427b Even More European Christmas Traditions

Travel with Rick Steves

Rick Steves

Rick Steves, Public Radio, 721132, Europe, Society & Culture, Places & Travel, Npr, Travel

4.3 • 2.2K Ratings

🗓️ 25 December 2021

⏱️ 51 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Learn about holiday traditions observed in France, Norway, Greece, London, the Spanish Basque Country, and small-town Italy. From festively decorated Greek boats to dishes of fresh oysters and fermented trout, and Santas who live not on the North Pole but on a farm or in the woods, Christmas is a little different across the pond.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	What makes Christmas time special, where you live?
0:02.7	Everybody feels good and nice at Christmas time.
0:05.4	Maybe the next day it's hell again, but Christmas, it's Christmas, it's something else.
0:10.2	Hi, I'm Rick Steves.
0:11.6	We'll get you in the spirit of the season in the hour ahead as we check in with friends in Europe about the special ways they celebrate the holidays.
0:18.6	We'll contrast the big city excitement of pre-Christmas London with the traditions you'll find in small town Italy.
0:24.8	In France, holiday treats include a decadent Yulag cake this time of year.
0:29.4	It's a rolled cake with chocolate and a cream and trust me at the end of dinner, you don't have room for this, but you do have to go through it.
0:36.8	Well, in Norway, it's not Christmas unless I eat the fermented travel.
0:40.4	And we'll learn about the woodsy version of Santa in Spanish-Bas country, but be careful to avoid those elves in Greece.
0:47.4	They're not dangerous. They will not wound you or kill you, but if they come into your house, it'll be a mess.
0:54.2	Celebrate everything. It's travel with Rick Steves.
1:00.4	When you mention the 12 days of Christmas in Europe, you start counting on the 25th and keep the celebrations going right up until epiphany in January.
1:11.4	Today on Travel with Rick Steves, we're exploring some of the interesting ways that people in different European countries observe the holiday season.
1:19.4	There are lots of special foods you get this time of year, and how you feel about them might be different if you're spending your Christmas in France, in Italy or in Norway.
1:28.4	Hi, I'm Rick Steves. In just a bit, we'll hear about some really distinctive holiday traditions that come with the season in Greece.
1:36.4	We'll also hear how a backwards version of Santa got drafted a few years ago to bring gifts to the good children in Spain's Basque country on Christmas Eve.
1:45.4	Let's start with a quick check-in on how the season's shaping up in London.
1:51.4	It's Christmas time, Jolly Old England, Big City, London. What's it like?
1:57.4	And with Tom Cooper and Jillian Chadwick to Blue Badge Guides from London, Tom and Jillian, thanks for joining us this Christmas.
2:03.4	How do you celebrate Christmas in London? What tips do you have for travelers that might be visiting London during Christmas?
2:07.4	Definitely go and see all the lights, harrads and fortnum and mason, all the shops.
	...

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