Weald Word
My time in England by Kelly
Volume 1, Issue 4
27 December 2007
A Very English Christmas
I have never spent Christmas in any other place or without my family before this year. After such wonderful festivities and being welcomed by multiple families over the holidays, Weald is the only other place I would rather spend Christmas. That is, if I had to chose somewhere other than Des Moines. The whole month of December was filled with wonderful things to participate in to celebrate the birth of Jesus. On 2 December, St. George’s had a family toy service: this was a service where everyone came and brought toys to donate to the Peckham Christian Centre in London. The Peckham Centre gives all the toys to the children who regularly come to the centre to learn about God. What a glorious way to celebrate such a great time of year. I also had the pleasure of accompanying members of St. George’s around the village one night as to carol at homes of the elderly. After we finished out singing, we had mulled wine and mice pies (2 very English Christmas things) at the Vicarage. It was such a joy to see how pleased everyone was that we would take time to come and sing to them on such a cold evening. There were several other events I was able to help with or attend. The school carol service, the preschool Nativity, and the Nativity are several of the things I got to experience. As for Christmas Day itself, I celebrated here at the farm with 20 other people. We had loads to eat, a treasure hunt for sweets, we watched the Queen give her annual speech, had a traditional Christmas pudding (fire and all) and spent time with ‘family’. Even thought these events weren’t what I was accustomed to, I had a great time. It is a very awesome thing to experience Christmas in another country. There are many things that are different, but for the most part, things are the same. There is still a giant tree in Trafalgar Square, stores still have sales on the most wanted items and people seem to be genuinely happy. However, Christmas is a time to celebrate Christ’s birth with the people you love. I have found that even though there are people I love in the United States, there are also people I love right here in Weald, England.
English Christmas Quiz
I was lucky enough tot take part in a Christmas quiz at a holiday party. I got about half correct. Here is a chance for you to see how well you do at the same quiz. (Answers on page 2)
1. Where is Wenceslas Square?
2. When is the fest of Stephen?
3. When is St. Nicholas Day?
4. What are the traditional gifts of the wise men?
5. What does wassail mean?
6. In which ocean is Christmas Island?
7. Who wrote A Christmas Carol?
8. Who was King of Judea when Jesus was born?
9. What did Thomas Smith invent in 1847?
10. Can you name at least 4 of Father Christmas’ (Santa’s) reindeer?
11. Which member of the royal family has a Christmas Day birthday?
12. Which King was crowned in Westminster Abbey on December 25th?
When does the Eastern Orthodox Church celebrate Christmas?
14. English children hand stockings, Dutch children put out _____?
15. Can you name all the things my true love sent me?
I hope you enjoy this, I sure did!
Speaking Different Languages
In the early afternoon on Christmas Eve, everyone came around to my house to set things up for our Christmas Day celebration. Sarah and Rebecca were in charge of setting the table and figuring out where everyone was going to sit. They had 21 people to maneuver around one table that was ½ on the wood floor and ½ on the carpet. I have to admit that they did a wonderful job. All the messy eaters were sat far away from the carpet, the young children (or those that ACT like young children) were seated together, and my friend Lindsey and I were seated next to one another. Lindsey and I happened to be assisting with the table set up and we overheard some of the reasons whey each person should sit where. Upon hearing my name, my ears perked up and Sarah said: “Lindsey can sit next to Kelly. The Americans can sit together since they speak the same language.” We happened to laugh at this, considering we all speak English, but as I have mentioned in previous newsletters it is not the same English. American English and British English can be very different. Here are a few more examples of the different vocabulary in the States and in Britain. You can brush up on these so you can speak ‘properly’ to me upon my return.
Poppet: a term of endearment used mostly with children.
Knackered: tired
Nutter: someone who is a bit crazy, or has a screw loose
Row: (rhymes with cow) an argument
Zed: the last letter of the alphabet; we can it Zee
Ladder: a run in your tights
Brolley: an umbrella
Lie-in: to sleep in
Yonks: used like ages: I haven’t seen that film in yonks
Ta: thank you
Fairy cakes: cup cakes
Trolley: shopping cart
Plaster: a band aid
Quid: money; quid is to pound as buck is to dollar
Christingle: A Tradition to Last Me A Lifetime
Many of you who are reading this are probably thinking, What on earth is a Christingle? That is exactly what I thought when I was preparing the service sheets at St. George’s. So as it goes, inquiring minds like to know. I asked Serena, the vicar of St. George’s and she told me everything I needed to know except the origin of the Christingle. I went on a history hunt and found out some interesting things. John Pensom of the Children’s Society first introduced the Christingle to Anglican churches in Britain in 1968, but the first ever Christingle was made in Germany in 1747. The first Christingle was a candle wrapped in red ribbon and handed out with this prayer: ‘Lord Jesus, please kindle a flame in these dear children’s hearts.” It was meant to be a tangible item that would show children the love of Jesus and the true meaning of Christmas. This got me thinking about Christmas, so I decided to ask my computer, What is Christmas? It shocked me to find out that the first thing to come up was “period extending from December 24th to January 6th”. So, if you were a person who didn’t know what Christmas was and you clicked on the most popular link, you would think it is a vacation! Amazing what information you can find if you are looking. So, John had a great idea to bring back the true meaning of Christmas and teach it to people who might forget what that is in all the commercialization of this holiday.
Making a Christingle: 1 orange, red ribbon or tape, 4 toothpicks, dried fruit and gummy candies, 1 square piece of foil about 4x4in, and 1 candle. How to make a Christingle: Take the orange and put the red tape all the way around it. (If you use ribbon, secure it with drawing pins) Then take an orange and cut an X in the top about ¼ of an inch into the orange. Skewer your dried fruit and gummy candles (i.e. gum drops or gummy bears) on each toothpick. Stick your toothpicks in the 4 ‘corners’ of the orange. Wrap the foil around the base of the candle and stick it in the middle of the X that you cut in the orange.
Here is what a Christingle represents:
Orange: the world
Red Tape/Ribbon: Christ’s blood that he shed for out sins
Four toothpicks with fruit: the fruits of the earth and the four seasons
Candle: a reminder that Christ is the light of the world and that we also need to be lights for a world that has so much darkness in it. Enjoy making yours!
Answers to the English Christmas Quiz: 1. Prague, Czech Republic 2. Boxing Day (December 26th) 3. December 6th 4. Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh 5. Drink to the health of 6. Trick Question: there are 2 Christmas Islands – Indian and Pacific 7. Charles Dickens 8. King Herod 9. Christmas crackers 10. Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, Rudolph 11. Princess Alexandra 12. William I – William the Conqueror 13. January 7th, due to the difference between the Gregorian and Julian calendars 14. Clogs 15. 12 Drummers drumming, 11 Lords a leaping, 10 Pipers piping, 9 Ladies dancing, 8 Maids a milking, 7 Swans a swimming, 6 Geese a laying, 5 Gold rings, 4 Calling birds, 3 French hens, 2 Turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree!
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