This is an All Ears English podcast, episode 1907.
Three ways the holiday spirit can create connection in English.
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Aubrey Carter, the IELTS whiz, and Lindsay McMahon, the English adventurer.
Coming to you from Arizona and Colorado, USA.
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Are you visiting a window display or holiday market in New York City Seoul, South Korea or another major world capital?
In today's episode, find out how we celebrate the holidays here in the US and three English phrases you can use to express how these events make you feel.
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Hello, Aubrey.
How's it going today?
Hi, I'm great, Lindsay.
How are you?
I'm excited for the holidays.
This is my favorite time of year.
I know this is such an exciting time of year.
We are like a week away from many of the holidays.
We're right in the middle of the holiday season.
New Year's is coming.
Christmas is coming.
Hanukkah happened in December.
So we are super excited to be in this moment.
What comes to mind when you think about the holiday season, especially in New York City, Aubrey?
Yeah, that's the thing where you and I both lived in New York.
There is something very magical about Christmas in New York, the holiday season in New York.
Yes, that doesn't really exist here in Arizona.
Yes, we're celebrating the holidays.
But in New York there's just a different feeling that like envelops the whole city, with the giant tree in Rockefeller Center and the windows at Macy's right.
Oh my goodness.
I loved being there with my family during this time of year.
It's really amazing.
Right.
And I think part of it is because there are so many movies that are based in New York City at the holiday season.
Right.
And so we've got a part of it.
You know, we've got songs, movies, music, all these things.
The F.A.O.
Schwartz Department Store, which is so famous from the movie Big.
Right.
Do you remember Tom Hanks? which they still have upstairs there.
My kids played the piano jumping around on it.
So fun.
I love it.
Did you ever go see the Rockettes when you were in New York?
We did.
Yes.
We went and saw the Rockettes with our kids.
They loved it.
Like stars in their eyes during the whole show.
So fun.
Yeah, it's hard to replicate a New York holiday season in other parts of the country.
But what do you do at home?
So you don't quite have all of the settings in Arizona, but you guys must have your own little traditions.
We do for sure.
We like to make, we'll get cocoa and we all have our cocoa.
And then we drive around to see everyone's Christmas lights, because a lot of people put holiday lights on their homes and some of them will have like a big display set to music, almost like what you see at Rockefeller center, of course on a much bigger scale, but You know, at their home and they'll have like a radio station you set it to.
Our kids love that.
They look forward to it.
We do an advent calendar where every day they get a little toy or a little chocolate, like counting down the days till Christmas.
Do you do an advent calendar, Lindsay?
Very cute.
No, I think... It's so fun.
We didn't do that, but we did have that tradition when I was a kid where we would drive around and go look at everyone's lighting display, especially in the 90s.
That was hot because, you know, everyone was like let's just blast this place out with so many lights.
The more the better.
And we do put up a tree, right?
We have all of our ornaments.
We have collected ornaments from every trip we take, vacations.
So we have ornaments from all over the world, right?
A little sombrero from Mexico and an Eiffel Tower from France and a few from New York.
So we kind of love to just like look at our Christmas tree with all of the ornaments from all over the world.
I love that.
Yes, I love it.
I love it.
It sounds like you and I have a lot of similar traditions and some different ones.
And City Life also brings up this concept of window shopping and seeing those window displays.
As we mentioned earlier, Aubrey.
Now in Arizona, do the big department stores set up these window displays for the holiday season?
It's definitely not the same as in New York.
We went to Macy's and down where all of those beautiful windows, the detail was so amazing.
We went every year and there would be throngs of people.
Mm-hmm.
No, it's never the same.
And I love the expression to use the throngs.
That's a bonus for our listeners today listening to this episode.
Throngs of people.
What does that mean?
I love that word.
Yes, like a very dense crowd of people.
So it's almost hard to see what's in the window.
Because of all the people trying to see what's right.
Anytime you're in a big crowd, I think of the Thanksgiving Macy's Day parade.
We went and saw that once and we were definitely in a throng of people where everyone's packed in so tight.
I love it.
I love it.
Well, this concept, this trend, while it doesn't really work in suburban USA, it definitely works in a place like New York City.
The trend of the super detailed, beautiful holiday window displays and the trend is spreading all over the world.
Right,
Specifically...
I know that there's a famous department store that we're going to touch on in South Korea.
We're going to touch on that in just a minute and pull in our listeners and ask our listeners you know, is this happening in their countries too?
But first, I want to take a minute to call out our listeners from South Korea just to say thank you.
Who reviewed us in South Korea, Aubrey?
What are these names?
Can you go ahead and call them out for us?
Yes, you have Jinak Song who said they listen to Allure's English when they work out.
I love that so much.
Ho Ho said listens every day.
Olivia listens while putting on makeup in the morning and wants to push her level up to advanced.
I think this is so smart to multitask while you listen.
So smart.
So smart.
And we have Siegfried73, who is a police detective from South Korea living in New York City.
I love that we have all these listeners from South Korea around the world and you're finding time to improve your English with us.
Yes, I love it.
So thank you to our listeners from South Korea for reviewing All Ears English.
And if you haven't left a review yet, go ahead and do that now.
So in general, Aubrey, are you a big window shopper outside of the holiday season?
No, I'm not at all.
I did love looking at the windows in New York, but I would never see something in a window and impulsively go in and buy it.
I want to research and get the best deal.
I'm much more likely to buy something cheap online or that's on sale somewhere rather than spending, because often the things we see in these windows are extremely expensive.
Expensive.
Right, right, right.
I remember when I was teaching English in Japan, I was surprised to see that, you know.
When I asked my adult students, I'd say hey, what are you doing this weekend, this coming weekend?
And one of the top three responses I would get would be window shopping.
And I was surprised too because I'm really not into it.
I'm not into window shopping.
It's not part of my personal culture.
I mean, I love looking at these holiday displays.
I'll wander in New York City and look at those.
But to me, window shopping all year long is quite different.
Yes, I agree.
Right.
And in the malls, like even just the smaller sort of retail department stores.
I often don't even look at what's in the window.
I'm not going to look in the window and say, what's the newest, latest?
I'm going straight to the clearance rack.
I'm going straight to the sales.
Like okay, this was in the window last year, maybe six months ago, and now I'm going to get a good deal on it.
Yeah, you have your priorities straight.
I'm a bargain shopper.
Yeah, you're a bargain shopper.
I love it.
I know.
Well, just in general, shopping is a big lift.
It's a heavy lift, right?
Yes.
In the car, driving across town and that kind of thing.
But, of course, at Christmas time it becomes more of an event, a chance to socialize with whoever has invited you to this place, this Christmas market, this window display, this tree lighting.
These are all potential moments of connection.
So We have an article, which we'll link to, if this is a blog post, to in Time Out New York, which lists the hottest window displays in New York City.
So what are those displays like?
Who is still doing these really, really sophisticated window displays?
Aubrey.
Yeah.
If you're visiting New York, you can still see these.
Bergdorf Goodman is the first one.
Macy's, definitely.
Bloomingdale's and Saks Fifth Avenue.
In fact, Sir Elton John helped unveil the new display and windows November 22nd with a performance of his new song, Your Song.
I wish I could have been there for that.
I love that.
I think that's one of his older songs.
You remember that song?
Like, I don't want to sing it because I don't want to impede on anyone's copyright.
I'm assuming it's like a new relief.
But you're right.
That is an older song.
I do know that song.
It's a beautiful song.
Yeah.
So they made a whole event around it.
So I think that this culture of window displays is still somewhat alive and well in New York, but it's just a few of the big big, big stores.
I don't think any of the small mom and pop shops are really doing it, but we are seeing this trend spread around the world.
There's a department store in Seoul, South Korea, called Shunsegae that I heard about, where they're taking it to another level.
I watched a video last night about this.
The entire front of the building is a movie and lights display.
Where you have the nutcracker, you see Christmas trees.
It is beautiful when you step back and look at it.
I love that.
I wish I could be there this time of year.
So lucky everyone listening who's in South Korea and has seen it or can go.
Those of you who might go to South Korea.
I'm so glad that we're sharing that.
You could potentially see this, because that sounds amazing.
I would love to see it.
I love it.
And in just a minute we're going to talk about how our listeners can take advantage of this moment where you are with someone and how can you comment on what you are seeing.
But we're going to get to that in just a second.
Okay, Aubrey.
So do you think that this tradition though you know, we've just named five department stores that are doing it
And we've said that in New York City in the US the mom and pop shops are not really doing this anymore.
So do you think this tradition of window displays at the holiday season is dying?
Here's my worry.
It's so easy to shop online.
Almost all of my Christmas shopping arrives on my porch via Amazon, not going to lie.
And so I think the stores are willing to put in the expense to do this, because those windows draw customers, who then come inside and make purchases.
Right.
And the worry is, if they see their business dropping, if they don't see the income from that, they may have to stop doing it.
So as long as there's still foot traffic in a city where people come, see the windows and go in and make purchases, then it's justified for companies to to continue doing it.
But if shopping continues to go online at the rate it is, I worry that it will die out.
Right.
It makes me think of you know how cities are changing?
Or I guess it's too soon after the pandemic to really know.
You know how are cities changing?
But I know there is less foot traffic in New York City now than there was pre pandemic.
Definitely.
Right.
People are avoiding crowds even now.
And that's the thing about New York.
Every time there's something that's really a draw like this the windows, Rockefeller Center, ice skating there all the really fun things are also a draw for tourists.
So, as a local, if you want to avoid crowds, you're not going to feel comfortable going to any of those things, especially during the holidays.
For sure.
For sure.
But really, what I want all of our listeners to get from today's episode is some new vocabulary, Aubrey.
This is going to be fantastic because it's not just the window displays at Bergdorf, Goodman or this department store in Korea.
It's Christmas markets.
Last Christmas I was in Germany and visited some of the holiday markets and they were beautiful, beautiful displays, amazing food.
What can we say when we're wandering, we're taking an evening out with our friends?
Native speaker friend.
What can we say about how this makes us feel, this experience?
We're going to give you guys three phrases, because this is, this is always going to happen.
There's always going to be interesting things to see, especially around the holidays.
Yes, and we always go out with our friends, family.
This is such a fun thing to meet up with someone and you want the vocabulary to be able to comment on it in order to make that connection right.
Yes, so Our first phrase I love this one is to say it brings me right back to, And then you could maybe say Christmas, when I was a kid or when I was young, celebrating the holidays with my families.
I love that phrase.
It brings me right back to...
So guys again, if you are in your home country, if you're in Korea Japan Germany, and you were walking around and you go to this department store or this market, holiday market, you can say this in English
And what I like about this phrase is that it's kind of intimate, right?
It's sharing something of where your mind is going, due to You know the details that you're seeing, a smell, a song that you're hearing in the window display.
It's very intimate to say this because it shows the person you're with what's going on in your head.
Absolutely.
It's all about nostalgia, right?
When you're willing to share, that something's giving you that feeling of nostalgia, reminding you of good memories in your past.
Yes, to bring them into your past and your happy memories.
Whenever someone does that for me, i feel closer to them, for sure.
I mean, i think this could also be a great way to build a business relationship, potentially by inviting someone out for an evening wandering a holiday market or looking at window displays in downtown, you know Seoul, or in Tokyo or in New York City.
What do you think, Aubrey?
Absolutely.
I know a lot of people still travel for work if you're in sales at lots of different companies.
Oh, yeah.
And you're looking for something to do in the evening with coworkers.
This is perfect, right?
All of these different experiences, things to do.
And you'll want that language to be able to talk about the things you're seeing in a very native way.
100%.
So we have two more phrases for our listeners.
What would be the next thing that we could say in English?
Yeah.
So this is blank is remarkable.
That very interesting adjective.
So for example, the attention to detail in this window is remarkable.
And that just means it's excellent.
It's very impressive.
Yeah.
Or the costumes are remarkable, right?
Or the characters are remarkable.
The music is.
So remarkable is a more interesting word, right?
We like to use not common words in English.
Right.
And there are a lot of slang things you can say that, you know, like, oh, it's very cool.
It's super interesting.
But when you're with coworkers, I love this word remarkable.
That's a little classier, a little more professional sounding.
I love that.
We should talk more on this podcast about elevated words, right?
What is the word in everyday slang?
And then how can you elevate that when you're around a business audience?
So good. so good.
There's always an option that makes you sound more intelligent or professional.
I love that.
Exactly.
So yeah, let's share number three.
Okay.
All right.
Here's number three.
It really puts me in the holiday spirit.
Right.
So another great way to share how you're feeling, how an experience alongside your native speaking friend is transforming your mind.
Where is it bringing you?
Right.
Yes, this is such a native expression to talk about the holiday spirit.
Something puts you in the holiday spirit, meaning it gives you that grace, good feeling we all experience around the holidays, where we start thinking about giving gifts and serving and helping others and anything we see which might you know maybe just the lights or the anything can put us in the holiday spirit.
Yes, I love it.
So Aubrey, what's the takeaway for today?
I feel like this is such a good episode for, in a practical sense, for words and phrases that our listeners can use.
But what else?
Yeah, I think you guys should really be thinking about if something reminds you of your childhood, gives you that feeling of nostalgia or puts you in the holiday spirit.
That is a moment of connection.
Yes, exactly.
Exactly.
And I love how we're seeing all over the world in South Korea, in Japan, in New York City, even in Germany around holiday events and displays and attention to detail events.
But the thing that brings us together as a world community and lets us connect is English, right?
And the more detailed we can get and the more advanced in how we describe what we're seeing, the better that connection can be.
Aubrey, love it.
Yes, absolutely.
Wherever you're traveling, english is your way to connect with others.
You might not speak the language everywhere you go, but more and more you're likely to find someone who speaks english.
I was grateful for this when i was in scandinavia, traveling in denmark, finland i was always able to find someone who could speak english to me.
I didn't speak swedish and finnish and danish luckily, So we were still able to meet and connect.
And I was grateful for that.
I love it.
So good.
So guys, if you love All Ears English where we focus on connection, not perfection, then go ahead and hit follow on this podcast right now.
Aubrey, I will see you back on here very soon.
Awesome.
Bye, Lindsay.
Take care.
Bye.
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