by Poppy, age 8 from London, England, asks Santa about Christmas crackers, the River Thames, and the history of this British tradition.
Dear Santa, my name is Poppy, and I am eight years old. I live in London, England, where my nan says our whole family fights over who gets to pull the loudest one at the table every Christmas Day.
Dear Poppy, a friendly family fight over volume sounds like exactly the kind of chaos I approve of at a Christmas table.
Santa, I have three questions.
Do you like Christmas crackers? My nan says they are not the food kind, they are the pop kind with a toy and a paper crown inside.
I love Christmas crackers, Poppy, and your nan is right, they are entirely different from the buttery snack some other families call by nearly the same name. A little pop, a paper crown, and a joke so bad you cannot help but laugh, that is a proper British Christmas tradition.
My nan says the River Thames runs right through the middle of London. Is that true?
It is true, Poppy, the Thames winds right through your city, past all sorts of famous old buildings and bridges. I always follow it in at night, the lights along the water make for one of my favorite views in all of Europe.
My nan says Christmas crackers were actually invented right here in England a really long time ago. Is that true?
It is true, Poppy, Christmas crackers were invented by a London sweet maker back in the 1840s, and the tradition has stuck around for nearly two centuries since. It always makes me smile that something so simple, a pop, a joke, a paper crown, can bring a whole table together year after year.
Merry Christmas, Santa.
Your friend,
Poppy Bennett
London, England
P.S. Can you make sure I win the cracker pull this year?
I stay neutral in cracker pulling contests, Poppy, but I will admit I am rooting for you quietly.
