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What’s Christmas like in another country? – things Hungarian expats have to get used to
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Lots of Hungarians decide to move abroad, for a variety of reasons. However, there are certain things that we can only experience in Hungary. So, Hungarian expats have to learn, for example, to say goodbye to good quality sour cream or the truly Hungarian pálinka. Not to mention they also have to get accustomed to a different way of celebrating Christmas.
When visiting another country, we can experience quite a bit of culture shock, and this is even more so when we move there for a longer period of time. Szeretlekmagyarország reports about Bea’s experiences of having lived in London for the past five years, with the hopes of continuing to live there after Brexit as well. She explains that there were a number of things she had to get used to, what she misses the most from Hungary, what works much better here, and how she spends Christmas in a different country.
We all know the theory that supposedly it always rains in England. Well, that is not true exactly, there are sunny days in Great Britain as well of course. However, it is true that they do not get as much snow as we do here in Hungary. (The snow was especially beautiful in Hungary this past weekend, check out photos here.)
Gastronomy
As to what a Hungarian abroad can miss the most, pálinka and a real Hungarian pickled cabbage were at the top of the list.
In England, apparently, beverages with higher than 40% of alcohol in them are taxed higher, so not many business owners choose to sell them.
Although a bottle of Fütyülős, Szent István or Rézangyal can be purchased at the Hungarian store in London, for example, they are made especially for the British market and so contain only 40% of alcohol.
So, friends and relatives visiting know what to bring as a gift.
The situation is the same with the Hungarian paprika – the sharp-ended, hot type. Although most things can be bought in the Polish shop considering the two cuisines are quite similar, so sour cream and cottage cheese are taken care of, and Tesco sells poppyseed as well, nothing beats the home tastes, let us be honest.
Traditional English meals are also not used to as many spices as we are used to from the Hungarian cuisine, so those dishes can feel quite tasteless.
Home décor
Two things that are extremely common in Britain but baffle/annoy Hungarians are the separate hot and cold taps and the carpets covering the floor of basically every room of a house.
