Pumpkins, Turkeys, Bonfires, and Fireworks

 

 It’s the holiday season!!  Time to decorate your homes, celebrate with friends and take time to really reach out to those you care about.  For the first time in my life I will be expected to go to school on Thanksgiving which is still a bit of a shock to me.  I know that the United Kingdom does not celebrate Thanksgiving and therefore have no reason to let me out of class but it is still a bit alarming that I will not be sitting at home watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, eating all day, and watching American football.  That is ok though, because while the UK does not have Thanksgiving they do have other holidays like Bonfire Night (Guy Fawkes Day).  For those of you who don’t know British history Guy Fawkes and his cohorts tried to blow up Parliament in an attempt to restore a Catholic monarchy to the throne.  The attempt, called the Gunpowder Plot, was unsuccessful but to commemorate the event every year there is a bonfire night (November 5^th) and fireworks that go along with the celebration.  I was able to attend one of these bonfires where they did a rendition of Chitty chitty bang bang complete with a flying car and some nice mulled wine.  My point in telling you this is that despite the fact that there is no Thanksgiving, there are other exciting holidays to partake in. 

In the United States everywhere you look there are decorations and “stuff” to buy and include within your holiday festivities and while there are holiday decorations over here there is not the massive commercialization that you see in the United States.  For example there are no holiday Oreos to speak of with a double stuff red center and a Christmas design.  But it is nice to not see a commercialization of a holiday that is supposed to have a non-commercial meaning.  So eat up your turkey and enjoy your holiday shopping as I enjoy the Christmas faires around the south of London.

"The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree is the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other." ~Burton Hillis

All that was left of the Chitty chitty bang bang car