What's your 'average' Christmas Morning/Day (those not from U.S. please reply)

[wulfie]

Everyone reply, but especially those not from U.S.

I know alot of the answers here in advance but I think the BBS would be interested to hear them 'from the source'.

Here's an example:

wulfie (me)
Christmas Day when I was a kid at home (far far N. California, USA, on the coast)

kids up at 0300. Sent back to bed by sleepy parents. Family up at 0700 (kids been up awake in bed speculating on presents since 0300).

Family up at 0700. Mom makes XMas breakfast - toast, bacon, fruit, scrambled eggs. XMas type breakfast drink - eggnog or hot apple cider. Family has breakfast together then everyone over by tree to open presents.

Check out the stocking stuffers first. Then, certain to cause mental agony to kids:

1. Presents opened 'in rotation' - I open one, each sibling opens one, Mom opens one, Dad opens one.

2. Mom waits to write name of every single person who sent and received gift on list. This is grim reminder of 'thank you note' writing duty in near future.

Open presents by tree. Bing Crosby XMas alblum playing on speaker. No VCRs back in the day, but usually pretty good XMas shows ('Rudolph', the one with 'Mr. Heat Meiser', etc. - the cool looking 'animated doll' type shows) on network TV. Snack on XMas food Mom makes. Dad helps build lego stuff. Watch those shows. Pretty good day overall.

Best XMas presents ever: my first bike (age 5, remember it well), any type of legos (that still holds for today), first fitted 'ocean' (i.e. use it for anything in the ocean) wetsuit (age 11)

So what happens on XMas morning in Norway, or in Russia, or in Japan. What do you eat. What 'traditions' are there in your Family (tradition = Bing Crosby only alblum played on XMas Day).

Mike/wulfie

[iceydee]

A normal swedish christmas (I believe):

In sweden it's all about Christmas eve, christmas day is about going out clubbing and stuff. Christmas eve is where you share your presents and spend time with your family...


It all starts with the whole of sweden watching a guy called Arne Weise on tv. He used to be a weather reporter, and has been on TV for christmas the last 20 or so years. After that it's Donald Duck (Kalle Anka) and his friends for about an hour or so. It's become a tradition. After that most people will have their christmas dinners unless they'll be watching "Kan du vissla Johanna" (swedes, did I get the name right?). The dinner starts with a small fish that we call "Sill" (they're bigger than ansjovies, but still small). Don't know the english name for it. They come in many variations. With mustard sauce, the "inlagd sill" that's been prepared for a week or so, and "matjess sill" (I think the latter one is more common in easter though). After that there's "Janssons Frestelse". It's made up of potatoes and ansjovies. And meatballs. And "Prins korv", a very small sausage, 1.5 inch or so. And ofcourse, there's the christmas ham.

When everyones had enough of food, it's usually time to open the presents. But not until Santa Clause comes around. It's usually the father in the family that will be Santa Clause. A common phrase before leaving is "I just have to go and get the newspaper". And he goes outside to get his beard and Santa suit. Santa will give everyone the presents, and ask if everyones been nice this year. Then when all presents have been handed out, Santa leaves, and poof daddy's back... All of the kids going "daddy! you missed it all! santa was here!!!!"

well, that's about it I think...

[JB73]

Originally posted by iceydee
A normal swedish christmas (I believe):

In sweden it's all about Christmas eve, christmas day is about going out clubbing and stuff. Christmas eve is where you share your presents and spend time with your family...


It all starts with the whole of sweden watching a guy called Arne Weise on tv. He used to be a weather reporter, and has been on TV for christmas the last 20 or so years. After that it's Donald Duck (Kalle Anka) and his friends for about an hour or so. It's become a tradition. After that most people will have their christmas dinners unless they'll be watching "Kan du vissla Johanna" (swedes, did I get the name right?). The dinner starts with a small fish that we call "Sill" (they're bigger than ansjovies, but still small). Don't know the english name for it. They come in many variations. With mustard sauce, the "inlagd sill" that's been prepared for a week or so, and "matjess sill" (I think the latter one is more common in easter though). After that there's "Janssons Frestelse". It's made up of potatoes and ansjovies. And meatballs. And "Prins korv", a very small sausage, 1.5 inch or so. And ofcourse, there's the christmas ham.

When everyones had enough of food, it's usually time to open the presents. But not until Santa Clause comes around. It's usually the father in the family that will be Santa Clause. A common phrase before leaving is "I just have to go and get the newspaper". And he goes outside to get his beard and Santa suit. Santa will give everyone the presents, and ask if everyones been nice this year. Then when all presents have been handed out, Santa leaves, and poof daddy's back... All of the kids going "daddy! you missed it all! santa was here!!!!"

well, that's about it I think...

my grandmother and grandfather came to america from sweden around 1925 or so...

you just described my early Christmas times @ Grandma's house (Grandpa died when my Mother was 10 so it was Grandma in the "santa" suit)

the only bad thing was the Lutfisk

TY for bringing back those times

[Hawklore]

Mental Mayhem describe it for you?

Um..brothers up usaly around 7...this year held off till...8:30 thank good..or was it 9 OMG!

Um..when I woke up midle brother (LilHawklore)

Was sitting there pondering which present to open first..

My mom still asleep..

Ok everyones here now..

Brothers Calmly tear off wrappin paper..(first time wrappin paper was scatterd around room)

Then hand me a present while im waking up on couch watching..

I smile and say no...I want that ONE!

Yes yes..thats right I should of opened the WWII DVD NAtional geographic first which my brother gave....

But no I had to go for something shaped like Headsets..

Microphone/Headset...yes very nice...

Driver2...yes we only got a playstation..and wanted a driving game..(mainly for brothers to just have to ask me to play it )

Bird Feeder(yes im a devolping bird watcher me asked for house but we couldn't find one)



















Ill finish this tomorrow..

[-tronski-]

Same as every year,  lunchtime Barbie at someones house (my Brothers turn this year) with a couple of beers, and then open the presents after dessert.

 Tronsky

[Saintaw]

Now, Xmass day, usually is spent recovering from Xmass eve.  Lots of water, painkillers ...and a lot of laying in bed

Some 20+ years ago, I'd be running around in my plastic centurion suit, with a plastic wobbly sword in one hand, a remote controled car in the other one... and usualy did my best to be very loud at 6am

Traditional breakfast here would include "little jesuss"(sp?) => little sweet bread that looks like a baby.

[iceydee]

Originally posted by JB73
my grandmother and grandfather came to america from sweden around 1925 or so...

you just described my early Christmas times @ Grandma's house (Grandpa died when my Mother was 10 so it was Grandma in the "santa" suit)

the only bad thing was the Lutfisk

TY for bringing back those times

hehe. don't know how many still eat Lutfisk. Haven't tried it myself. Is it salmon? It's been prepared for months, and apparently smells very very very much. Probably like "surströmming".

[myelo]

Originally posted by iceydee
hehe. don't know how many still eat Lutfisk. Haven't tried it myself. Is it salmon?

It's some kind of white fish, cod I think. There are very few things I don't like to eat, but this is one of them. There is some type of Swedish preparation of  uncooked salmon that is excellent, but I can't remember the name.  BTW Sill is herring I believe.

[Sikboy]

Originally posted by iceydee
A normal swedish christmas (I believe):

Heh, that totally kicks ass! I'm co-opting some of this in the near future! Thanks for the post.

-Sik

[iceydee]

"gravad lax"? that's excellent. I meant to say cod but mixed up the english names for it... btw. we have "gravad lax" for christmas aswell, it goes on a toast with "hovmästar sås" on...

[Curval]

What is with you Nordic types and fish?  I'd love to go to Sweden,  Denmark, etc...but I'd have to bring some food with me otherwise I would starve up there!

Our Christmas, as kids, was very similar to wulfie.

[JB73]

Lutfisk is cod that back in the times before refrigration was caught and burried in the ground in Lye to preserve it during the winter months.

it is dug up around Crristmas time and cooked for like 24 hours.

it will make an entire 5000sq. foot house stink.

it ends up being kinda like a warm fish jelly.

of course how they make it now w/o the burring part i dont know. i believe @ some of the strong scandanavian areas up in upper michigan you gan buy the fish product @ the store.

[iceydee]

Originally posted by Curval
What is with you Nordic types and fish?  I'd love to go to Sweden,  Denmark, etc...but I'd have to bring some food with me otherwise I would starve up there!

Our Christmas, as kids, was very similar to wulfie.

don't you worry, we've got McDonalds here too.

[bigUC]

Originally posted by JB73
Lutfisk is cod that back in the times before refrigration was caught and burried in the ground in Lye to preserve it during the winter months.

it is dug up around Crristmas time and cooked for like 24 hours.

it will make an entire 5000sq. foot house stink.

it ends up being kinda like a warm fish jelly.

of course how they make it now w/o the burring part i dont know. i believe @ some of the strong scandanavian areas up in upper michigan you gan buy the fish product @ the store.

I dont think it's dug down anymore.  Its keept in big tanks a few days, then frozen.  It's not cooked for 24 hours either, but it needs to be watered out 24 hrs to get rid of the lye. Then its cooked in the oven for 15-20 minutes.  It hardens a bit up.  If u cook it too long it will dissolve.

Most people in Norway eat it before christmas. All the best  (and worst) restaurants here in Oslo serve it. Big annoucements when  the lutefisk-season starts.  Theres a special "lutefisk"-museum in the city of Drøbak.  It's usually served with a lot of things on the side, most commonly bits of bacon, potatoes, mustard-sauce and so forth.  So far this christmas i have had it three times.  It demands an aquired taste, but now i'm addicted.  Usually goes down with a few Aquavites (Norwegian Schnapps).  Comes out in same viscosity.  It usually don't stink.

Norwegians celebrate christmas much like the swedes, but we don't call "Donald Duck" for "Kalle Anka".  We stick to "Donald" and "Sølvguttene", a boys choir singing in an unusually high ptich.  Then at 5. P.M we switch off the TV, gueats arrive and we eat: Southern parts of norway usually eat cod, northern and eastern parts eat pork (Large slabs of pork ribs, with a lot of sausages, meatballs, and slushing/firm fat.)  Western parts eat a smoked, old ribs of Sheep with a yellow cabbage mush.  Quite tasty and good.  All courses dissolved in Aquavite and beer (strong, dark).  We're easy on the heering....  Then we run around the chrstmas tree singing songs.  After that neighbors exchange bags of presents outside, and distribute them to kids next door.  (noone been caught yet.  We all belive in santa until we ourselves reproduce)
Christmas day we usually have a big breakfast with leftovers and some specialities like a pastarami of layered sheep brain. Some may start on the Aquavite again. It's not good manners to visit or call someone on christmas day.  The rest of christmas is a drunken frenzy.

[Malm]

May I add that some lunatics put a plate of rise pudding on the ceiling before going for dinner. After dinner they all heading back so they can verify that the pudding has been eaten by santa! They even eat rise pudding after dinner -

bvadr...