella, Aladdin and Jack and the Beanstalk . Dick Whittington is based on a true character who became mayor of London in the 16th century
Oh wow, thank you so much for sharing how cool is that! That must have been a cool experience. We hope you had a wonderful christmas celebration and have a lovely new year. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
and Dick Whittington is buried in an old churchyard in Gloucestershire. I have seen it several times since i was a child.
When it came to the Crackers, it was like watching aliens trying to work out how something works.
A very Merry Christmas to you both .🎁
lol
The crackers - oh dear...
😂
Right, would you like us to have not given our true reaction? 😉
I'm so glad you all got a giggle, and we absolutely love sharing our learning experience with you all. We hope you all had a wonderful christmas celebration and have a lovely week ahead as we roll into the new year. Cheers 🤍 Jess & Chris x
actor john inman was fantastic at playing pantomime dames
Thank you for your comment. Merry Christmas. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Christmas crackers are great fun. Usually placed on the Christmas day dinner table next to the cutlery and knapkin. One person holds one end and another person the other end. Like a tough of war you pull until the snap goes off and the cracker rips. The person with the majority gets the gift and jokes. Usually the kids get everything anyway. The jokes, riddles and general knowledge questions are to help stimulate conversation at the dinner table. In the UK when you sit down for Christmas Dinner you're there for the long haul even if it isn't a three cause meal. The meal with wine or beer, Christmas pudding soaked in brandy that is brought to the table lit on fire. People tend to then have liqueur or schnapps to aid the digestion followed by coffee and chocolate after dinner mints. All spread over the afternoon. The King's speech is usually watched on TV. The evening meal is usually a cold cuts buffet. The gifts used to be better such as mini nail clippers, small magic tricks, keyrings, toys. In time it became cheap plastic junk that even the kids didn't want so it all went in the bin. Now we live in more environmental times I've noticed usually the gifts are paper based. Luxury crackers are expensive but usually much better for gifts.
Spot on PB, except it is Schnapps!
Well spotted and corrected. We'd drink it whatever the spelling.
Fabulous! Thank you so much for the wonderful insight. We truly appreciate your support and all of the comments. We have now truly experienced the luxury crackers and agree. That will be something that we take with us even back in the US. We will definitely be carrying some of the UK/england traditions back home with us when we have to return. This is just a brilliant time exploring and learning and loving every bit of it. We truly hope you all have a wonderful week ahead as we roll into the New Year. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Christmas Pantos are great fun, sometimes well known actors get involved. 👍🏻
I agree with you highly recommend for anyone that has never been. Hope you had a wonderful christmas and have a happy new year! Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
A couple of my favourite Americans , always so respectful , enjoy your festive season ☃️🎄
I admire the way both Jess and Chris are gently adopting many English/British ways while they are in the UK. It will be a little bit sad to see them go when they have to return to the US. I get the feeling they'll be back here for holidays though......
We truly appreciate your support it means so much to our family! We have the best people on youtube to love and support ever. We're just so blessed. It will be a sad day when we have to leave, but we will take you along to our small holding in the US and still share our love for the UK and all our US adventures. We for sure we'll be back to visit I'm sure of it. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Some british stores in america now sell christmas crackers.
When I return back to the United States, it will be what I sell in my store as well! Absolutely love them! Once we figured out how to use them, haha... Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Merry Christmas, I'm from England(Nr Mildenhall) I use merry Christmas more than happy .Crackers are pulled between two people,holding each end.We don't call cookies ,biscuits.We have cookies and biscuits.Just as we have fries and chips.Fries are thin ,chips are fat.Loving your vids.Merry Christmas you two.
Thank you so much! We have now experienced crackers the proper way and luxury ones... We just wanted to share the true raw unfiltered experience of our crackers.. Thank you so much for the insight and all of the information. Hope you had a wonderful Christmas celebration and have a lovely weak ahead as we roll into the New Year. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Oh, how we wish you could stay with us forever. Have the best Christmas ever, and a fantastic new year.
Oh dear friend. I know, but we will take you along when we do return.. As long as you all stay along for the ride on all our crazy fun adventures. We will definitely be back to visit once we have to return to the US. It will carry a lot of the uk traditions back home with us. We just love it here and the wonderful people. We hope you had a wonderful christmas celebration. Cheers 🤍 Jess & Chris x
Always said Merry Christmas myself
Fantastic, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Experiencing Christmas in other countries is wonderful. Thanks for the sharing.
It really is! Thank you for your support. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Great video, thank you. I have to admit that I was very confused when you said that in Britain we leave a meat pie out for Father Christmas as I’ve never heard of anyone doing that, but then I realised, reading the other comments, that I think perhaps you got confused with a mince pie which is sweet and has no meat in it, which we do traditionally leave out for him. I love your Christmas tree by the way, really nice, and I particularly like the horse brasses on it, that’s very original and charming. I wish you and your family a very Happy Christmas!
Yeah, that's what we've been told that sometimes people still have meat in them. That's why we had a disclaimer at the beginning that some things may be done differently. We hope you had a wonderful christmas and a great week ahead as we roll into the new year. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
I love your videos, always so interesting, I shall be so sad when you leave the UK. Happy Christmas to your lovely family. Love ❤ from London. ❤
Friend, we're so glad you enjoy our videos and what we share. It means so much to us to have wonderful friends to share with. Hope you had a lovely Christmas and week ahead as we roll into the New Year. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Merry Christmas & a very Happy New Year Chris, Jess & Family. Best Wishes. All the Best. 👍
Thank you friend! We hope you had a magical Christmas and have a wonderful week as we roll into the New Year. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Happy Christmas..and ..Merry Christmas, (we do say both) to you and your family.. Mince pies are very sweet these days, many years ago housewives..Mums and their kids would make their own, homemade..and they were the best, they might have not looked the best, all odd shapes but were very special, proper mixed fruit etc with not so much sugar
A mince pie, straight out of the oven bubbling away, popped into the mouth, is ho-ho-hot!!🤭
Thank you so very much for all of this and wonderful information. We really appreciate your time and your support. It truly means the world to our family. We hope you had a lovely christmas celebration and have a wonderful week ahead as we roll into the New Year. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Happy Christmas to you guys - we’ll be round for Christmas dinner!!!
Thank you very much, ours was proper! Hope you had a fantastic Christmas celebration. Also, we hope you have a lovely week ahead as we roll into the New Year. Thank you for the support. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
We usually say merry Christmas and a happy new year. Have a lovely Christmas. All the best 🇬🇧.
Thank you! Hope you have a wonderful Christmas! Thank you for your time and support! Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Great vlog!! Hope the UK ‘s dull weather and the short daylight hours doesn’t cheese you off 🎄
Thank you! Hope you have a wonderful Christmas! Thank you for your time and support! Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
one thing you forgot was that ,over the boarder into Scotland they celebrate Hogmanay on New years Eve
We did find that out. Thank you for your time sharing with us. We love learning from you all. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Ooh, and don’t forget to watch the King’s speech on Christmas Day. This is a tradition in which the monarch addresses the country each year. Previously the Queen’s speech, but Charles continues the tradition. Catch it at 3pm on the BBC Christmas Day. Your traditional British Christmas will be complete 😊
3pm Christmas Day, almost every channel. We all enjoy Christmas dinner but we always have an eye on the clock to make sure it's over by 3pm for the Queen's (now King's) speech.
@@TimeyWimeyLimey Though , in truth, there are some of us who couldn't give a monkey's for the king or his speech😬
Wow, thanks, friend, for sharing. Unfortunately, we don't have cable TV. Will have to see if it was shared on TH-cam. We truly appreciate all your support! Hope your Christmas celebration was great and that your week ahead is lovely as we roll into the New Year. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
My Dad lied to me all those years, mince pies and milk, not in my families home lol was mince pies and a glass of whiskey hahaha dad knew how to play his part in style 🙂
We did whiskey for Santa
Haha, Chris agrees with your dad, and he did it the right way. Thank you so much for sharing! We appreciate your kindness and support. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
have a nice chrismas all
Thank you! Hope you have a wonderful Christmas! Thank you for your time and support! Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Jess Chris and family hope you have very Merry Christmas and a cracking New Year xx
Thank you, dear friend! Same to you and yours, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! We appreciate you 🤍 Jess & family x
I enjoy your videos, you seem such a lovely and warm family. Merry Christmas to you and your family!
Thank you so much for taking the time to enjoy our video. We hope you have a Merry Christmas! Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
It varies what people call their tops what they are wearing sometimes they say jumpers,sweaters, hoodies, cardigan, depending on the design of the top.
Fair point, plenty of different ways to express the tops. Thanks for watching and commenting. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
I don’t think we refer to “our” Christmas jumpers as “nasty” - most of them are lovely! There are - of course - a few ‘rude’ and suggestive ones 😉😅 but most of them are fun and not intended to be tasteless or horrible. I’ve got a dozen “Christmas jumpers”, as I had to wear one as part of my “uniform” in my supermarket workplace and I had to resist temptation to not buy a new one each year!
Happy Christmas - and oh, you end take an end of a cracker to pull! And the winner keeps the naff present inside! 😂
Haha, thank you for the correction! Calling them Jumpers are what are different.
Thank you! Hope you have a wonderful Christmas! Thank you for your time and support! Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Happy Christmas to you and your family.
Thank you very much. We hope you had a fantastic Christmas celebration. Also, we hope you have a lovely week ahead as we roll into the New Year. Thank you for the support. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Yep, Twelfth Night is a custom for many, of when to take down the Christmas decorations as it is the end (the last night) of the twelve days of the Christmas aka Christmastide.
[It was traditionally such a big thing (last day of the holidays) that Shakespeare even wrote a special romantic comedy play to be performed on Twelfth Night - very unoriginally titled 'Twelfth Night'!]'
Happy Holidays is more common in ethnically diverse places eg London.
Thank you for the insight! We appreciate your time sharing with us! Hope you have a wonderful Christmas! Thank you all your support! Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
It means that we need to take them down by 6th Jan, so we tend to wait until new year has passed then if the weekend falls before the 6th we take them down then we are not doing it on a workday. But it doesn't always workout like that. I enjoy your videos.xx
Thank you so much for sharing your insight with us. We truly appreciate your support and kindness! Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Merry Christmas and happy New Year.
Thank you very much, ours was proper! Hope you had a fantastic Christmas celebration. Also, we hope you have a lovely week ahead as we roll into the New Year. Thank you for the support. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
The twelve days of Christmas are because the traditional date that the 3 kings visited was supposedly on the 12th day after christmas (the epiphany). Some countries traditionally celebrate gift giving on that day rather than Christmas (ie in celebration of the gifts of the kings rather than having anything to do with Saint Nicholas), for example parts of Spain/Latin America.
Historically in England, twelfth night was a day of overturning conventions with some peasants being placed as Lord and Lady of Misrule in any particular village for a night of revelry, but I'm not aware of any such traditions in England today. One of Shakespeare's best comedies is called Twelfth Night in reference to this. Perhaps pantomimes have some of their anti-convention roots in this feast and indeed the play Twelfth Night involves cross-dressing.
Wow, thank you so much for taking the time to share with us! We really appreciate your time and your support. Absolutely love reading all of the comments. We hope you had a lovely Christmas celebration and a wonderful week ahead as we roll into the New Year. Thank you for your support. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Chris is a true American, as he wears his Christmas hat over his baseball cap.
Yes, I noticed that!
@@Brian-om2hhTop marks for observation!😁
Right, I absolutely loved it! Thank you for your support and kindness. We hope you had a lovely christmas and have a wonderful week ahead as we roll into the New Year. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
The pantomime is normally a child’s first encounter of the theatre, the dame is always played by a male, even a local panto is great fun, merry Christmas and happy new year to you all.
It was fabulous! Thank you so much for your time watching and leaving us this wonderful comment. We hope you had a wonderful christmas celebration and have a happy new year! Cheers 🤍 Jess & Chris
Hope you have a wonderful Christmas 😁
Friend, we hope you have a lovely christmas as well! Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
They are "Christmas crackers". "Crackers" in the UK means much the same as crackers in the US - you put cheese/spread on them.
The 12 days of Christmas 25 Dec-05 Jan or Christmastide dates from ancient times and is the official religious holiday of most Christian churches.
"Mince pies" are not meat. They are filled with a mixture of sweet dried fruit and spices traditionally served warm.
Here in UK we also don't eat meat pies on Christmas eve !
Dick Whittington is a traditional story a lot older than movies - try the 15th century.
Merry Christmas.
Right, but we have never heard of "Christmas crackers," as we were saying. When I hear cracker, that is what I automatically think of is the traditional cracker. 😉
We hope you had a wonderful christmas celebration and have a lovely week ahead as we roll into the New Year. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Because Father Christmas is an adult (Yo! Ho! Ho, ). We normally put a small glass of spirits (brandy, whisky or even port or Sherry) and almost always a mince pie and a carrot and next morning someone has drunk the drink and had a big bite of the mince pie and the carrot well for some reason some thing has taken a bite out of that too! The question is which reindeer took the bite and brought the rest of the carrot back down the chimney???? Part of the mysterious magic of Christmas!!!
Here’s something for you look up “First Footing” on New Year’s Eve!!! It’s a notable Scottish Tradition but has been done by the English too! It’s easy to get on Google!
💯 understand. Once again, thank you for your comment and insight. Appreciate your time. Hope you have a wonderful New Year! Cheers 🤍 Jess x
Have a wonderful time tomorrow guys ❤
Thank you very much, ours was proper! Hope you had a fantastic Christmas celebration. Also, we hope you have a lovely week ahead as we roll into the New Year. Thank you for the support. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
There have been some famous Americans who have regularly performed in Pantomime in the UK; Mickey Rooney was a huge fan, David Hasselhoff too, Pamela Anderson has done it, Priscilla Presley, Jerry Hall, but the one who really gets it is Henry Winkler, who apparently tried to stage one in the US. Don't know how successful it was though.
How cool, thank you so much for sharing! It appreciate your time and support. We hope you have a merry christmas! Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
@DaydreamersBarn
Thanks. Hope you figured out how to do Christmas Crackers the right way!🥳
Love your vids. Merry Christmas to you guys and the family 🇬🇧 🎄
Truly appreciate all your support! It really means so much to our family. Hope your Christmas was full of cheer! Have a wonderful week ahead as we roll into the New Year. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
70 years old and not superstitious at all (still, wouldn't dream of not taking down the decorations on January 6th😮). Traditional to leave Father Christmas a mince pie and a tot of sherry/whisky. We think of 'holidays' as (summer) vacations, whereas the Yuletide season is usually called 'Christmas'🎅 Happy Christmas and a joyful New Year to you all!🎄☃🥃
I rarely put a tree up or decorations but if I do they are back down after a couple of days because my flat is tiny and I don't see anyone.
Oh, I completely understand where you're coming from thank you so much for the insight. We were so happy that we were able to share our thoughts and our takes on traditions here. We hope you had a wonderful christmas celebration. Thank you for the continued support. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Yes we make sure the decs are down by the 6th of January.
Fab, we have now adopted that as our new tradition. We appreciate your time watching and commenting. Cheers 🤍 Jess x
Wishing you and your family a wonderful Xmas and a happy and healthy new year 😊 🤶 ⛄️🎁🌲🍾❄️
Same for you and yours! Hope you have a wonderful Christmas! Thank you for your time and support! Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
I think you will find that its Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, Happy holiday is never said that i know of.
I heard happy christmas more than I have Merry Christmas. Here is just something different for us.. Thank you so very much. Have a lovely day. Cheers 🤍 Jess x
@@DaydreamersBarn I think if it's just Christmas greeting it could be 'Happy Christmas', but if followed by New Year greeting then 'Merry Christmas and Happy New Year' A merry New Year don't sound good, unless you're planning to go on the booze.
We do say ‘merry Christmas as well as happy Christmas, especially when we are saying merry Christmas and a happy New Year but you’re right we don’t say happy holidays.
Thank you for sharing your insight. We appreciate your time. Cheers 🤍 Jess x
Hey Jess. Panto is based around a few popular children's stories. They are for all the family with jokes for kids and sky adult jokes slipped in. Singing and participation is usual. The York panto I grew up on was known for decades as its main character and writer was Berwick Kaler (a well known TV supporting actor). He was known for suddenly as libbing or talking about the actors real life throwing them off their lines!
BTW...What is a British accent to you guys? Sorry this confuses many Brits as there's 10s of different accents in the UK. I think it changes every 20 miles.
A panto is the first time children see a live stage show. It is very interactive and some times the cast will go into the audience and hand out sweets.
The pantomime was wonderful, and we enjoyed it tremendously! We definitely appreciate all the different things here in the UK to explore and experience.
How we would describe some of the accents. Some talk very fast and use slang words and not fully anunciated words for us to follow. Much like in the US, all different accents that are hard to follow along with at times if you're not familiar with them. Hope that helps. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
We do say Merry Christmas
I say Season's Greetings
Fab, thank you for your comment! We appreciate your time watching. Hope you have a wonderful Christmas! Thank you for your time and support! Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
I was brought up with superstitions so yeah 12 days after Christmas is something that is a must do and on new year day I was brought up that it's bad luck to do any clothes washing on that day another one we used to do but haven't done for years something I rememberbl my dad doing was putting out a piece of coal and 50p coin over the Christmas period for God luck that was back in the early 80s
Firstly, I wish you all a peaceful Christmas. As others have commented, the pie left for Santa is a sweet mince (not savoury mince or meat) pie!!! My Christmas tree usually comes down around 12th night (6th January). The tradition is that a man plays the part of the Pantomime 'Dame' and the 'Principal Boy' is usually a girl. There are many, many more pantomimes other than Dick Whittington, such as Aladdin, Puss in Boots, Cinderella to name but a few. Enjoy the festivities, y'all!! (I've associated with a few Americans, both here in the UK and in the USA. Hence the occasional use of words/phrases from 'across the pond'.)
Not all mince pies are meat free - just the modern ones.
In Wales we always say "Merry Christmas" and not "Happy Christmas" but we do say "Happy New Year".
The way Americans say, "Happy New Years" sounds really odd to us.
Lovely, thank you for your insight and time sharing. We are very appreciative of your time commenting and watching our videos. Cheers 🤍 Jess x
Hi guys, when you say meat pie you mean mince pie which is made of rich fruit, Santa would also get a glass of Sherry .Christmas Crackers are meant to be pulled between 2 people across the dinner table while also wearing Christmas hats for most of the day . I hope you and you family have a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year , or Happy Holidays . great video .
Hundred percent it's just what we were able to find out. We made a disclaimer in the beginning. Stating that not everything that we said was going to be the exact way that everybody does it. We truly appreciate your time and your comment. We hope you had a wonderful christmas celebration! Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
❤
Always take down the tree and Dec's on 12th night
We will be making that a new tradition in our house along with the Crackers. Cheers 🤍 Jess &family x
Happy holidays from 40 degree above average west Michigan
But Monday I lost power from a tree falling on my private road from a blizzard
You share a Xmas cracker one who gets biggest part wins prize
So on a turkey you get the wish bone which two people pull the one who gets biggest part wins wish which they thought of as pulled crackers give everyone a wish chance everyone gets to pull. Normally b4 you eat so paper hat on during dinner
Xmas Decorations come down by 12th day after, I've heard Italian or scillician leave up till Easter?
You see locals more often in uk so happy Christmas before and then after will be happy new year until the 5th then you drop
Smaller communities closer knit
Like the local possibly knows your names after 2nd visit
Merry Christmas and happy new year
Thank you for sharing! We're definitely missing the snow. Hope you have the most amazing Christmas friend! We appreciated your time watching and sharing with us. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
The Happy vs Merry Christmas isn't as cut and dried as it's made out to be. I'm 53 and it's mostly been Merry Christmas most of my life.i work in a customer facing environment and i haven't heard "Happy Christmas" once this year and for many years previously.
Fab, thank you for your insight. Hope you had a fantastic Christmas celebration. Also, we hope you have a lovely week ahead as we roll into the New Year. Thank you for the support. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Yes, I'm 70, and it's always been "Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year".
Happy Christmas sounds weird to me.
The big city pantomimes in the uk will usually star a well known tv star, singer or celebrity. Some actors have made careers just from being “Dames” in pantomimes. The Dame is the character where a man dresses as a woman
Fantastic, I will have to look into others around us. Cheers 🤍 Jess x
Hiya. My stuff stays up until the 6th January, the Feast of The Epiphany. That's when the Wise Men arrive. All my non-Christian and Other Religion friends wish me a Happy/Merry Christmas and I wish them the same. It's not a problem in the UK. Are Americans too sensitive, maybe? The crackers, btw, you take an end each when at the dinner table and pull. The person with the bigger end after gets the hat and the trinket. You then pull crackers until everyone has a hat, at least, and then Christmas Dinner starts. Finally, it's a MINCE pie, not a MEAT pie. The mince being spiced fruit. Have a Very Merry Christmas and a Wonderfully Happy New Year. Stay safe. All the best to you.
Friend, I think they may be a little too sensitive now a days. We have now properly experienced the cracker at my work "breakfast club". We definitely wanted you all to see our true raw experience with the crackers and share in so giggles. We hope you had a joyous christmas and a happy week ahead rolling into the new year. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
No one has mentioned the tradition of either a silver threepence or sixpence in the Christmas pudding. (Pre decimal currency) Who ever found it was king for the day , in medieval times. Not so popular since most buy their pudding from the shops. Christmas crackers were brought in during Victorian era, Thomas Smith from Norwich first produced them, still going. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Pre Christianity we celebrated Yuletide, greenery was brought into the house and usual excessive eating. So event is very old. Would recommend you listen to "the Coventry Carol " old Carol from the medieval era, even they had "Waits".
Oh, fabulous thank you so much for that wonderful information! Thank you so much for taking the time to share with us. We hope you had a wonderful christmas celebrity. Also, have a lovely week as we roll into the New Year. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Btw regarding the New Year; do you Americans practice ‘first footing’? It’s a Scottish tradition, the first person to cross your threshold after midnight on the 1st of January should be a dark-haired male carrying a piece of coal, shortbread and whisky to bring good luck for the coming year. Although English, think this was introduced to our household by my Scot’s brother-in-laws; being blonde, I was never chosen to first foot! 🙂
No, but that's probably a new tradition that we will probably take forward.... Thank you so much for sharing how cool it is to learn something new from each of you. Hope you have a merry christmas! Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Happy Christmas
Thank you, we hope your christmas celebration was wonderful! With a lovely week ahead as we roll into the New Year. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Might be due to Three Kings Day in January. A lot of countries do this.
Thank you for the information! We appreciated your time sharing. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, friend! Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Normally people will say Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
Appreciate your feedback. Happy New Year! Cheers 🤍 Jess x
If you really want to get into the festive spirit watch, The Hog Father. It's full of classic British humour with a weird twist.
If you can find it, Sinderella is one of the best adult Pantomimes.
Thank you! We appreciate all the fabulous goodies/ information you all share with us. I'm looking up the The Hog Father now. Cheers 🤍 Jess x
My kids always left a whisky for Santa and a carrot for the reindeer...
Whiskey for the win, in our opinion. Merry Christmas to you and yours. We appreciate your time. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Some of us say Happy Holidays , due to the fact that before the christians stole the celebration of the Winter Solstice and made it xmas , it was a pagen holiday held around the dates from 21 - 26 dec.they done the same thing again at easter
Thank you for sharing your insight and thoughts. We appreciate the time you took to leave all your comments and insights. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
I remember growing up watching movies like National Lampoon's Christmas vacation and Scrooged and just thinking that Americans just do it bigger and better. We're caught up a bit in the last few years but I would love a year at Christmas over in the US.
I disagree the u.s tend to do thanksgiving bigger .
Oh yeah, I definitely love those movies. Christmas is a very Big to do in the US. Some communities go all out with decorations.
I know you would love it like we love exploring and learning while we're here. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Meat pies are never left out for Father Christmas.
It said it was back in the day... That's what we were talking about. We said that some things may be different and not the same. Thank you for your comment and your support. Have a Merry Christmas, friend! Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Normally for us its during the 12 days before, but definitely take them down during the 12 days after. Also there is coal mining family tradition but anyone can do it, it is to leave a peice of coal outside your door for the poor. It's the person with the darkest hair in the house at the time before midnight on new years eve, they miss the old langs eye but get the privilege of doing the good deed. I don't know if that has an Irish background to it aswell because my grandad were/is Irish.
Wow, thank you! We will give it a try this year, friend. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
@@liamloxley1222 I was abit drunk at the time and I probably couldn't remember how to spell it, so I ended up winging it I guess. But you understood what it meant, so who has been abit of a numpty and scrooge on Christmas day. Did Father Christmas forget to bring you abit of cheer this year, or did you forget to ask him for some.
@@DaydreamersBarn Same to you and your family, have a merry and happy one.👍
@@liamloxley1222 Sorry, that last bit was a bit harsh (still stands to some degree). But I hope you can learn how you want to be treated kindly, then do it onto others. The world would be a better place if people understood that tit for tat, etc exists. But you reap what you sow kinda thing. Keep safe, vigilant and bless.👍
We take it all down by Jan 6th (12th day).
I hate it when the municipal lights in the street are still on after January 6th.
I understand! Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
I’ve always said merry Christmas- but I’m old .
Fabulous, we really appreciate you. Cheers 🤍 Jess x
Never milk in UK always Port wine or Sherry,a glass of brandy or Whiskey & a mince pie (fruits & spice) or a Sausage roll, & a small carrot for the Reindeer!!
💯 whiskey is a win in our books! Will be taking that tradition along with the crackers and January the sixth to take our decorations down! Hope you have a wonderful Christmas! Thank you for your time and support! Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
You would normally put a Christmas cracker on every plate setting of your Christmas dinner table. Then people will pull their cracker with another person at the table. The person who ends up with the middle of the cracker "wins" the prize inside. After the reading of all the terrible jokes, everybody will end up with a paper hat and Christmas Dinner can begin.
💯 it will not be a tradition we carry with us even after we leave England. Thank you for watching. Merry Christmas! 🤍 Jess x
Where was the small cheesy gift in the crackers? I've never heard anyone say 'Happy' Christmas, it's always 'Merry'. Yes, it's common to take down your decorations before twelfth night (Shakespeare had something to say about that); it's bad luck afterwards. In a panto, the leading man dressed rather flamboyantly as a woman is called a 'dame'. The British do love smut, which is slyly introduced for those adults in the audience (I'm sure some reference was made to 'dick' in the panto you watched).
It's been a pleasure to watch you guys (and children) over the last few months, and I wish you all a hearfelt best wishes for Christmas (it's the Eve that I write now) and the New Year.
Robert, uk.
Unfortunately, we had the cheap crackers this first time, but we have now experienced the luxury one now. We'll carry those with us from now on and do those every christmas, even in the US, when we have to return. We really hope your christmas celebration was lovely and you have a wonderful week ahead as we roll into the New Year. We appreciate your support! Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
@@DaydreamersBarn ...Well, thank you for the kind wishes, which I indeed return to you. Just to add, I was speaking to an old mate of mine on the phone a few days ago, and he said, to my amazement, Happy Christmas! So, yeah, I was apparently wrong about that...ho ho. Robert, uk.
Another tradition is watching the queen's now king's Christmas speech to the nation 3 o'clock Christmas day
Fab, unfortunately, we don't have cable. We are looking for it on TH-cam. Hope you had a fantastic Christmas celebration. Also, we hope you have a lovely week ahead as we roll into the New Year. Thank you for the support. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Re Pantomime, as adults its a good idea to attend the last showing of any panto , the cast dont give a damn if things go wrong and its usually a bit more adult , I swear when we went to our last one the cast had been hitting the drink
Fantastic, thank you for the information. We will look into that! We hope you had a wonderful christmas and have a lovely week ahead as we roll into the New Year. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Nooooooooooo! Christmas crackers are a social experience and should be pulled by two people (one on each end). Apart from the Christmas hats and jokes in the crackers one of them usually gets the toy prize inside. As you're Americans and not used to this British Christmas tradition you get a pass this time. Brits also do the edible crackers with a cheeseboard (selection of cheeses) often served on a wooden cheeseboard with grapes, pickled onions, antipasti meats, olives, nuts, and other nibbles which is a British & Italian nibbles mash-up selection over the Christmas and New Year period. Glad you liked your first panto. Pantomimes are aimed at kids but the whole family usually enjoy them. Make sure you go to bed in time this eve or Father Christmas won't bring you what you want. Take your Christmas tree & decorations down by no later than the 6th of January if you're superstitious. Happy & Merry Christmas to you and all your family! And cheers! 🍾🥂🍺🍻🍷🥃
🎄🎅☃❄🎁🎁🎉🎈🎊🎍🍳🍖🍗🥩🌰🥜🧅🧄🥦🍒🍎🍏🍇🍊🍋🍠🥧🍮🫖🍾🍷🍸🍺🍻🥂🥃🥤🧊🍽🥄
We really just wanted ya to experience them with us. So we did not search them up. We just figured it out for ourselves. So that was our true reaction to crackers for the first time. Now we have experienced them with other at with our friends at my works breakfast club. We truly hope you had a wonderful christmas!
Cheers 🤍 Jess x
Mince pies not meat pies and a carrot for Rudolph. The word mince originates from middle English mincen, and old french mincier. Traceable to Latin minutiare meaning chop finely. Meat used to be a term for food in general not just animal flesh. Although mince pies did originally contain meat. The meat content was dropped over time but the name stayed the same.
We still have meat mince pies down south!
That's what we've been told that some people still have meat in them. That's why we had a disclaimer at the beginning. Not everything that we mention is going to be exactly the same way everybody does it. Even in the US, everyone has their own traditions, and it makes it unique to each family. That's the wonderful thing about the world. Everyone has different ways to do everything. We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and week ahead as we roll into the New Year. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Holidays in UK means vacation in US...we don't use "holidays" because it is a Christmas celebration after all.
Oh, I am a hundred percent aware at love it. Thank you for the information and for taking the time to share. We appreciate your comment. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
MINCE PIE.
Oh yeah, we understand that we were just talking about how it used to be served. We definitely made a disclaimer at the beginning of the video, making sure that not everybody is going to be doing it the same way.
We really hope you had a wonderful christmas celebration and have a lovely week as we roll into the New Year. Thank you for your time and your comment. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Panto - they are always based on classic Fairytale or children's stories.... Dick Whittington, thrice Lord Mayor of London back in the 14th C.
Oh l, thank you for the insight. We truly appreciate your time sharing and watching. Have a Merry Christmas. Cheers 🤍 Jess x
Traditionally, if you leave decorations up after 6th January, fairies hide in them and stay to plague you all year. I'm a Christian druid who loves the Good Neighbours, so I leave mine up an extra day so they know they are welcome here.
We truly appreciate your time and sharing with us. We really hope you had a great day! Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
I hate panto', as a few do..........geared for children,......who like it, so it's fine..........only a few variants................Dick,.........was the first Lord Mayor.of London..............oh, have a beautiful Christmas..........& obviously your family................xx
Oh no you don't!😁
Haha... Good stuff, my friends! Merry Christmas to you both.... 🤍 Jess x
Don't know if Boxing day is celebrated in the US, but over here it's traditionally the day when husband, wife and kids each don a pair of boxing gloves and knock 7 bells out of each other for not getting the present they wanted.😉
Haha, not something that's celebrated in the US. Thank you for the giggle! Hope you have a lovely Christmas day! Cheers 🤍 Jess x
MINCE pies, guys, not MEAT pies, and mince pies are minced spices and dried fruit, not minced meat :)
Back in the day that's what they said that they served. Thank you so much for your comment. Hope you had a merry christmas! Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Not meat pies .....mince pies ,there is no meat in mince pies , Dad always siad it should be a glass of beer , not milk , and he was right it was alawys gone xmas morn .
Lovely, thank you for sharing and the correction. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
There's something Could Google 🤔 you can Google how yo do things or TH-cam 😅
Right, but would it have been our true reaction...... Nope, so hints why we reacted the way we did. 😉 Merry Christmas!
Cheers 🤍 Jess x
Pantomimes are very much a UK thing. It's very much a family thing and tend to be quiet cheeky with innuendo that adults would get but children wouldn't. It's essentially a play with audience participation. The idea of a man dressing as the main female character called the dame probably has it's origins from a time when women were not allowed on stage . Google should fill you in better. It could be superstition based like women on sailing ships was bad luck.
They tend to follow traditional European fairy tales like, little red riding hood, goldilocks and the three bears or jack and the bean stalk.
The closest American version would be vaudeville.
One hundred percent they are so fantastic! It's definitely something the US is missing out on. Thank you so much for your amazing comment. We hope you had a wonderful christmas celebration and have a lovely week as we're rolling into the New Year. You so much for your comment, your time and your support. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Turn again, turn again Lord Mayor of London
Haha, fantastic! Cheers 🤍 Jess x
@@DaydreamersBarn everyone (over here anyway) knows the story of Dick Whittington and his cat 🐈⬛
Don't feel obliged to pretend that pantomimes are anything other than horrific. My youth was polluted by these annual events. Parents assume you'd love it, but you'd rather be anywhere else in the world. Horrendous.
Haha, We definitely had a good time. Something we have never experienced before. But I understand where you're coming from, friend. We hope you have a lovely day, and we appreciate your support. Cheers 🤍 Jess & Chris x
Pantos are fun ...oh no their not
Haha, we had a lovely time. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
12 days of Christmas, 6days before and 6 days after to have your tree and decorations up.
That is a thought on the matter. Thanks for watching and commenting. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
I don't think that is correct. Its counted from Christmas day or maybe christmas eve. That s why 6th Jan is part of it.
The tradition is to take decorations down on or before Twelfth Night but not necessarily on the day itself. If you want to take them down even as early as Boxing Day (26th December) then that is fine. But odd.
I think that Chris misread the one about Santa. It probably said Mince Pies which, unlike hundreds of years ago, no longer contain actual meat.
The "Happy Holidays" thing is creeping in here with our younger generations thank to an advert by a certain drinks company's TV adverts featuring a huge truck and the sung theme "Holidays are coming". I'm sure you know the firm in question. 😉
For many British children going to the Pantomime is usually the first time that they go to the theatre. A lovely introduction. The stories used are not those from films (movies) but may reference recent ones. They tend to be traditional stories like Dick Whittington that you saw who was a real life character: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Whittington_and_His_Cat
Thank you so very much for all of this and wonderful information. We really appreciate your time and your support. It truly means the world to our family. We hope you had a lovely christmas celebration and have a wonderful week ahead as we roll into the New Year. Cheers 🤍 Jess & family x
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
They are not meat mince pies , the mince is fruit mince , left out for santa is fruit mince pies/ wine, sherry or spirits.
First footing is another thing which happens on New Years Eve.
Sadly is becoming less and less of a tradition. ( this is more of a Northern thing.).
We try to keep with traditions as much as we can, it is sad when they fade out. Thanks for watching and commenting. Cheers, Chris and Jess.
Q , Are you back in America now if so hope you will visit England again.
You areva lovely family , i hope everything goes right for you all and you succeed with your farm !!
We are not back in America yet. We will be here for a while before we return. Thank you for the well wishes in our farm's success. It truly means a lot. Cheers, Chris and Jess.