Christmas Crackers

The descriptions of Christmas crackers in English novels always confused me. In my mind, 'cracker' denotes something edible and crunchy, like a saltime. But apparently English crackers explode, at least at Christmas.

After dinner last evening, my confusion was finally put to rest. Dennis Cope, native of London, brought over a box of Christmas crackers, sent by his brother. They are actually low voltage which contain tiny amounts of explosive. They open with a loud pop, offering crowns and small toys-- kind of like a pinata. Inside my cracker was a shoe horn. Zhao got a silver yo-yo.

We were lucky to have these Christmas crackers from England. While their explosive force of was not enough frighten the cats, no one would want explosives on a plane or travelling through the mail these days, whatever the amount. Marie Cope said she'd seen them at Bath and Body Works, so apparently you can get them over here. They're lots of fun.