Submitted by Sheila Ward on the 2013 fall semester program in London, England…
Now that Thanksgiving has passed, the Holiday season has finally begun! However, this is not the case in London. As soon as November began, the city became a winter wonderland. Stores put up their Christmas lights and began offering holiday deals. I love the holiday season, but I was not expecting it to start as soon as Halloween was over.
Another thing that goes on in London during the holidays is that Christmas markets begin appearing all around the city. The biggest and most popular is Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park. As soon as you enter the park, you are overwhelmed with all the stalls selling everything from ornaments to mulled wine and mince pies. There are also carnival rides and an ice skating rink.
At first, I did not realize most of our popular Christmas traditions come from Germany, but when I visited these markets, I began to recognize food and items I had seen when I visited Munich. I will definitely take advantage of all the Christmas things and markets London has to offer before I return to America.