A jolly good lunch

The good thing about having friends and relatives around at this time of the year is that there is an assumption that we hold each other in special esteem and can fill our boots with fun and festive spirit without an entry into the ledger.  The wine and the food flow and as one becomes more expansive and the stories more risky it's all taken in good spirits.
In England, amongst people who are more used to being gregarious in a pub setting and to a looser audience, the interface of the personal story is lost since the characters and the places they describe have no connection with the audience. If the footage is not only personal but includes the wider family and describes the characteristics of and within a society you know, well the party knows few limits.
It's funny how parts of society are both representative of the norms within that group of people, norms which were accepted by literally all and sundry and acted out, became some sort of passport in being acknowledged as one of them. The humour and the latent support within the group was both tactile and explicit, an awareness of the affinity and support and the sense of solidarity and companionship which draws on the best most interesting part of human consciousness, and that life outside those bonds of friendship can be pretty barren
Old European societies stressed with tribal tension have a poor record when it comes to being open and receptive. Sarcasm and competition build walls around which people hide to save themselves from constant attack.  Younger societies have a more relaxed way of integrating and feel more able to carry off banter without fear of ridicule.
The fear of being misconstrued, misunderstood, even pure wrong, tags people throughout their lives and its only in the sanctity of a society which is not forever 'point scoring' can we truly be ourselves, keen to expose weaknesses without fear of recrimination.