(upbeat music)
- Hi we're Joel and Lia
- And welcome back to vlog-mas.
So today's video is things Brits don't understand
about American Christmases.
- So, you know, there's lots of cultural differences
across the pond guys. - Yeah.
- We're gonna discuss a few of them today
and just let you know the things that we really
just don't understand about,
about American Christmas. - Yeah.
Okay so let's kick it off with the first one.
- Yep. - So the first one
is Brits just don't know what the holidays means.
- The holidays. - The phrase the holidays.
- The holidays, it's like,
what if you're not going on holiday.
- Yeah, holiday to us is what vacation means to you.
So when people say happy holidays,
we're like, we're not going on holiday.
- Yeah, I mean we don't really get, we don't really
have that said to us, - No.
- but we see it and hear it on film, TV,
- Yeah. - Happy holidays
and we're like, what?
- So am I right in thinking that for Americans,
the holiday season is Thanksgiving and Christmas?
- Yeah, I think so.
- It's just a bit weird, we don't,
we don't use that phrase.
We just say happy Christmas
but also, - Or merry Christmas.
- That's the thing, American's find it weird
'cause they don't say happy Christmas,
they say merry Christmas.
- So right. - And we say both.
We say merry Christmas
or happy Christmas - and happy Christmas.
What, it's the same thing isn't it?
- It's the same thing. - Same thing.
- Yeah I just don't - Merry Christmas.
- Understand why it's not a thing
But yeah, on one of the articles that we said,
'cause obviously we're discussing an article there,
that was written by BBC America.
What? - I thought that was a rat!
- Why? - It was your foot
playing footsie with mine and I was like we've got a rodent.
- Oh my gosh. - In a five star location.
- You've had too much prosecco.
- No, Joel, it's when I'm overtired.
Guys before this I used to live with mice, so like.
- Oh my gosh. - You know,
- She's triggered. - it's not unusual
that that I feel something land on my foot.
- Okay.
- Okay. - Okay.
(laughing)
- You just did that.
- Mkay. - Mkay.
(laughing)
You're such a little sh...
Okay.
- There's some BBC America were discussing it,
but I read somewhere that Americans
tend to not say happy Christmas.
- Yeah they say merry - Yeah.
- Merry Christmas - Merry Christmas
- Or a happy holidays. - and a happy, yeah.
And a happy New Year.
- Happy New Year. - New Year.
Yeah like, that was good.
That was quite New York.
- New York.
'Kay so the next one is to do with Christmas lights.
So, what we don't understand is how you guys
go so extra with the lights.
Like, honestly, the electricity bill must be
through the roof - Yeah.
How does everyone afford it.
- I don't know, maybe they go into debt for it.
But like, - Yeah.
- Do you remember that scene in the Grinch,
where I know that's, I know it's not real life,
it's the Grinch, but everyone in the Grinch
speaks with an American accent and all of their houses
are lit up like incredibly.
- Which means that all of you must do the same
- Same, because you're all like the people in the Grinch.
- Well they're called Whos,
the Whos in Whoville. - The Whos, yes!
The Whos in Whoville - Yeah.
- Nice memory Joel.
- So that's you guys - I love that.
And the UK is like the Grinch at the top of the, top of the
hill that doesn't light up. - Yeah like we're content
with a single dreary string of lights.
- Oh yeah, that's like some pushing the boat out.
- Yeah and we're like wow, that looks nice.
- Yeah and then they're like it's costing a bomb
on that one there. - Yeah.
- Like, you know what am I doing.
- But American's go all out, just like
the National Lampoon Christmas thing.
- What's that?
- You've never watched the National Lampoons?
- Is that like the festival of lights?
- No, it's a, it's a film.
An American film with the families are the Lampoons.
- No, I've never see that. - And their whole house
is covered in lights, it's amazing.
- Just about one family or like a neighborhood.
- It's not a documentary.
- Oh it's a film. - It's film.
- Okay, I've not seen the Lampoons.
- Lampoons.
- You'd like it. - Sorry, I'm, yeah,
should we put the Lampoons on,
- Yeah Lampoons on. - sack off this video.
- Why's it so funny when you say it?
- Put Lampoons on. - Put Lampoons (laughing)
Put Lampoons on.
- Guys, whatcha wanna watch?
Lampoons!
- Lampoons, I wanna watch Lampoons!
- Mom can we watch Lampoons please?
- We've had too much prosecco.
- Or not enough.
- The third one is, movie time.
- Right. - So apparently,
and I'm gonna read this, it says traditionally,
Christmas is a big day for new film releases in the U.S.
So apparently lots of American's,
on what we would call Boxing Day,
so the day after Christmas day, you would go to the cinema.
- Oh no, not on Boxing Day?
- On Boxing Day. - Oh no.
- Not on Boxing Day. - Not on the 26th.
- No the 26th. - Is it the 26th?
- Not on the 26th. - Well it's because
I'm aware that some of you might not know
what Boxing Day is - Yes.
- So that's why I called it the 26th.
- Yes, of course.
- But who goes to cinema on Boxing Day?
Boxing Day is about eating leftovers before falling asleep.
- Yeah and deciding which presents you want to return
and get a refund.
- And getting sale. - Yeah.
- That's like our version of Black Friday.
- Sale shopping starts at like 8 p.m. Christmas day,
into Boxing Day.
- Oh, online?
- Yeah, well it used to start on Boxing Day,
now it starts even early on Christmas.
- Now they're making it available, wow.
- But Boxing Day used to be when sales start.
Like not just, 'cause we have January sales,
but we also have like Boxing Day sales.
- And people you know, have to sort of wake up
and be at work on Boxing Day,
on the shop floor ready for the chaos.
- But everyone else gets Boxing Day off pretty much,
only if you work in retail or in like customer service
would you have to work
Boxing Day. - Boxing Day.
- It's like another national holiday.
So apparently Americans, some, lots of Americans
would go back to work on the 26th.
- Oh right. - Which is shocking.
- What 26th till New Years Eve?
- Probably, I don't know.
- And then you get New Years Eve, New Years day off.
- I don't know the answer to your questions.
- Oh gosh.
- I'm so sorry. - So many.
- But you guys do, so let us know down in the comments
below, let us know down there. - Down there.
Can I just say, if you're enjoying this video
so far guys, don't forget to subscribe for vlogs-mas.
Subscribe for future videos.
Subscribe for the future of Joel and Lia.
- Yes. - Subscribe for this home.
- Yes. - This beautiful home
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- Yeah, and it was worth it.
- So the next one is that you guys
call Father Christmas Santa Claus.
- And it's trickled over to this side of the pond.
Trickled over like a spot of trickle.
It's basically, it's been Father Christmas up until,
your films made it, made us call him Santa Claus.
Ever since Elf,
Santa, I know him! - No, since the Santa Claus.
- Yeah you're right actually.
- Since way back when.
- But we Brits would call him
Father Christmas - Father Christmas.
Father Christmas.
- Be good or Father Christmas won't come.
- No won't, he won't come down the chimney,
into your room and fill your stocking and touch you.
- Next. - Next.
- Thank you, next.
- So Christmas dinner is the next one.
So, we've got a little bit of difference going on here.
I've heard from Americans on our secret Facebook group
that they might have like, say meat, loads of mashed potato,
and a few random things like thrown on top of that,
bit of casserole, bit of this, bit of that.
We fully go for it.
It's a proper British roast dinner, but Christmas-ified,
so you've got like turkey, and maybe some other meats
as well if your family are into that,
Yorkshire puddings, you've got
- Roast potatoes,
- Always has to be roasted.
- Yeah, it wouldn't be mashed,
we wouldn't mash. - Dripping in fat.
- Dripping in fat. - Dripping in like
- Goose fat. - goose fats.
- And then we'd have - Pigs in-
- Brussels sprouts - Brussels sprouts.
- Pigs in blankets. - Pigs in blankets,
so you've got like little cocktail sausages
wrapped in little crispy bacon.
- So nice.
- I can't wait for it to be Christmas.
- Yeah it's gonna be so nice.
- We get, obviously we do stuffing,
you guys do stuffing, our stuffing is very different.
But yeah, I just the Christmas dinner's like basically
how much of a big deal your Thanksgiving dinner is.
That's how much of a big deal Christmas dinner is for us.
- What time do you have Christmas?
- We have it quite late, we have,
we might have it after three o'clock.
So three p.m. the Queen's speech comes on the TV.
- Oh you don't eat until after that?
- So we might, I can't remember if we eat just before that,
so like two o'clock or if we wait till after that
and we have a big dinner at like 3:15,
3:30 in the afternoon. - Interesting.
So will you have a breakkie? - 'Cause you spend
all day cooking.
Yeah so we'll have like pancakes for breakfast
with bucks fizz, - Okay that's cool,
interesting. - Mimosas.
- Mimosas.
- You guys also don't have Christmas pudding.
- And that's absolutely fine by us.
- Yeah 'cause it's disgusting. - 'Cause we don't like it.
- So yeah, scrap that. - Scrap that.
- And New Years Eve, U.S. style, okay.
- Okay.
- Oh yeah 'cause they talk about watching the ball drop.
What is the?
- We saw the ball, - The ball.
- When we went to New York.
- In New York the ball just drops.
You're like, that's it, that marks
the New Year guys - That's the new year.
- And that's like on TV
and the same way that if we live in the UK,
but we're not near London,
we might watch like the South Bank Fireworks,
they will watch the Times Square
ball drop. - Ball drop.
The reason this is weird to me,
is like if you drop the ball it means like you've forgotten
something or like you've slacked,
so that's really weird to me,
that you watch the ball drop. - Drop, yeah.
- So I'm sure that's negative start to the year.
- Isn't it, really they should launch
- The ball rise. - the ball into the sky.
And we should never see the ball again.
- No exactly. - 'Cause it's just
shooting for the stars.
- Yeah guys, give this video a like
if you think we should take over from the people
that run America, 'cause then we can like,
get the ball launched.
- Joel and Lia lift the ball this year.
So it's not dropping the ball,
like oh, missed, you dropped the ball
like you can't keep up with the workload,
it's like, we've launched the ball into space.
- You'll never see the ball again.
- Like he's put me on it, to launch me off.
And it's just like, see you later babe.
- Yeah, see ya, bye. - See ya later, bye.
- I think that's a - Don't come back down.
- much better way.
- Yeah how, so how are they gonna,
they just get a new ball every year?
- Yeah, new ball, it, I mean America
has lots of money, it's fine. - The ball can get smaller,
like it could be a tennis ball.
- Yeah a tennis, ping pong
- Ping pong, we could all - Ping pong ball.
- watch the ping pong ball, like, we could all be like,
(blowing)
We could all launch the ball - Everyone together.
- Everyone in Times Square, - Everyone's breath!
- Is like (blowing) launch the ball.
- That would be so good!
- Rather than drop the ball.
- Guys let's get this trending,
hashtag Joel and Lia for president.
- Launch the ball.
- The first ever duo president and British president.
- Listen, if Donald.
I'm not gonna say. - What?
- If he can do it, we can do it.
- Oh it's true.
- If he can do it.
- He doesn't know anything about politics
and that's not shade, it's just true.
So it's like, we know nothing about politics, but,
- We can do it.
- Just aspirational passionate.
You can't deny someone passion and aspirations.
- It's the land of the free,
so we can do what we want in America.
- Joel and Lia for president.
- Can you tell we've had too much prosecco?
- That's all our points Joel.
- Yeah, that's all BBC America - We've said it all.
- have to say for themselves.
I have nothing else to say.
- I have nothing else to say.
- Well we'd better wrap it up.
- We'd better. - Thanks for tuning in guys.
- Thanks for tuning in!
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- Yep.
- Come back next time guys.
- See you soon. - See you soon.
- Bye. - Bye.