At the Telegraph, Dalrymple compares Christmas celebrations in France and Britain. This article probably had more resonance during the actual holidays. Perhaps we should start posting these on time? Tant pis.

By the way, the French do not come out ahead in all things, as you might expect:

My impression is that the French are more inclined to speak to one another than the British, but this is not necessarily an advantage. One surprising thing about the French is that they do not speak in the Pensées of Pascal or the Maximes of La Rochefoucauld, but in the banalities of reality TV. Since I prefer silence to banality I would, on the whole, rather be in Yorkshire.