Quiz on English and German Christmas Traditions

(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) So, hi guys, welcome to the Christmas special, the Three English Experts. And I'm Dave. And Birgit. And I'm Rebecca. So, welcome to this edition. Last week we did say that this episode would be about materials, finding good materials. Because it is Christmas, we are very close to Christmas, we decided we were going to do a Christmas special. Today, we're going to talk about the differences between the German Christmas. So, Birgit is going to ask us questions to see if we know much about the German Christmas. And we are going to quiz Birgit on her knowledge of English Christmas traditions. That's our plan for today. Dave, would you like to start? Would you like to ask Birgit? Birgit, are you ready? Question number one. I'm ready. Oh, by the way, we are all wearing, I know you can't see us, but we are all wearing our Christmas hats. Yeah, very Christmassy. We've taken a Christmas photograph as well for everybody to have a look at. Yes, yes. Cool. Birgit, are you ready for our first question? Very ready. So, waiting for the question. Okay, question number one. Eyes down for your first question. Which vegetables are traditionally served with Christmas dinner? Oh, parsnips. Yes. Parsnips. Parsnips is a traditional vegetable we have with our turkey. Yes. Is there more? Oh, there's more. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Potatoes? Yeah, potatoes. Yeah. Special potatoes, roast potatoes. Roast potatoes. Broccoli? Too healthy. There is a controversial green vegetable. Beans? No. Controversial green vegetable. Because it's like, it's one of these that everybody either hates them or loves them or only eats them for Christmas. Oh, that's Brussels sprouts. Oh, yes. I don't like that. Well done. Yes. So, these little green balls, warm and cold. So, that's Brussels sprouts. Exactly. I am a person, I only eat them at Christmas because I have to. And our family has always arguments because like, I think my dad and my brother love them. And mom's like, well, I'm not bothered. And I'm like, but we do them every year. I think we only ever eat them at Christmas. That's why I said they're a bit controversial because some people hate them, but you just eat them anyway. Dave, did you have sprouts in your house? Oh, yeah, definitely. And often fried with bacon. Oh, yeah. Gives it that extra flavour. Yes. Yeah. They're supposed to be very healthy. So, yeah. Yeah. So, well done, Birgit. Parsnips, Brussels sprouts, potatoes. Some people have peas and carrots and stuff as well. But I would say parsnips and Brussels sprouts are the main. Right, Dave? That's right. And of course, we have the turkey and the stuffing, which is often something that people don't know about. So, it's basically, correct me if I'm wrong, it's like breadcrumbs mixed together with herbs. And they stuff it. Originally, they stuffed it into the turkey. But nowadays, we just make it from a packet. Usually, it's a bit not traditional. I don't. I don't. I actually have my mother-in-law's recipe for stuffing. Really? I do. Oh, wow. Cool. And it's actually really, really, I have to say it's really good. So, yes, I've stolen it. I'm going to have to come over to your house for Christmas. No more Paxo. What was it? The Paxo box? Yeah, no. And gravy, of course. Everyone, yeah, the gravy sauce. Absolutely delicious. Cranberry sauce. Let's have your cranberry. That's one of the questions. Oh no, I killed one of the questions. You just killed one of the questions. Sorry, we'll have to think of another one. No, Birgit, your question first. So, parsnips was good, was the right answer. I think I had parsnips in England for the first time. Yeah, they're not typical in Germany, right? I haven't had them before here, but I like those. I love parsnips, yeah. Everybody does in England. Yes. Now, here's my first question. Are you going to shout it in two or are you going to put your hand up? I don't know. Okay, I'm going to ask it to both of you anyway. Okay. What was the original idea and form of the advent calendar? You know what an advent calendar is? Yes. All I know is it's chocolate. Normally, mine's chocolate. It's the only time of year when I can have chocolate for breakfast and it's normal because I open it in the morning. Because I know this is not a tradition in England. Nobody has an advent calendar. Oh, we do. Oh, we do now. Oh, yes. Everybody has that, but I mean, it's normally chocolate, isn't it? When I was a kid, it was pictures, but go on, Dave. Yeah, there you are. The pictures, yes. Yes. Is that the answer? Yes, it was the original form and idea, putting up some pictures. That was the original advent calendar. Yeah, when we were kids, we had one. We used to use the same one every year. You could close the doors. Exactly, yes. And every year, there was like little pictures behind. And then I think one year we protested and decided we wanted chocolate. But originally, that's what we had. Dave, did you have that as well? I don't remember. I don't think so, no. I just thought it was maybe a string with different things on. But well done, Rebecca. Okay. You're very knowledgeable. Anyway, but you messed up my question number two. I'm sorry. Thank you very much. But anyway, we'll see. Maybe Birgit wasn't actually listening anyway, so we'll ask him. Something to do with cranberry sauce. Okay, so question number three. Birgit, are you ready? When do British people open Christmas presents? Well, they open their presents on Christmas Day, which is the 25th of December. Very good. When on Christmas Day? So that's the first vocabulary for some listeners because that's Christmas Day, whereas we do on Christmas Eve, which is the 24th. Right. But when on Christmas Day? When? Yeah. Before breakfast. Absolutely. First thing. In your pajamas. In our pajamas. Is that correct? Dave, you've got a son. What time does he get up for Christmas? Is he one of these kids that gets up really early? You're like, come on. Well, for once a year, he's up about five o'clock in the morning. Yes. That's the thing. I always think it's in Germany that they get the presents on Christmas Eve and then they have to go to bed. They get the presents. Yeah. And then they've got to go to bed. And it's like, what about my presents? And like, we get to play with them all day on five o'clock in the morning. We wouldn't look at this like that because we think we have them earlier. You have to wait longer. I suppose. True. Yeah. But we have to wait for Father Christmas to come to give us the presents, you see? Yeah. Because Father Christmas comes in the night and we leave out some sherry for him and we leave out some carrots for the reindeers. I'm not going to spoil that question, by the way, like you did, Rebecca. Thank you. Sorry. The spirit of Christmas. I'm not going to spoil your question. Yeah. So that's what we do. And then in the morning, of course, the kids wake up and say, has Father Christmas been? Has Father Christmas been? And of course, the sherry has been drunk and the mince pies have been eaten. Mince pies, of course. Yes. For Father Christmas, too. And the carrots have gone and apples for the reindeer. So Father Christmas is there. That was the evidence that I used to come downstairs and you would look. And in our house, it wasn't sherry. It was rum, actually. And I used to say, why does Santa drink rum at our house? Okay. Here's my second question to you. Ready. What is the Erzgebirge famous for? Well, now it's either wooden decorations or is it the glass ones? No, it's the wooden little men, is it? Yes. What kind of men? Oh, they're not crackers. They're not crackers. Yes. And another one. Maybe you can think of another one. I'm obsessed with all this stuff. I love buying. This is a very difficult. This is a very difficult quiz here, Birgit. I thought you said it was easy. I wanted to challenge you guys. Come on. You've got a German asking his question. She's not going to make it easy. Come on. Hang on. Not crackers. Is it the little smoking men? Yes. Oh, the Rauchmänner. Rebecca, I'm amazed. This is amazing. Räuchermännchen and Nussknacker. Nussknacker. Exactly. Smoking mannequin, you would call that? Smoking, yeah. A little man. And would you have that in your home, English people? I think some people, because of Christmas markets and people have been to Germany and Austria and places. And I think meanwhile, people do have a lot of these decorations, these typical German ones. I actually have a little collection of not crackers and I love them. I'm like obsessed with my little men. They're having them out and I love that. Brilliant. Okay. But yeah, Erzgebirge. Erzgebirge. Where exactly is that, Birgit? I know that. It's actually a geographic question. Yeah, where is it? Go on, Dave. Where is it? Well, it's kind of eastern Germany, right? Yeah. I know eastern Germany. But next to the west bit. Yeah. Next to the west bit, but eastern. In the middle. That was very accurate. Towards eastern, yes. That's Gebirge, yes. Because it says Gebirge, it's kind of mountainous. It is, yes. It is, yeah. Very good. Well done, Dave. Ten points for you. I don't think I've been there anymore. I think, Rebecca, it's your turn. Okay. Isn't it? Yes, isn't it? So my question is, how many reindeer does Santa have and what were their names? Oh, come on. Bloody hell. That's a double. You have a brownie point if you can get the names. Dave, you do actually know. Do you know the names? Let me guess the number at least. Just give me a chance. Is it nine? Yes. Very good. Okay. Nine. And one of them is Rudolph. One of them is Rudolph. But then I can't go any further. I have no idea. I don't know. Dave, do you know the names? No. There's a famous song. It's the introduction to Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. I can't remember. You don't know? Please, share your answer. There is Dasher and Dancer, Prancer and Vixen, Comets and Cupid, Donner and Blitzen. Oh, very good. But do you recall the most famous reindeer of all? Do-do-do-do. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Yeah, that's the introduction to the song. Wow. And two of them have German names, Donner and Blitzen. Donner and Blitzen. Yeah. Did you rehearse that song? No, I know that. It's the start of the song. You don't know that song. And actually, I read, I actually looked this up. That actually comes from a poem from 1823. So people think it's all Disney and stuff, and it's not. It's a really, really old story of Santa's reindeer. And Rudolph wasn't actually introduced until 1939. So he came later. But the original Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, they were the original reindeers. There you go. Okay. And they've all got different characters and personalities. Yes. Wonderful. Good question. Yeah. Okay. I love the singing as well. I like the singing. It's fantastic. Yeah, yeah. And I haven't had any wine yet, so that wasn't too bad. Okay, here's an easy one, I think. Oh, yeah. I'm waiting for the easy one. That was English sarcasm for you guys. What does a German Advent wreath look like and where do people put it? You mean the wreath? The wreath. Oh, you see, now the pronunciation is… It's a tricky word. It is. Wreath. The Adventskranz. Yes. Is it not above the table? Sometimes it can be, yes. Oh, you can hang it. Can you? Yeah. You can hang it. But where would you put it? Rather than… I think in England you put a wreath on the door. Yes. Whereas in Germany, where do we put our… On the table, just on the dinner table. Oh, on the table. Inside the house. Candles. With candles, yes. Yeah, yeah. Do you do that while you are living in Germany? No, you don't. I do here, actually. Oh, I just have sometimes like Advent candles. Yes. I don't necessarily have the wreath. I've got too many. I'm not Cracker Man, you see. I've got space. Yeah, we border. I've got all my little men, so I've got space for that. No space for that. I kind of like that with the candle tradition. I don't think that is a tradition at home, is it, Dave? It's not. Do people see the lights on the candles on Advent? No. No, definitely not. No. Is that a German thing, Birgit? Yes, very German. So if you don't have an Advent wreath, something is wrong with you. Okay. There's something missing in this household. Well, that can't be… Well, that's not normal, I'd say. Okay. Not to say that for some… It's not, yeah. Not everybody celebrates Christmas. But I would guess that most, really most people, their families have one, yeah. Okay. Yeah. All right. Okay. Okay. Dave, have you got another question? I know I ruined one of your questions. Sorry. No, no, don't worry. I've got plenty. I've got plenty. Okay, go on. This is a really tough one. What happens at 3pm on Christmas Day, Birgit? In England. Yeah. At 3pm on Christmas Day. I've just tried to remember whether I've ever been there at 3pm on Christmas Day. I don't think I have. Tea time? Early tea time? The queen or the king has a speech? Yes. Very good. Very good. I wasn't guessing, really. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The king's speech. Well, queen, king. No, it's the king's speech. But yeah, it's always at 3 o'clock. So, who could be speaking to us here in Germany? I don't know. The chancellor. The chancellor. Does anybody listen? Does he do a Christmas speech? I think so. No. I think sometimes for New Year there be some words, so that might be, but I don't think that's every year. I'm not sure. Neujahrsansprache, something like that. Yeah, maybe. Okay, the next question. Yes. I'm really curious to see whether you know that. Where and what is the Stridsvallmarkt? I should know this. Well, it's a market. Yes. Where is it? Any idea where it is? Let me think. Say it again. Stridsvallmarkt. Stridsvallmarkt. And you know, my birth name, my maiden name is Stridsvall. Oh, really? Ah, okay. But with a T and that one is without a T in the middle. Is it Cologne or somewhere? I think we need to Google this. No, you have to go east again. Dresden. Dresden. Ah, right. I thought it was, yeah, one of the big Christmas markets. And it's one of the oldest and it's known worldwide, really. Most famous Christmas markets in the world. Okay. I've never been to that one. I've been to Nuremberg. I know Nuremberg is like... Yeah, that's the Christkindl, is it called? The Christkindl. Christkindlmarkt, yeah. In Nuremberg, I know. I've been to a lot of different ones. These were tough questions, Birgit. Oh, I'm sorry. She thought they were too easy. Yeah. And we made really easy questions for you and you were really... Oh, come on. Asking the names of the reindeer, that was quite tough. I didn't know. That was quite tough. Have you got another one for me? Of course. Yes. Go on, Dave. I've run out of questions now. Okay. This is a A, B, C, D question. Multiple choice. Or you could also call it a multiple guess question. Okay. So, are you ready? Yes. Drum roll, please, guys. In which year was the first Christmas card sent in England? Was it 1873, 1843, 1823, or 1893? Wow. And you've been calling Birgit's questions tricky. That's a bit mean. I would guess for 1823 or something. Very old. Very old. A long time ago. Yeah, very old. But it was actually 1843. You weren't far off. 20 years off. So, congratulations. But this is a big tradition in England, of course, sending Christmas cards. Amazing. Much more than Germany, really, isn't it? The Germans are not… Definitely. Yeah. I remember you put them up on the fireplace. Yes. Everywhere. If you haven't got one from the neighbor next door, opposite. So, you're like, oh, she hasn't sent one. She's off my list. Has she brought the Christmas card through the red box? No, there hasn't been one. There's not much written in the cards. No. It's just the name and the… It's ridiculous. You send one to anybody you've ever met, basically. And people hand them out at work. They just go, here, Dave, here's your card. It's really strange. And if you forget, it's panic stations. If you forget somebody and you get this, panic stations. You have emergency cards. Mother has emergency cards for people that sent her one and she hasn't sent one. So, she can send one quickly. And actually, when my parents come here for Christmas to Germany and I'll have my cards up in the living room and she goes around looking at them going, oh, yes, you've got one from auntie so-and-so. Oh, yes, he sent one. What about uncle so-and-so? Oh, you haven't got one. And she actually checks who sent them. And then sometimes people are like, dear Rebecca, da-da-da-da. And other people will just say, with love. Yeah. Only with love. No name. It's assessed on the effort that has been put into it. And the list is ridiculous of how many you have to send them to certain people because they always send you one and it just gets absolutely out of control. So, you can't get away from the tradition, I guess. So, you live here in Germany, you still have to send them back home to England. I still do, yeah. Well, that's expensive to England, isn't it? It is. We send them to England, we send them to Ireland, we send them to Australia. We send them all over the place. It's kind of nice. It is nice sometimes just to stay in touch and people write a little message. It's hard work. It's like an extra job around Christmas. And there's so many you don't know where to put them. The fireplace is not big enough to put them all. Well, that's really special. I mean, we don't have that. No. It makes sense. The Germans send them to people who live far away that you're not going to see. And that makes complete sense. Why send one to the neighbour when you're just going to say to her, hi, Merry Christmas and then here's your card. Here's your card. That's so funny, yeah. It's strange. But it's good for the shops, I guess, who sell Christmas cards. Oh, yeah. Big money, big money. Speaking of big money, Birgit. I think you had one with you. You showed it to us. What do we call, maybe for everybody, what do we call those things the British use on the meal, the Christmas Day meal that they share with their next door neighbour and they pull two ends. Crackers. Oh, that one. Yeah. And what's traditionally in the cracker, Birgit? There will be a hat you put on. Paper hat. There will be a little toy, I think. Some sort of gift, yeah. And, I don't know, confetti or something. A joke. There's a terrible joke. A terrible joke, yeah. A piece of paper with a joke and they're always a little fool. Like in the Chinese cracker, but that's a good one. A bit like that, a bit like the fortune cookies. But then, actually, people sit around the table with the hats on. They do. Like we are now. Everybody gets dressed up and then they sit in their paper hats. Yeah, exactly. Why not? And usually by the king's speech or the queen's speech, they've had one or two drinks. So mostly, especially the older generation, they zone out and they fall asleep during the king's speech. With the hat on, yeah. Well, I think that's something to laugh about. We might not laugh as much as you do in England, I don't know. Do you think the royal family have crackers and wear paper hats? I think they do. Oh, yeah, definitely. Because it's kind of a crown. They're supposed to be crowns, but they've got crowns because they're royals. So does the king take off his crown and go, I'm going to put my paper crown on today? I think they'll put the paper one over the crown. That's what I would do if I was the king. I've got one last question for you, which is easy, I think. Which dish is rather not a traditional Christmas dish in Germany? So I am going to name five. I only gave you four. You only have to find the one which is not a traditional Christmas dish. Go on. Goose, duck, potato salad and sausage, roulades, or beef rolls, or carp. Well, carp is definitely traditional. As far as I know, people have carp. Is it on Christmas Eve, people have carp? Yes, yes. I remember one of my friends, she went on an exchange to East Germany once and she was horrified that they had a carp, a live carp in the bath. In the bathtub, this German family. And she was like, what is this? And it was this fresh carp that they had on Christmas Eve. Yeah. So I know that's definitely traditional. Sausage and potato salad is definitely typical in Frankfurt, where I live. So they have Frankfurt sausages. Yes. And they have potato salad and that's typical Christmas Eve. Yeah, that's traditional food. So what were the others? I reckon it's beef roulade. Yeah. It's not the one. Is it? Yeah, it's not traditional. No, it's goose or duck or potato salad, sausage, carp. Yeah, that's traditional. So we've got also mulled wine, guys. We have to talk about that. Yes. Mulled wine. Yeah. What you get at the Christmas markets. Yes, definitely. Mulled wine. Good stuff. Although I think British mulled wine is not quite the same as glühwein, is it? No. I think glühwein is much better than mulled wine. Yeah. I think it tastes much nicer. I actually don't know what the difference is, though. But there wouldn't be a different name for glühwein. That would be the thing you'd describe it, mulled wine. We would, yeah. But I think if you got mulled wine in England, it would taste different to glühwein. Yeah. It's not quite the same. Although now they have the German Christmas markets in the UK. So people have developed a taste for glühwein, I'm sure. Yeah. And we need to talk about, guys, we need to talk about Boxing Day. I mean. Oh, you mean. Why not? Yeah. Boxing Day. Everybody goes out having a fight on the, you know. Boxing Day. Absolutely. No more. Boxing Day. So, I mean, it's not like my husband is Irish and they don't call it Boxing Day. So in Ireland, they call it St. Stephen's Day because it's the day of St. Stephen. Okay. So I think it is only like the UK, is it? Yeah. They call it Boxing Day. America also. No, they just. What do they call it? I don't know. I think it's the same, isn't it? St. Stephen's Day. I don't know actually what the Americans call it. I don't know. So, but why is it called Boxing Day? I mean, that's a question I always would be asked. Do you know, Rebecca? I have a version, but I don't know if my version is correct. So do I. So you go first. What I understand is that years ago when people lived in, you know, rich people in big houses, they had servants and people who worked in the kitchen and all this kind of stuff. And the day after Christmas, after the people had worked all day and they gave them a box which was filled with, I don't know, food and gifts and stuff. And it was like their Christmas bonus. And they were given that on the 26th. That's right. I know. Is that right? Well, that's the version I've heard as well. So I. Yeah, I agree. It's something about giving boxes and the presents. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's not. It's got nothing to do with people fighting in the streets. No, but it is. What's the most important thing that happens on Boxing Day in England? Oh, football. Football. Oh, really? Yes. We don't have a break like the Germans. We have football continues. Premier League Boxing Day is a big football day. Everybody watches football on, not everybody, but it's a really big day for football in England. And in the pub. I mean, people go to the pub. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. Okay. Do you have any tips for watching great films in English for our listeners? I mean, there could be The Muppets Christmas Carol. I love The Muppets Christmas Carol. That's such a good film. I do love that. I love The Muppets generally. Yeah, I do. Okay. Dave, I don't know. Do you have a nice Christmas movie tip? Not really. But I would say is if you are able to watch British TV by any, you are able to. The adverts are amazing over Christmas. You must watch the different adverts, particularly for the supermarket chains. They all try to make better adverts than the other supermarkets. So Lidl, Aldi, they do really, really cool adverts. And in actual fact, last year, I produced a quiz, a Christmas quiz from my different groups. And the last question was one of the Aldi's recent Christmas adverts. It was a really cool advert, really, really funny. Isn't the one with the vegetable? Vegetable, yes. Yes. But it was Kevin and he was a carrot. Right. Yes. I remember that. Don't know that one. No. Will you share the quiz so that everyone has a look at it? Oh, absolutely. Yeah. I don't know that one. I'll do it. Well, not with the actual video because I think the video has been taken down off YouTube now. But I can do the rest of the quiz and I will leave it in the show notes. Show notes. Yeah. There was another word on your list, Birgit. Bescherung. Was it? Bescherung. Yes. What is the Bescherung? Would you like to tell our listeners? Well, they know what it is. Probably. Any of the non-German speaking listeners? Yes. Bescherung, opening the presents, giving the presents at the Christmas Eve. That's the moment when you light the Christmas tree in some families for the first time. But now it's all electric lights. A lot of people light the Christmas tree before that. In our house, when I was a kid, we had candles, real candles. Real candles. Yes. And it was lighted only then, for the first time, and then we were allowed to come in and there was the tree and the presents. And that's the Bescherung, the big moment. Yeah. Yeah. If I had to think of an English word, I mean, that's not so easy, is it? No. We don't have a specific word. I think we just say you exchange gifts or you open presents. It doesn't sound as big as it is. No. I like that idea of the Christmas trees, like the kids only see it for the first time. Yeah. And it's all lit up and stuff. I think that's kind of nice. Yeah. I try to carry that tradition on into my family now. And a few years ago, I remember we still had candles and then a friend came in and he couldn't not look at the tree because he feared it would go off in fire. Health and safety. Yes, health and safety. So he couldn't relax really while he was visiting. Now we've changed into electric lights. But that was special. I must say that was really special to see that and wait for the Christmas Eve. Yeah. That's nice. I think that's a nice tradition. Magic moment. Yeah. Can I just ask one question, Birgit? In your house, because this is always a question I ask my clients, who brings the gifts? Because in Germany, different people bring different gifts and I'm always a bit confused. Yes, I think it's the Christkind here. Christkind supposed to bring the presents. Christkind. Yes. Well, you wouldn't say Father Christmas because that's more the Nikolaus to us, isn't it? Right. Yes. On the 6th of December. By the way, that's not a tradition in England. No. There's nothing special on the 6th of December. No. So Father Christmas is Saint Nicholas. That's who he's supposed to be. Yeah. But he comes on the 24th. He's obviously busy in Germany on the 6th. It's interesting. I think there's a lot of Eastern countries that also have the Nikolaus. They have the 6th of December. So I think he's obviously busy. Busy, yeah. Got a lot of overtime. The States and the UK is like, oh, I'll do that on the 24th. So you have a little longer for buying the presents because we have to think about, oh, have I got anything for Nikolaus? Yeah. No, I didn't know that until I came to Germany. Shortly after Halloween and then Saint Martin. So it's all very close, especially if your children are little. They want to have it all. But one other question. What exactly is the Christkind? Because this always causes discussions with my people. Well, that's a good question. I don't think I can give you a satisfying answer here. Is it an angel or is it the baby Jesus? Is it the Christ child? Because one of my clients said, oh, it's the baby Jesus. And everyone was going, no. No, I don't think. Baby Jesus doesn't deliver the presents. We had to feel confused. It's a very good question. You get me there. I've never really looked into that deeply enough to be able to answer it confidently. But I would think it's kind of an angel child brings the presents. Sort of blonde hair. Yeah, yeah. But I wouldn't think of the baby Jesus. No, I mean. No, no. I was confused by that. Look it up now. That's not enough to not know about that. So it's easier with the Father Christmas. That's more obvious in England. Yeah. Yeah. Santa, Father Christmas. Yes. Santa Claus. Okay. So this was our special episode on Christmas. Next time will be the release on 1st of January. And we're going to have a New Year's special. Now we're all wishing you a very Merry Christmas. Have a good Christmas time and hopefully see you again.