An American YouTuber has named the nine biggest culture shocks she’s experienced at Christmas in the UK.
Kalyn, who has been living in Britain for nearly 10 years, produces travel-themed content for the Girl Gone London YouTube channel, covering everything from US vs UK comparisons to British cooking.
A video titled ‘9 Ways British Christmas Was a Huge Culture Shock (to an American)’, shows Kalyn exploring some of the biggest surprises she experienced when enjoying Christmas in the UK. The Mirror reports how the humble cracker seemed to cause some confusion
1. Christmas crackers
Kalyn said: “Americans would think of a Christmas cracker as a type of cracker that you eat at Christmas; something like this with butter or jam or whatever you want to put on it. But Christmas crackers in the UK are not meant to be consumed.
“They are this thing and you crack them open on Christmas Day and there’s some sort of little trinket inside, which is not anything of importance; mostly some sort of like junk toy. But there are also typically either games or jokes that you can go around the table and share.”
She went on to explain the thing that confused her the most about crackers is she feels like every family has a different way of practising the tradition. After pointing out people not only pull their crackers as a pair but also alone and by crossing arms and jointly pulling them, Kalyn added: “I feel like everyone has their own cracker-opening technique.
“And so you’re just this American 19-year-old in this foreign land, have no idea what’s about to happen. You’re like, ‘Are we about to do fireworks on Christmas, like what is in this package?’ And then you find out it’s like the world’s tiniest ruler and a really bad joke and that is the magic of a Christmas cracker.”
2. Christmas pudding
Kalyn described the iconic Christmas dessert as an acquired taste, after branding it a dense fruit cake. She claimed Americans don’t partake in the traditional British dessert themselves and explained she didn’t know what to expect.
However, she ruled the festive classic is simply not for her.
3. Boxing Day
Kalyn said: “Because in the UK there is Boxing Day, people will choose to spend Christmas in one location as they can go the next day to the other side of the family you have not seen. But in America, the day after Christmas is just the 26th of December.
“It means absolutely nothing. It is not a day off. You might have it off, but it’s not any sort of national holiday or named event or guaranteed day off, and so you are trying to cram Christmas into one day.”
4. Pantomimes
The YouTuber described a British panto as a show that “does not take itself too seriously” and although it may take on a traditional story, it’s “mostly just a mess” and is a “crazy, festive, British holiday tradition.” She went on to admit she can now appreciate and enjoy a panto, but when she first saw one, she was confused.
5. The Snowman
Kalyn delved into the class children’s cartoon, which isn’t a familiar feature in the US. She described the film was “very culturally British”.
6. Christmas cards
Although Kalyn conceded both nations send Christmas cards, she believes people in the UK take the tradition “very seriously”.
7. Christmas Eve
She revealed Christmas Eve stateside tends to be a family day, but once she moved to the UK, she discovered people will head to the pub, perhaps to meet up with friends.
8. Decorations
Kalyn said the UK’s decorations are more understated than in America before showing her viewers photos of US gardens littered with festive inflatables, but she added this doesn’t mean the UK lacks Christmas spirit.
9. Christmas food
As Americans tend to have turkey for Thanksgiving, they’re unlikely to have it again on Christmas Day, according to Kalyn. Unlike Brits, she suggested they might prefer a Christmas ham, but admitted there can be some variation in what people decide to eat.
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