Alright everybody, Christmas is coming up, so I think it's high-time we talk about all of our favorite Christmas traditions!

I think one of my favorite things that my family always did was cut our Christmas tree. Every year, we would go out the day after Thanksgiving (which is kind of the unofficial start to the holiday season in America) and cut our Christmas tree down from somewhere. You can buy real trees around, but they're never as good as a fresh one. The fresh ones smelled great, and one year ours started growing O_o! Now that's fresh.

Now that's a great tradition ^____^

For me, it's a bit peculiar, since up to now I was living on a tropical island. Which effectively means: no christmas tree (well, we had a fake one, but you know that's just not the same).

Since Reunion island is in the south, christmas actually happens during summer for us! So the weather is all hot and sunny instead of cold and snowy

Anyway! If you want a true Reunionese christmas, there's only one thing you have to do: eat lots of litchis! ^____^ It's THE fruit of the season, and every market has loads upon loads of them, as cheap as they are juicily delicious.


(little picture, in case some of you don't know what good litchis look like ^_^)

I must say I'll miss eating litchis this year. Here, I've seen some imported from Madagascar, but geez... only people who have never tasted litchis in the islands can eat that! They're small, the color is not right, nor the texture. Bleh!

That's right! I forgot you were from there. You must have a bunch of very different traditions.

Another things my family does is make a gingerbread house... of course, our "houses" aren't your regular houses. They're usually pretty intense. This year it's a castle. I'll get you a picture at some point. We have it made, but not decorated. It'll be great!

Oooh... THAT sounds cool as hell! Please do take a picture to show us, I'd love to see it!!

Ah, I almost forgot. In Reunion, we're also in the habit of having fireworks and firecrackers blasting away like mad for christmas, as well as the New Year and the chinese new year

You guys celebrate the Chinese New Year? That's cool. Mostly we just celebrate it in America if we feel like it... or if your Chinese, which doesn't really apply to me . And that's cool that you have three days to do fireworks. In Germany, you can only do fireworks on New Year's Eve. In America, it's pretty much only on Independance Day.

There's a strong chinese community in Reunion, so though non-chinese do not really celebrate it, we do enjoy the occasion. Fireworks and firecrackers are heard and seen from a long way

So what about the rest of you? Do you all do nothing for Christmas? Speak up, I say!

Eol... such a lazy fellow, not even posting about christmas

Anyway, I'm happy because tonight I'll get to celebrate at least a little in the Reunionese way! My sister has sent me a very special parcel, with a rougail saucisses (that's a Reunionese dish, it's sausages cooked with spices - mainly ginger, tomato, onion - served with rice and lentils) and a fresh pineapple for dessert! It feels really good to enjoy a Reunionese meal once again

Actually I was at a friend's and I had replied, but it seems it did not work for some reason.
Usually, we put the presents under the christmas tree, then we begin to eat "les entrées" (help me Stef!! ) and then we open all the presents, which usually takes a large amount of time. After that, we usually resume eating but we often stop early, because my mother makes so many "entrees" that we are stuffed

So after the meal we usually watch a movie that someone had for christmas ;)

I believe you can use the french hors d'oeuvre in English for "entrée". No idea how to say it in plain old English though

Oh.
And I thought you knew everything I'm so disappointed

Ooooh... *Overdrive Mode !!*

I THINK you may want to talk about "the first course".

Oh you guys are great! Anyway, entree can be used in English as well. In fact, it's in some English dictionaries. It just means the main course of the meal.

And Eol, no more getting Stef mad, OK?

Mmm... "entree" doesn't mean the same thing in French and in English then o_O For us, "entrée" is what you eat first, before the main course. An entrée can be a small salad for example.

That's kind of what hors d'oeurves are in English - like appetizers. OH, we're all just messed up!