The following extracts have been taken from The United Kingdom: 100 questions answered, Jan 2003, and The United Kingdom: a modern tradition, May 2002, both published by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, London

Christmas dinner

This is perhaps the largest meal of the year. Although we eat far less nowadays than the enormous feasts are ancestors once indulged in, this festive holiday is not a time for watching the waistline.

The centrepiece of the British Christmas dinner, which is traditionally eaten in the early afternoon of Christmas Day, is roast turkey. Turkey was first brought to the UK from North America in the early part of the 16^th century and before long it replaced the peacock and the goose as the ‘meat’ for the main Christmas meal. A wealth of trimmings accompany the turkey - stuffing made with breadcrumbs, sausagemeat, sage and onion), bread sauce, sausages rolled in bacon, roast chestnuts, roast potatoes and, of course, Brussels sprouts, carrots and peas.

The main course is followed by Christmas pudding, brought to the table flaming in brandy. Made from dried fruit - raisins, sultanas, currants - suet, breadcrumbs, eggs, spices, milk and brandy. Many cooks make their puddings months if not a year, in advance. The pudding is traditionally served with custard (a vanilla flavoured sauce made with milk and eggs) or brandy butter.

Then if you still have room, you could squeeze in a mince pie - a sweet, rich mixture of dried fruits and suet baked in a pastry case or a wedge of fine Blue Stilton cheese.

Pancake Day

Many of the UK's traditional dishes have connections with ancient customs and traditions

Pancake Day is one example. Traditionally Shrove Tuesday, the last day before Lent, was when all the rich foods prohibited during the coming fast had to be eaten up. Thus all the eggs, butter and fat left in the house were made into pancakes, giving Shrove Tuesday the nickname, Pancake Day.

On Shrove Tuesday it was customary to make a confession and be absolved | (pronounced free from sin) by the priest - 'to shrive' means absolve in old English. A bell would be rung to call people to confession. This came to be called the 'Pancake Bell', and was the signal for housewives to prepare the pancake batter for lunch. The bell also released children from school and adults from work so that everyone could join in the afternoon's festivities

Though few people strictly observe Lent today, everyone enjoys eating pancakes and many towns and villages hold pancake races. The most famous one is at Olney in Buckinghamshire. It is open to women over 18 who have lived in Olney for at least three months. Each competitor wean an apron and head-dress and must 'toss' her pancake (flip it over in the frying pan) three times during the race, which is run from the market square to the church - a distance of 415 yards (about 380 metres).

From our BS Web Pages newsletter activity series

Pancake Day/ Tłusty Czwartek

As Carnival draws to an end in Poland with Tłusty Czwartek in Britain Pancake Day is just round the corner. Here are a set of classroom activities for this time of the year as eating is the central part of the celebration in both Britain and Poland. While the British make pancakes and even hold pancake races in some towns, Poles traditionally enjoy doughnuts and faworki - impossible to translate (one dictionary gives “sort of dry biscuit of fried pastry”!!!). If you have non-Polish friends or guests the best ‘explanation’ is to prepare some and their stomachs will understand perfectly what they are - even if there are no English words to express it. Here's how you can use the delicious delicacies in the classroom.

Pancake Day is always the last Tuesday before Lent known as Shrove Tuesday - to be followed by Ash Wednesday with religious services in some churches

TASK 1: Guess the ingredients

Divide the ingredients below into two lists: those you will need for a pancake recipe and those that you will need to prepare doughnuts - some you will need in both recipes

• salt
• sugar
• eggs
• oil
• spirit
• vanilla
• lemon skin
• castor sugar
• yeast
• flour
• lemon juice
• milk
• jam

The recipes

Now give your students the recipes below so that they can check their answers:

Pancakes (these quantities will make a large number of pancakes):

• salt
• ½ l milk
• approx 100 g flour
• 1 egg
• oil (for frying)
• castor sugar (for sprinkling)
• a lemon (for squeezing)

Doughnuts:

• 100g yeast
• 100-150 g sugar
• 1 kg flour
• ½ l milk

·         6 egg yolks

• 1 egg
• salt
• 5-6 spoonfuls oil
• ½ vanilla stick
• 1 glass of spirit
• lemon juice
• lemon zest
• oil (for frying)

·   100g castor sugar

Filling: Jam

TASK 2: The Cook in the Kitchen

Divide your students in pairs or groups and ask them to discuss and/or write step-by-step instruction how to make pancakes or doughnuts (let them choose but make sure that both are dealt with overall). Then, they may read out their versions and compare with others'. You can offer the students some verbs to use: to stir, to beat, to pour, to ladle, to fry, to mince, to mash, to serve, etc. Here are two examples (one for each dish).

Pancakes:

1. mix the egg yolk with the milk and flour
2. add a pinch of salt
3. stir the ingredients thoroughly until you have a thin batter
4. pour a very little oil into the pan and heat it
5. ladle a little of the batter into the pan (just enough to cover the bottom - pancakes should be very thin)
6. keep shaking the pan so it doesn’t stick - cooking takes about 30 seconds
7. toss the pancake so it cooks briefly on the other side - (the most important and traditional part!!!)
8. place on a warmed plate and loosely roll into a ‘cylinder’
9. repeat about 50 times!!! - as they are very thin, people normally eat several each
10. sprinkle with castor sugar
11. add a squeeze of lemon
12. serve - and eat immediately

Pancake parties are a lively affair with everyone involved in the preparing, cooking, tossing and eating. Pancakes should be eaten immediately (they spoil very quickly) which means that often they are being eaten while others are still being prepared - usually in the kitchen …

Doughnuts:

1. spread flour on worktop 
2. mix the vanilla and castor sugar
3. mix yeast, sugar, flour and milk until it's all cream-thick
4. leave the dough in a warm spot to grow
5. mix an egg and egg yolk with sugar
6. add flour, dough (when grown), vanilla, lemon juice, grated lemon skin, the rest of milk, salt, spirit and knead all until the dough is smooth, shiny and with visible air bubbles on the surface
7. add fat slowly and keep kneading (don't make it too thick)
8. leave the dough for another 15 minutes
9. take a doughnut-sized handful and stuff with the filling
10. form doughnuts = by hand
11. heat the oil
12. put the doughnuts into the oil and fry on both sides until they get brown
13. take out when ready, put out on greaseproof paper and sprinkle with castor sugar on top
14. serve

NOTE: as the doughnut recipe is more difficult to work out, you can make it a whole-class activity and prompt students when they get stuck.