I sniff a lot. I trained myself to do it while living in SE Asia. I don't mean sniffing to smell things, but sniffing with a cold nose. And it's problematic while I'm in the UK! Here's why: In the UK (for some reason) it is considered extremely uncouth / unpleasant to make noises with your nose in public. Most of the UK year is cold, and people are likely to have runny noses - because of the low temperatures, allergies, or actual mild illnesses. But the custom is that you handle these symptoms by dabbing, or blowing into a tissue (or in the old days, a fabric handkerchief). If there's any kind of noise required, it is considered polite to make it in the bathroom with a tissue (and wash your hands afterwards). But for a 'cold nose' from outdoors, for example, you'd dab with a paper tissue, even in public.
British toddlers are taught "Don't sniff, blow," as parents countrywide reach for tissues to help them. Medically, in fact, there doesn't seem to be much to back nose-blowing (and a few things which suggest it's harmful). The UK preference for a blow over a sniff seems to be mainly just one of tradition, and I guess the gross-out factor of the audio? In Singapore (and I believe Japan, and some other East Asian countries) the opposite is true. Tissues and handkerchiefs are considered disgusting - because they potentially spread germs. And thus it is much more polite to sniff, rather than blow or dab. In Singapore, this can be taken to the extreme, with full-on nasal-honking and other loud noises from men and women in public. I still find these outbursts tough to take - because I was brought up in Western culture!
But after finding out about it, I agree with the lighter aspects of sniffing. Tissues (and worse, non-disposable handkerchiefs) really ARE quite revolting, especially if hands are not washed after use. And while I was living in Singapore, I caught on with the light sniffing trend. (People in the tropics do still get colds, and snuffles from overzealous aircon and other changes in temp!)
SO, a few winter months in the UK, and it looks like I'll need to re-train myself all over again. And invest in banks of paper tissues. A few people have given me odd looks when sniffing (odd looks = a passive British way of expressing 'eeiiw'!) just as I thought 'eeiiw!' when I first moved to Singapore! And it's endless runny-nose-weather in London, so I'd best get with the programme! But I still struggle with the snotty tissue/hanky concept - and prefer to at least chuck after one use. I mean, Asian or not, shouldn't we all be doing that anyway, to limit the spread of winter germs?
:)
English learners: "get with the programme" is a colloquial phrase which means to keep up and follow what others are doing.
Christmas, like Chinese New Year, Divali and other big festivals officially lasts for some days. Twelve of them, for Church of England (Protestant) Christianity*. Who knew? From around the 6th century, 'Christmas' has traditionally started on 25th December and lasted until 6th January - a day known as Epiphany. This period is known as the Christmas Season, or sometimes Christmastide. And it includes a whole raft of Christian festivals I had never heard of, including St Stephen's Day on December 26th, the Feast of the Circumcision of Christ (!) and a feast for Mary (Jesus's mother) on New Year's Day. Feasting, worship, Christmas cake, carol-singing and other things are supposed to take place over this Christmas Season. And giving gifts (often one for each of the twelve days) was a custom to reflect the Christian story of the wise men bringing gifts for the infant Jesus. There is actually a traditional festive song which we still sing across Europe, which describes (a bit theatrically!) gifts given over the Twelve Days of Christmas. But I wonder how many children know what, or when, the twelve days really are? (I certainly didn't!)
In Christianity, Epiphany is the day when the wise men (or 'Magi') made their visit to the newborn Jesus. And for the Church of England, it marks the end of the traditional Christmas Season. The night before is known as Twelfth Night, which was also a time for extra partying (and is the title of a famous Shakespearean play).
But all this gets confusing, because today's rituals are quite different. In modern day, fairly secular, Britain, for example, the three main festival days are probably Christmas Eve (24th December), Christmas Day (25th) and Boxing Day (26th) - the latter two being public holidays. We don't really recognise Twelfth Night or Epiphany any more, except perhaps as a vague indicator that we should remove Christmas decos before 6th January. (And I think that idea is also corrupted from another Christian festival!)
In 2019, the "Christmas Season" is more likely to reflect Advent - the period leading up to Christmas Day and Boxing Day. I suspect not least because Christmas is mostly about modern retail sales, as people rush out to prepare for the public holidays. But we also have carol-singing and other less commercial activities during Advent as well now. And children's advent calendars do often (misleadingly!) include images from the Twelve Days of Christmas song - although it is rather early.
Some modern UK businesses close down from Christmas Day to 2nd January. But this is also a commercial decision because so many staff will take the period between Christmas and New Year public holidays for annual leave. It tends to be a 'dead time' for a lot of European business!
Anyway, here is a video of the Twelve Days of Christmas song. This was originally a French rhyme from the 18th century, and set to music in 1909. The first present, a partridge, would have been gifted on Christmas day :)
* FYI there are many different branches of Christianity, Western and Eastern, and even just within the UK. And many of them celebrate Christmas slightly differently. I've used the most common one in the UK, and the one I know best (though my family is not particularly religious!)
