The festive period over Christmas and New Year is quite different in the UK and in Japan or Korea.

For most people Christmas day is a day spent with family at home. The day’s schedule will change from family to family and it will be very different if there are young children.

I wake up and share my presents with my close family members. Then we start making Christmas dinner. This is a big meal, usually we cook a whole bird in the oven so it takes a lot of time. After preparing and eating dinner we open presents from other people which are kept under the tree. In the evening we play board games and watch television. Some people will also go to church on Christmas day, even though Christmas is a Christian holiday a lot of non-Christians also celebrate the day.

In contrast New Year’s Day isn’t as important as Christmas. Before coronavirus most people would go out to a party or to a bar or restaurant to celebrate with their friends on New Year’s Eve. This means New Year’s Day is often spent sleeping or recovering from a hangover.

How do you celebrate the festive period in your country?

Vocabulary

Festive period – the period before Christmas to after New Year’s Day

Recover – to return to a normal state

Hangover – headache / sickness after drinking