As was so for Don Quixote, Spain has a place in the heart of staff reporter Stephen Franklin, who has covered stories on four continents for the Chicago Tribune.

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London: Like the U.S., Only Different

By Ray Moseley

Christmas in London is a prolonged revelry, a counterpoint to the usually dismal British winter; it goes on not just for a few days but for weeks with caroling, holiday concerts, partying and a bountiful consumption of liquid spirits.

Throughout December, restaurants are filled with office parties paid for by employers. It is a holiday season with more of a secular than religious character, but church services with magnificent choirs are definitely a part of it for many. Finally, in Christmas week, London takes on a partly deserted air as many people vacate the city to join family living elsewhere in the country or go to country hotels to be pampered.

Many American Christmas traditions originated here, and for Londoners some traditions go back centuries. But Yule trees only appeared in Victorian Britain, introduced by Prince Albert from his native Germany. Christmas dinner and the opening of presents under the tree take place on Christmas Day, not on Christmas Eve as on the Continent. Turkey or goose is usually the mainstay of the meal.

But there are differences. Santa Claus here is Father Christmas, and dessert is not fruitcake but Christmas pudding, a high-calorie bombshell concoction of suet, various spices, brown sugar, sultanas, raisins, currants, candied peel, almonds, apple, grated orange and lemon peel, eggs, barley wine, stout and rum. Some know it as plum pudding because raisins, when used in puddings, are called plums. A sprig of holly is placed atop the pudding, then brandy poured over it and lighted with a match before the dessert is served accompanied by brandy butter. Probably few people still make their own, but those who do may follow an old tradition of putting coins inside the pudding.

After the pudding, all those around the table join in pulling Christmas crackers — cardboard tubes in decorated paper that, when pulled, produce a firecracker-like "pop" and open up to reveal trinkets, crown-shaped paper hats that everyone puts on, and jokes designed to amuse children.

In the afternoon, Queen Elizabeth II's annual message is televised nationally. In 51 years, she has yet to say anything memorable, but a few older Britons still view the brief address with almost religious reverence. The audience among young adults is small and probably shrinking.