Christmas in UK

Last year I had been back in California for the Christmas holidays. So this year, this is my first christmas in the UK.

Here are basically the same traditions as in the US: the celebrations are on the 25th (contrary to Germany where the main celebration is on Christmas Eve, the 24th), and the presents are given in hanging socks. Lots of food, mainly turkey. Much advertisement on TV for "making that very special meal" - obviously it is very important that this meal is homecooked, in contrast to the usual meals in the UK which often are pre-made and frozen ("TV dinners").

The 26. December is also a holiday, like in Germany and unlike in the US. It is called "Boxing Day". The traditional thing on this day is to go to IKEA for furniture shopping.

Mild weather, no snow. Lots of wind - over the whole holiday break there were constant storms (so-called Gales) and rainfall - no opportunity for pleasant sightseeing. Anyway, we have a lot of unpacking to do... the boxes from the moving are still largely unpacked.