Merry Christmas, Swiss-English style

December 20, 2011, 1 Comment

Now that the snow really has arrived in earnest, it’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas. At least it would if I were still in Switzerland. Of a white Christmas in Britain we can but dream as we sing along with Bing. But there are many other things about an English Christmas that more than make up for the lack of the white magic. As much as love my Swiss Christmas every other year, there’s something special about being back in Britain for it – and not just my family. But I ask myself, how Swiss or English is my Christmas these days? So a few things to help me decide:

• Mince pies or Güetzli (Swiss Christmas cookies)
• The Queen’s Speech or the Sissi films
• Roast turkey or fondue chinoise
• Fairy lights or tiny candles
• Santa Claus or the Christkind
• O Come All Ye Faithful or O Tannenbaum

It seems that Christmas for me is still an English affair, even if I am rather partial to a few home-baked Güetzli (Spitzbueb and Brünsli, in case you’re wondering which are my favourites) and real candles on the Christmas tree. Of course, an English Christmas also means enduring the endless playing of Slade and Cliff Richard in every shop and some houses decorated to within an inch of their lives. The payoff is pulling crackers and eating Christmas pudding. Two essential ingredients of my Christmas, wherever I am.

So Merry Christmas, Frohe Weihnachten, Joyeux Noël, Buon Natale, Bung Nadal, or Happy Holidays if you really insist on being American about it. I hope you enjoy yours, however and wherever you celebrate it.