By Sarah Kramer and Tonje Brennsæter
With December coming up this week, most people are getting excited to start the holiday season. People are headed to the Christmas markets and each family has a lot of different traditions for the holiday season.
Christmas is certainly in the air. Many establishments on the Holloway Road have started putting up Christmas decorations, and sales of gifts, stocking stuffers, Christmas wrapping and Advent calendars are already on display.
Lousie Fisher, 42, self-employed, celebrates the holidays with both friends and family. “I go to my family’s house on Christmas Eve, it depends on who’s hosting for the year though,” said Fisher, who was shopping on Holloway Road outside the Nags Head shopping market.
“I don’t drink alcohol but we have so much food, and we celebrate with music,” she adds.
Here and abroad
It’s popular across Europe to attend Christmas markets, and London hosts some of the best. But often, people like Fisher travel abroad to get a different experience. “I have been wanting to go to the Christmas markets in Rome,” she said.
London is host to the iconic and quite touristy Hyde Park Winter Wonderland, and while it is well known across the globe, many locals aren’t impressed by the expensive costs.
“The Hyde Park Christmas wonderland is quite expensive. I don’t want to waste my money there and it’s quite large, so you have to walk around quite a lot. It’s like £10 a ride, so it’s not worth it.”
Food is a massive part of the holiday season, and if you’re anything like Chris Wilson, 35, audio engineer, you get two times the feast to celebrate.
“My parents are divorced so I normally have Christmas on Christmas Eve with my mum, and then I go to my dad’s on Christmas day,” he said.
“We have the normal Christmas dinner both days so it’s a lot of food.”
Traditional Christmas fare is still highly popular, even for those who don’t believe in the religious aspect of the holiday. One thing everyone can agree on is that with the holidays coming up, there’s a lot of food involved. “We normally eat turkey for Christmas but I prefer lamb,” said Fisher.
Plan now, rest later
It’s never too early to start preparing for the season, whether it’s buying gifts, planning parties, deciding what food to prepare, or decorating the house to really reel in the holiday spirit.
Maybe you would want to eat turkey like Fisher and her family or maybe you want to try something like cheese balls as an interesting side dish. Or you could go even more traditional, with a ham and all the fixings.
Happy Holidays!
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