6 Minute English / Was Christmas better in the past?

Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript.

Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I m Beth.

And I m Neil. Now, it s Christmas time in the UK at the moment. And like with celebrations around the world, lots of people have many happy memories about Christmas. Beth, do you have any happy Christmas memories?

I have a lot. Um, my cousins and I used to always put on a Christmas performance for the family. That was always fun. What about you?

Christmas was magical. I lived in Canada when I was a kid and it was always snowing, so it just felt perfect.

Amazing. Well, at this time of year, we might look back at the Christmases from the past, from our childhood, and feel like they were happier or more magical than Christmas feels today.

Yes, thinking about the past can make us feel happy and sad at the same time. It s a strange feeling we call nostalgia. And we re going to be talking about nostalgia today as well as Christmas memories and traditions.

And as usual, we ll be learning some useful new words and phrases. You can practise these with the quiz and the worksheet on our website. Go to bbclearningenglish.com.

First, Beth, I have a question for you. In the UK, the most popular Christmas meal is a roast turkey.

Ooh yes, and all the roast potatoes and Brussels sprouts.