Many people imagine that Christmas has one fixed set of traditions — like in movies or on TV — but in real life every family celebrates it differently. Even inside the same country, or even the same town, Christmas can look very different from house to house.

Some families put presents under the tree, while others arrange them on a table or in stockings hung on the wall or fireplace. Some open their gifts on Christmas morning, others after Christmas dinner, and some even open one present on Christmas Eve. There isn’t one “correct” way — and that’s what makes Christmas personal.

At the dinner table, traditions vary too. Some families wear paper crowns from crackers — a very British custom — while others don’t use crackers at all. Some eat before the King’s Christmas Message on TV, others eat after. Some serve a classic roast dinner, while others might enjoy something very different.

When families blend — for example through marriage or international households — traditions often mix or gently “collide.”
“My family always did X, but my wife’s family always did Y.”
These are friendly differences, not problems — and they help form a new shared family style of celebration.

Similar in Japan?
I’m sure many of you experience the same with Japanese traditions such as Shōgatsu or Obon. Culture gives the basic shape — visiting family, cooking special foods, cleaning rituals — but each household adds its own flavour. In both countries, the beauty is in the small details that families create for themselves.

A Christmas Lesson Invitation
This Christmas, including Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day, I’ll be offering lessons where we can chat together about Christmas traditions — real or imagined —, and I’ll also share my family traditions and experiences.
If you’ve ever wondered what Christmas looked like in one English household… you’ll find out in the lesson.

Language Support Zone

Useful Vocabulary

(with simple explanations)

• tradition — a custom that people do every year

• stocking — a large sock hung for presents

• fireplace — the place in the house where you burn wood

• paper crown — a folded paper hat from a Christmas cracker

• roast dinner — meal with roasted meat and vegetables

• household — a home / family living together

• flavour (figurative) — personal style / character

• ritual — repeated traditional action

Helpful Collocations

(words often used together)

• Christmas traditions

• open presents / open gifts

• celebrate Christmas

• serve dinner

• family customs

• shared tradition

• cultural frame / cultural shape

Phrasal Verbs

(with meaning)

• hang up (the stockings) → to attach to a wall or hook

• split into (different traditions) → divide into groups

• blend together (traditions) → mix into one

• pass down (traditions) → give from parents to children

Idioms

• No one-size-fits-all
  Meaning: there is no single correct way

• Old habits die hard
  Meaning: people keep doing traditions they’ve always done

• Make it your own
  Meaning: personalize something, adapt to your style

• Add your own twist
  Meaning: add a personal variation or flavour