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Britain’s weirdest Christmas traditions explained

If you're not from the UK, spending Christmas here for the first time is likely to be a whole new experience.

To avoid any confusion or misunderstanding, here is an explanation of the weird (and wonderful) things that happen during Christmas time in Britain and with less than three weeks until the big day, we need to get a move on...

1. Christmas jumpers
Us Brits aim to track down the most hideous jumper we can get our hands on and wear it with pride. We love ugly Christmas jumpers so much that 14th December is National Christmas Jumper Day which helps to raise money for Save the Children.

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2. Pantomimes
There's no doubt that your local theatre will have some kind of pantomime showing over the Christmas period. Most of them are pretty bad and have Z-list celebrities acting in classic stories like Snow White, Jack & The Beanstalk and Cinderella. They don't have the best actors BUT they are really fun to watch!

3. Christmas TV adverts
You might have noticed your British flatmates and course friends talking about John Lewis, Sainsburys and Coca-Cola adverts and we don't know why, but it's just something we're obsessed with. It just doesn't feel like Christmas until you've seen them! If you haven't seen this year's John Lewis advert, it's worth a watch.

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4. Mince pies
Along with a lot of other British food, this is a strange snack. It's basically pastry filled with spiced fruits (and despite its name, meat-free). Most Brits either love or hate them so give them a try and see what you think. Either way, they are incredibly festive and a VERY British Christmassy snack.

5. Terry's Chocolate Orange
This will be one the best things you'll ever eat in the UK! A chocolate orange is something that only comes out at Christmas time and you can get them almost everywhere for about £1. Oh, and you can even get a Terry's Chocolate Orange McFlurry. Don't mind if we do!

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6. Boxing Day
You now know the holidays over Christmas but do you know how we spend them? Boxing Day is basically an official lazy day! It's an extra bank holiday for British people to spend with friends and family and is usually spent lounging around. Some people will head out shopping for the Boxing Day sales – how will you spend it?

We hope that's cleared any confusion you had. Now all you have to do is enjoy an amazing traditional British Christmas – only 21 days to go!

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