by Eleanor from Canterbury asks Santa about Christmas goose, learns about the North Downs, and hears how turkey gradually replaced goose as England’s Christmas dinner
Dear Santa, my name is Eleanor and I am nine years old. I live in Canterbury, England, where my grandad says our cathedral has stood so long that kings and queens have walked past it for nearly a thousand years.
Dear Eleanor, I have flown past that cathedral for a genuinely long time myself, and your grandad’s description is entirely accurate.
Santa, I have three questions.
My first question is, do you like Christmas goose? My great-grandmother always says a proper English Christmas dinner used to be goose, not turkey, and I want to know if that is really true.
Your great-grandmother is entirely correct, Eleanor. I have a genuine fondness for a well-roasted goose, a dish with real history behind it.
My second question is about our hills. My teacher says a range of low, chalky hills runs near our city. Is that true about the North Downs?
It is, Eleanor. The North Downs stretch across parts of southern England, their chalky soil shaping the landscape and even the local farming for centuries. Flying over those gentle, rolling hills each Christmas Eve is one of the more peaceful parts of my English route.
My third question is about turkey replacing goose. My teacher says that change actually happened fairly recently in history. Is that true?
It is true, Eleanor. Goose was the traditional centerpiece of English Christmas dinners for centuries, but turkey gradually became more popular during the Victorian era, partly because it was larger and could feed bigger gathered families more easily. Some households, like your great-grandmother’s clearly wise one, still proudly keep the older tradition alive.
Merry Christmas, Santa.
Your friend,
Eleanor Whitmore
Canterbury, England
P.S. Goose or turkey, which do you actually prefer?
Goose, Eleanor, quietly and without much hesitation.
