The Christmas cracker is an integral part of British Christmas celebrations. It consists of a cardboard tube wrapped in a brightly decorated twist of paper (making it resemble an oversized sweet-wrapper). The cracker is pulled by two people, and, much in the manner of a wishbone, the cracker splits unevenly. The split is accompanied by a small bang (produced by the effect of friction on a chemically impregnated card strip). The person with the larger portion of cracker empties the contents from the tube and keeps them. Typically these contents are a coloured paper hat, a small toy, and a motto, joke or trivia on a scrap of paper. Crackers are often pulled after Christmas dinner or at parties. Assembled crackers are typically sold in boxes of three to twelve. These typically have different designs usually with red, green and gold colours. Making crackers from scratch using the tubes from used toilet rolls and tissue paper is a common activity for children. Crackers were invented by London confectioner Tom Smith, in 1847, as a development of his bon bon sweets, which he sold in a twist of paper (the origins of the traditional sweet-wrapper). As sales of bon bons slumped, Smith began to come up with new promotional ideas. His first tactic was to insert mottos into the wrappers of the sweets (cf. Fortune cookies), but this had only limited success. He was inspired to add the "crackle" element when he heard the crackle of a log he'd just put on the fire. The size of the bon bon had to be increased to incorporate the banger mechanism, and the sweet itself was eventually dropped, to be replaced by a small gift. The new product was initially marketed as the Cosaque, but the onomatopoeic "cracker" soon became the commonly used name, as rival varieties were introduced to the market. It is a standing joke that all the jokes and mottos in crackers are unfunny and unmemorable. Similarly in most standard commercial products, the gift is equally awful. | The Christmas cracker is an integral part of British Christmas celebrations. | Il ‘petardo’ di Natale o cracker (pronuncia: krækë) è un elemento imprescindibile delle celebrazioni natalizie britanniche. |
It consists of a cardboard tube wrapped in a brightly decorated twist of paper (making it resemble an oversized sweet-wrapper). | Consiste in un tubo di cartone avvolto in una carta decorata a colori brillanti (che lo fa assomigliare ad un grande involucro per caramella). |
The cracker is pulled by two people, and, much in the manner of a wishbone, the cracker splits unevenly. | Il cracker viene "tirato" da due persone e, in modo molto simile all’osso di pollo a forcella, si spacca in due parti disuguali. |
The split is accompanied by a small bang (produced by the effect of friction on a chemically impregnated card strip). | La rottura è accompagnata da un piccolo botto (prodotto dall’effetto della frizione su una linguetta di cartoncino impregnata di una sostanza chimica). |
The person with the larger portion of cracker empties the contents from the tube and keeps them. | La persona con il pezzo di cracker più lungo svuota il contenuto del tubo e se lo tiene. |
Typically these contents are a coloured paper hat, a small toy, and a motto, joke or trivia on a scrap of paper. | I contenuti tipici del cracker sono un cappello di carta colorata, un piccolo giocattolo e una massima, una barzelletta o una curiosità [scritte] su un pezzetto di carta. |
Crackers are often pulled after Christmas dinner or at parties. | I cracker vengono spesso "tirati" dopo il pranzo di Natale o durante le feste. |
Assembled crackers are typically sold in boxes of three to twelve. | I cracker confezionati sono venduti solitamente in scatole da tre a dodici pezzi. |
These typically have different designs usually with red, green and gold colours. | Le scatole hanno di solito varie decorazioni, generalmente nei colori rosso, verde e oro. |
Making crackers from scratch using the tubes from used toilet rolls and tissue paper is a common activity for children. | La costruzione di cracker a partire da zero utilizzando i tubi dei rotoli usati di carta igienica e della carta da regalo è un’attività diffusa fra i bambini. |
Crackers were invented by London confectioner Tom Smith, in 1847, as a development of his bon bon sweets, which he sold in a twist of paper (the origins of the traditional sweet-wrapper). | I cracker furono inventati nel 1847 da Tom Smith, un pasticcere londinese come evoluzione delle sue caramelle oblunghe che vendeva avvolte in un involucro di carta ritorta (le origini dei tradizionali involucri di carta per caramelle). |
As sales of bon bons slumped, Smith began to come up with new promotional ideas. | Poiché la vendita dei bon bons era crollata, Smith incominciò ad avere delle nuove idee promozionali. |
His first tactic was to insert mottos into the wrappers of the sweets (cf. Fortune cookies), but this had only limited success. | La sua prima tattica fu quella di inserire delle massime negli involucri delle caramelle (vedi biscotti della fortuna), ma questa novità ebbe un successo abbastanza limitato. |
He was inspired to add the "crackle" element when he heard the crackle of a log he'd just put on the fire. | Egli fu ispirato ad aggiungere l’elemento ‘schioppettante’ quando sentì il crepitio di un pezzo di legna che aveva appena messo nel fuoco. |
The size of the bon bon had to be increased to incorporate the banger mechanism, and the sweet itself was eventually dropped, to be replaced by a small gift. | Le dimensioni del bon bon oblungo dovettero essere aumentate per incorporare il meccanismo del mortaretto e la caramella stessa venne alla fine abbandonata per essere sostituita da un piccolo regalo. |
The new product was initially marketed as the Cosaque, but the onomatopoeic "cracker" soon became the commonly used name, as rival varieties were introduced to the market. | Il nuovo prodotto fu inizialmente commercializzato come "il Cosacco" ma la parola onomatopeica cracker divenne ben presto il nome più comunemente usato anche a seguito dell'introduzione sul mercato di prodotti concorrenti. |
It is a standing joke that all the jokes and mottos in crackers are unfunny and unmemorable. | È una battuta scontata quella secondo cui tutte le barzellette e le massime contenute nei cracker sono poco divertenti e tutt'altro che memorabili. |
Similarly in most standard commercial products, the gift is equally awful. | Analogamente, nella maggior parte dei prodotti commerciali standard il regalo [offerto] è altrettanto orribile. |