Burning letters to Father Christmas, setting off explosives at the dinner table? These may seem crazy to you, but they're perfectly normal behavior at a British Christmas, or as we sometimes call it, "Crimbo."
燒信給聖誕老人、在餐桌上讓爆裂物炸開？這些對你而言可能看似瘋狂，但它們在英式聖誕節中－－或我們有時稱它「剩蛋節(註一)」－－可是再正常不過的行為了。
Here are 10 Christmas traditions that never made it to America.
這裡是十個未能傳到美國的聖誕習俗。
Letters to Father Christmas.
給聖誕老人的信
In America, kids write letters to Santa and put them in the mailbox, but in England, we toss them straight in the fire. We're not trying to make children cry. Burning the letters sends them directly to the North Pole, where Santa can read your Christmas wishes in the smoke. Yes, it may seem a little weird, but it does save on postage.
在美國，小朋友寫信給聖誕老人，並將它們放到信箱裡，但在英國，我們直接把信丟到火堆裡。我們不是在試著把小孩弄哭。燃燒信件將它們直接送到北極，在那聖誕老人可以直接在煙裡讀到你的耶誕願望。沒錯，這看起來可能有點怪異，但這真的省了郵資。
Hanging stockings.
掛襪子
American children traditionally hang stockings around the fireplace for Santa to fill with presents, but in the UK, we hang stockings around the bed. Being surrounded by presents is a great way to wake up on Christmas morning, and a great way to let Father Christmas, a total stranger who's been watching you all year, get really close to your sleeping body. Sweet dreams! Also, instead of leaving out milk and cookies for Father Christmas, we leave him brandy and a mince pie because he is a grown-up.
美國小孩傳統上會將襪子掛在火爐周圍好讓聖誕老人裝滿禮物，但在英國，我們把襪子掛在床周圍。被禮物包圍是個在聖誕節早晨醒來很好的方式，也是個讓聖誕老人－－一個觀察你整年的全然陌生人－－非常靠近你熟睡身體的超棒方法。做個好夢吧!此外，我們不是留給聖誕老人牛奶和餅乾，我們反而留給他白蘭地和果餡派，因為聖誕老人是個成年人了。
Christmas crackers.
聖誕爆竹
A cracker may not seem like the most festive thing to serve on Christmas dinner, but these are not the type of crackers that you put cheese on. A Christmas cracker is a brightly decorated cardboard tube filled with fun prizes. When grabbed and pulled apart, a tiny explosive inside makes a loud cracking noise, hence the name. Inside the cracker is usually a cheesy plastic prize, a paper crown, and a terrible joke.
爆竹聽起來似乎不太像聖誕大餐上提供的最應景物品，但這些可不是你抹上起司的那種餅乾(註二)。聖誕爆竹是個裝滿有趣獎品、裝飾鮮豔的硬紙筒。當被抓住並拉開時，一個在裡面的極小爆裂物製造出響亮的霹啪聲，因此得名。爆竹裡通常是一個俗氣的塑膠獎品、一頂紙王冠，還有一個糟糕的笑話。
"Why are ghosts so bad at lying?"
「為什麼鬼那麼不會說謊？」
"Because you can see right through them."
「因為你可以直接看透它們。」
I'm so sorry.
我真的很歹勢。
Christmas hats.
聖誕帽
Inside the Christmas cracker are colorful paper hats that it is absolutely mandatory to wear. In fact, 90 percent of Christmas arguments stand from trying to make to your grumpiest relative put that paper crown on. The other 10 percent comes from playing Monopoly because there are some Christmas traditions that we share, unfortunately.
聖誕爆竹裡是絕對強制要戴上的繽紛紙帽。實際上，百分之九十的聖誕爭執來自試著讓你最壞脾氣的親戚戴上那紙王冠。另外那百分之十則來自玩大富翁，因為確實有些我們共享的聖誕節傳統，很不幸地。
Christmas dinner.
聖誕大餐
A British Christmas dinner is just as big a feast as an American one. The main dish is usually roast turkey, often surrounded by bacon-wrapped chipolatas, which are many pork sausages. Bacon-wrapped miniature pork sausages, now, that's a tradition that you Americans should get behind. We serve the turkey with roast potatoes and veggies, traditionally brussels sprouts, which are gross, but it's tradition, so we eat them anyway. We have gravy to smother everything in, and something called "bread sauce," which isn't a sauce to put on bread, but a sauce that's thickened with bread, which looks a little lumpy but tastes delicious. Then we eat until we can't move and watch telly until we pass out. Sound familiar?
一頓英式聖誕大餐是個和美國的一樣盛大的饗宴。主菜通常是烤火雞，經常被培根捲小香腸環繞著，也就是很多豬肉香腸。培根捲迷你豬肉香腸，現在，那可是個你們美國人應該支持的傳統。我們將火雞伴著烤馬鈴薯和蔬菜端上，就傳統來說是球芽甘藍，那很噁心，但這是傳統，所以我們無論如何都吃下它們。我們有肉汁來浸泡所有東西，還有一種叫做「麵包醬」的東西，它不是種用來抹在麵包上的醬，而是種用麵包變濃厚的醬，它看起來有點疙疙瘩瘩的但嘗起來很美味。然後我們吃到我們動不了，並看電視看到我們昏過去為止。聽起來很耳熟吧？
Christmas pudding.
聖誕布丁
Americans love to have their pumpkin and pecan pies for Christmas dessert, but in the UK, we have Christmas pudding. This is a very dense boiled cake, flavored with dried fruit and spices; it's then soaked in alcohol, aged for several months, boiled again, soaked in alcohol again, and then set on fire. Come to a British Christmas. We soak everything in alcohol and then light it on fire.
美國人喜歡吃他們的南瓜和核桃派來當聖誕甜點，但在英國，我們吃聖誕布丁。這是種非常扎實的蒸烤蛋糕，使用果乾和香料調味；它接著被浸在酒裡、存放好幾個月、再次蒸烤、再次浸到酒裡，然後點火燃燒。快來英國的聖誕節。我們把所有東西泡到酒裡，然後點火燒它。
The Royal Christmas message.
皇室聖誕致辭
That's right. Every Christmas day, Her Majesty the Queen gives a holiday speech reflecting on the events of the past year. We all sit around pretending to pay attention but secretly carrying on with whatever it was we were doing before. Think of it as the State of the Union but with much more gold.
沒錯。每個聖誕節，女王陛下會發表一個回憶過去一年事件的節慶演講。我們全圍坐著，假裝專心但卻偷偷繼續著任何我們先前在做的事。就把它當成國情咨文，不過多了許多黃金。
Boxing Day.
贈禮節
Boxing Day is the day after Christmas Day. Its origins are debatable. Some said that it's a day when workers would receive a box of gifts from their bosses, others said that it's a day when people would box up gifts for the poor, but the main thing that happens on Boxing Day nowadays is shopping. It's kind of like a Black Friday, only nobody gets trampled to death.
贈禮節是聖誕節後一天。它的起源未定論。有些人說這是勞工會從他們老闆那收到一盒禮物的日子，其他人則說這是個人們會包裝禮物給窮人的日子，但現今在贈禮節發生的主要大事就是血拼。這有點像是黑色星期五，不過沒人被踩死就是了。
Pantomime.
啞劇
Every year around the Christmas hols, pretty much every theater in the country puts on a pantomime. These are plays for kids based on fairy tales such as Cinderella and Aladdin, and involving a lot of high camp cross-dressing and audience interaction. They're normally starring jaded celebrities, so if the idea of seeing David Hasslehoff in a dress excites you, you should definitely check one out.
每年將近聖誕假期時，幾乎國內每家戲院會演出一齣啞劇。這些是根據例如《仙履奇緣》和《阿拉丁》的童話故事演給小孩看的戲劇，且包含許多拙劣又高明的男扮女裝和觀眾互動。啞劇通常由過氣名人主演 ，所以如果看 David Hasslehoff 穿洋裝的主意讓你興奮，你一定得去瞧一齣。
Taking down the Christmas tree.
撤下聖誕樹
We Brits believe that the Christmas tree and decorations should be taken down within 12 days of Christmas—otherwise you'll have bad luck for the rest of the year. This is maybe a tradition that Americans should consider adopting. I've certainly seen people keep that old, brown, dried, withered Christmas tree until almost the fourth of July.
我們英國人相信聖誕樹以及裝飾品應該要在聖誕節後不超過十二日內被撤下－－不然你接下來整年都會走衰運。這可能是個美國人應該考慮一下採納的傳統 。我肯定曾看過人們留著那棵又老、又焦黃、又乾、又枯萎的聖誕樹到都要七月四號了。
Those are some of the major differences between British and American Christmases. Thanks for watching. Subscribe for more episodes, and let us know in the comments what you think is the most important part of a proper British Christmas.
那些是一些英式和美式聖誕節間的主要差異。謝謝收看。訂閱以看更多集，在留言區讓我們知道什麼是你認為一個正統英式聖誕節中最重要的部分。
Happy Crimbo!
剩蛋快樂!
註一：Crimbo 是聖誕節的俗稱。
註二：Christmas cracker 是聖誕爆竹，但 cracker 同樣也有餅乾的意思。
- 「到達」- Make It
Here are 10 Christmas traditions that never made it to America.
這裡是十個未能傳到美國的聖誕習俗。 - 「支持」- Get Behind
Bacon-wrapped miniature pork sausages, now, that's a tradition that you Americans should get behind.
培根捲迷你豬肉香腸，現在，那可是個你們美國人應該支持的傳統。
