Going far from home for holidays By Jenifer Joan Lee (The Times | 2016)

Abridged

Over the river and through the woods, maybe, but not to grandmother’s house. The family Christmas is changing its venue, and its traditions. In an ocean-crossing trend, families are meeting up anywhere but home, celebrating the holidays in exotic locales or with new rituals as end-of-year festivities go global.

Take the case of Chantal Massé. She and her husband, Pierre, have spent every Christmas with relatives at home in Granville, France, a picturesque town along the broad beaches of the Normandy coast. Not this year. They are trading gray and damp Normandy – as well as the grandparents, parents and cousins – for the palm trees and azure sky of Senegal beach resort, where they will spend Christmas and the New Year with their daughter and her fiancé. ‘You could say it was a bit difficult for my family to accept our decision,’ admits Massé, who is 51. ‘Naturally, we felt guilty at first, but we have to try new experiences.’ She added that her husband, who is 60, would ‘like to see more of the world.’

An increasing number of people worldwide share their desire to escape. A recent study by Expedia.com, the world’s largest online travel service found that more than one-third of adults in the United States would rather head to the beach or the ski slopes, or go out on the town for a night, than visit the home of a friend or relative during the holiday season. On the other hand, only 12 percent of those surveyed said they actually had plans to take that kind of vacation this December. ‘The results show a rather large discrepancy between how people would like to spend their holidays and how they actually spend them,’ said Kari Swarts, a spokesman for Expedia. ‘Still, it does show that Americans are starting to think of new nontraditional ways of enjoying their Christmas holidays. In Europe, where vacation time is more generous than in the United States, travel agents say that demand for unusual escapes over Christmas is on the rise. Norvista Travel, for example, which specializes in package tours to Nordic regions, is offering for the first time direct flights between Paris and Ivalo, Finland, a region near the North Pole. ‘We’re exploiting the legend of Santa Claus,’ said Cathrine Pellacani, a spokesman for Norvista. ‘We have package tours that include lunch with Santa and his elves, and of course there will be lots of presents.’ Pellacani estimates that demand for this kind of vacation has increased by 20 to 25 percent since last year. The lure of the North Pole inspired entrepreneurs in Ivalo to rush to build a new ‘Santa Village’ – now nearing completion – despite contradicting claims that Santa’s real hometown in 200 kilometers, or about 120 miles, south, in the Finnish town of Rovaniemi. ‘Santa moved around that region quite a bit,’ a Norvista travel agent noted dryly.

Task 3

Work with student s from group B. Ask them the following questions. While listening to your partner’s answers, take notes.

1. What is happening to the family Christmas in Europe and the USA?

2. How do people account for their choices?

3. What are those new ways of celebrating the holiday?

4. Do Americans approve of the new ‘exotic’ Christmas rituals in the USA?

Task 4

Work with a student from group A.

Answer their questions about the article you read.

Task 5

Now work with the students from group B. Complete the ‘Christmas trends’ table in the ‘Round table talk and discussion’ section below.