We enjoy sharing the day of our Savior's birth with friends and family. You just never know who will join our clan for lunch on Christmas Day. It seems to be a different family every year. This year, we had the "D's" over. You might recall that they are our "friends from across the pond". Daddy D is the Minister of Missional Life at our church. He was raised in England but studied in South Africa where he met Mommy D (or should I say Mummy). They have three beautiful children - Oldest is 11; middle is 7 and Rowdy, II is 5. We have loved getting to know this fabulous family over the past few months and were thrilled that they joined us for Christmas lunch.
Besides their company, we LOVED the touch of "England" they added to our meal. Mommy D made Yorkshire Pudding (which really isn't a pudding at all) and a homemade custard which was served over warm apple pie. Perhaps the most fun was the Christmas Crackers they brought. OK, so if you are like me you are thinking a cracker is like a Ritz or even a Saltine. See that is were we Southerners go wrong. A Christmas Cracker isn't a food at all. It is more like a party favor. It has a cylinder, a lot like an empty toilet paper roll, that is stuffed with a toy trinket, a "lame" saying (along the lines of a fortune cookie) and a "party hat". Immediately following the blessing, you grab one end of a cracker while a friend grabs the other. You give out a loud "Merry Christmas" and then pull on each end. The cylinder comes apart in two pieces - one long and one short. The winner is the one with the longer section (think wishbone). The "winner" gets to keep the prize and either keeps the party hat or passes it along. Everyone must wear their special hat throughout the course of the meal. It really was great fun. See ...
While Oldest modeled her stylish head-dress, middle read her goofy saying ...
"Why does Father Christmas always look sad? Because he's got the sack! "
Here is the gang at the "kids" table ... Poor Dad ...
Even Nanny, at the young age of 90 years, got into the spirit ...
And the rest ...
We can't wait to see what else our new friends will teach us about English traditions.
1 comment:
Love this - we do crackers too! I started it about three Christmases ago - they are so fun! They sell great ones at World Market and Pier One...I have a future blog about them too! :) Love to see you all wearing them! :)
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