Episode 0336

Hello everyone and welcome to English Pod. My name is Marco.

My name is Catherine and it's the holiday season. Today we have a lesson all about a special December holiday.

That's right. We are getting close to Christmas and of course, today we are going to talk about Christmas in the United States and some of the typical traditions that you see over there.

That's right. So we're going to be looking at a family as they wait for Christmas morning to arrive. If you don't know what that is, don't worry, you'll hear us talk about it in a moment, but first, let's listen to our dialogue.

What are you doing awake?

I can't sleep!

But it's almost midnight.

Really? How do you know it was Santa?

Hmm, well, I know that Santa won't come down the chimney with you hiding behind the tree spying on him.

Really?

Really. Let's go back upstairs and get back to bed. That way, we can let Santa do his job. Then, when you wake up, it will be Christmas already.

Okay.

Hey, honey, is that you? Don't eat all the cookies. I want some too.

All right, we're back. So now let's take a look at some language on language takeaway.

Language Takeaway.

Okay, I just said it, but here's that phrase again: Christmas morning.

That's right. So Christmas morning is December 25th in the morning, right?

That's right. Okay. So the tradition is that small children will wake up early and run downstairs and they will find Christmas presents under the Christmas tree. And so this is the Christmas morning tradition.

Okay.

Many countries they celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve, the 24th, right?

All right. So Christmas Eve is December 24th. Christmas Day, or if it's in the morning, Christmas morning, is December 25th. And as you said, kids come downstairs or go to the, where the Christmas tree is, to look for their presents that Santa came and and left for them.

That's right. So the idea, the story is that Santa comes at night, late at night, and brings presents for the children. And when the children wake up, they see the presents, but Santa has already gone. So Santa is a man. Uh, he's kind of a mythical figure with a big white beard and a red outfit and a red hat.

Right. So his name is Santa Claus or just Santa. There are many, many different names for the, for Santa in different cultures and in different countries.

Yeah, some people like to call him Saint Nick or Saint Nicholas, but most people will call him Santa in America.

That's right. So uh this is what happens or part of what happens during Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. And usually also boys and girls will find our stockings that will be filled with candy or small toys as well.

That's right. Stockings are basically socks. Um, but these are special socks that you don't wear, you hang them. And a lot of people like to put them on on the fireplace. They hang them from the fireplace. And like you said, Marco, they're filled with sweets. Uh, the story says that boys and girls who are nice get good things like sweets and toys, and boys and girls who are naughty get coal.

Coal. that's that uh black material that we use to uh make a barbecue for example.

Yeah, exactly. It's very dirty and it's not something you want in your stocking.

Okay. That's right. So that's what we get in our stockings. And now when the small boy and his father were talking, they were saying that, you know, he should go back to bed and not hide behind the tree. So if they're in the living room or they're downstairs in the house, what tree do they have?

Well, we're not talking about a big real tree outside. We're talking about the Christmas tree. But, you know, it's a long phrase, the Christmas tree. We don't have to say it that way. When we have a Christmas tree inside the house, we can just call it the tree.

Okay. And the Christmas tree as many of you may have seen already, is a pine tree usually, and you put decorations on it and the presents go under it.

That's right. So, um, you might hear this phrase. There are presents under the tree, or there are many nice presents under the tree. That means there are lots of nice presents under the Christmas tree.

That's right. And well, the kid wanted to stay behind the tree and spy on Santa Claus.

That's right. So this is a verb to spy. This means to watch someone, but to watch them while they don't know that you're you're watching them. So you're hiding, but looking at someone else.

Right, you're spying. This is where the uh the the noun comes, a spy, like James Bond.

James Bond, spies. He is a very famous spy. That's right. But in this case, the boy does not want Santa Claus to see him. So he is spying on Santa Claus.

All right. Very good stuff. Why don't we listen to the dialogue again and review this vocab?

What are you doing awake?

I can't sleep!

But it's almost midnight.

Really? How do you know it was Santa?

Hmm, well, I know that Santa won't come down the chimney with you hiding behind the tree spying on him.

Really?

Really. Let's go back upstairs and get back to bed. That way, we can let Santa do his job. Then, when you wake up, it will be Christmas already.

Okay.

Hey, honey, is that you? Don't eat all the cookies. I want some too.

All right, we're back. So now let's take a look at three phrases on fluency builder.

Fluency builder.

All right, so Marco, there's another great phrase in here that we often use around Christmas. Um, what is it that Santa Claus does?

Well, the way Santa Claus leaves presents for boys and girls is that he will come down the chimney and we saw that when uh the dad said, well, Santa Claus won't come down the chimney if you're here hiding behind the tree.

All right. So the chimney is a is part of the fireplace. Fireplace is where you have a fire in your house to keep warm. And the chimney is where the smoke goes to come outside. But Santa Claus goes the other way. He comes down the chimney from the roof into your house.

That's right. And then he leaves the presents.

So the father said, all right, so, you know, stop spying on Santa. Let's go back upstairs and get back to bed.

All right, get back to bed. This is a phrase that you're going to hear parents say a lot to their children. So if the children are awake or walking around, you say get back to bed. That means go back to sleep.

Go back to sleep. That's right. And uh we want the kid to go back to sleep, so we can let Santa do his job.

All right. Like that last phrase, this is a phrase that you can use in other ways. It's not just for Christmas, but uh we said, you know, let Santa do his job. Let Santa leave his presents. Let's not bother Santa. But we can change Santa with any other name.

Right. So you can say, I don't know, maybe your your dad is working in the office and your mom will tell you, you know, come out here, let dad do his job.

That means don't bother dad, don't distract him, let him work.

Right. Okay. So that's the way that you use those phrases. Very good stuff here. Why don't we review one last time?

What are you doing awake?

I can't sleep!

But it's almost midnight.

Really? How do you know it was Santa?

Hmm, well, I know that Santa won't come down the chimney with you hiding behind the tree spying on him.

Really?

Really. Let's go back upstairs and get back to bed. That way, we can let Santa do his job. Then, when you wake up, it will be Christmas already.

Okay.

Hey, honey, is that you? Don't eat all the cookies. I want some too.

All right, so these Christmas traditions are, as we said, they're typically American, but many other cultures share similar traditions like uh, like this.

That's correct. So, obviously, traditions are are different in every family. Not everyone celebrates Christmas morning. Some people celebrate Christmas Eve. But most people will, will be familiar with Christmas stockings, Christmas trees, and Santa who comes down the chimney.

That's right. So, it also depends, I guess, on the culture and uh religion. Some some religions uh celebrate Christmas differently or not at all. So, it's actually a very interesting uh time of the year.

And uh, but if you look or if you can see any American movies like I remember this one called The Santa Claus.

Yeah.

It's very uh you can see the typical uh American Christmas, you know, snow and trees and presents and Santa Claus, a lot of things.

Happy Holidays. That's right. And of course, you can go to our website englishpod.com where we want to know if you celebrate Christmas or what are the Christmas traditions in your country?

That's right. We're very curious to hear those, so we'll see you soon on englishpod.com.

All right, we'll see you guys. Bye.

The English part audio review.

Listen to the meaning, then say the vocabulary word.

12 AM.

Midnight.

The annual festival of the Christian Church commemorating the birth of Jesus.

Christmas.

A figure of Christmas who brings presents to kids.

Santa.

Disobedient, mischievous.

Naughty.

A black or dark brown mineral.

Coal.

Large sock, traditionally Christmas gifts are put in the stocking.

Stocking.

A sweet baked food.

Cookie.

A usually vertical structure that allows the passage of smoke.

Chimney.

To observe secretively.

Spying.

Let's try that faster.

12 AM.

Midnight.

A figure of Christmas who brings presents to kids.

Santa.

The annual festival of the Christian Church commemorating the birth of Jesus.

Christmas.

A usually vertical structure that allows the passage of smoke.

Chimney.

A sweet baked food.

Cookie.

Large sock, traditionally Christmas gifts are put in the stocking.

Stocking.

A black or dark brown mineral.

Coal.

Disobedient, mischievous.

Naughty.

To observe secretively.

Spying.

Now say the word and hear it in a sentence.

Spying.

I caught my cat spying on me. I wonder what he is up to.

Spying.

I love spying on my neighbor. I'm just curious.

Spying.

Spying on me with your computer is a serious crime.

Christmas.

Christmas.

Christmas.

Midnight.

I make sure to go to bed and sleep before midnight.

Midnight.

Midnight.

Naughty.

If you're naughty, you won't get to watch cartoons.

Naughty.

My son was very naughty, so I sent him to his room.

Naughty.

My kids can be so naughty sometimes.

Santa.

I don't believe in Santa anymore. I know it's just my dad in a suit.

Santa.

Santa.