Festive Activities
Carolling is a
popular pastime come Christmas, with both events for the whole
town put on in the town or school hall and smaller groups of people
who go door to door, entertaining each household for a while. It is
common to give a gift of money to these groups which is usually saved
in the village fund to help pay for social events throughout the year.
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| The Children's nativity scene |
The school children
usually make a nativity scene which is displayed in the village
square. They use papier mache,
scraps of wood, donated clothes and anything else they can beg,
borrow or steal to fashion the stable scene and participants. Again
there is a donation box by the display and the money that is
collected goes to help the poor of Milton, many of whom cannot afford
decent food, let alone a Christmas celebration.
Entertainment
in the home is usually in the form of readings. Popular book to read
aloud from at Christmas are Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol and
Hanz Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen but there are many other
books that families can enjoy while sitting together.
Parlour games are
also very popular at this time of year.
One of the more merry
games played at Christmas is the laughter game. Each person takes it
in turns to say “ha” and the first person to actually laugh is
out. It may sound easy but try it; keeping a straight face is harder
than it sounds in such a merry environment. Bessy is usually the
winner of this game while Margaret and surprisingly, mother, are
usually among the first to laugh.
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| A gentleman who has been "sculptured" |
Charades is a game
where one player tries to act out a name, place, object, book title,
event or verse of prose without speaking. You can allow each player
to chose what to act out or have some cards prepared beforehand. With
a little forethought great fun can be had. For example, instead of a
horse, which is relatively easy to act out, opt for camel instead and
see the fun people have trying to act like a horse but with a
humpback!
The sculptor is
another favourite. One person positions each guests into ridiculous
poses and then without touching them again, attempts to make then
laugh or move. Bessy is particularly fond of blowing in
peoples ears to make them laugh.
Christmas, Part One: Decorations
Next: Christmas, Part Three: Christmas Dinner and Festive Foods
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