When families gather for Christmas dinner, some will stick to formal traditions dating bac
k to Grandma’s generation. Their tables will be set with the good dishes and silver, and t
he dress code will be Sunday-best.　　But in many other homes, this china--and--silver elega
nce has given way to stoneware (粗陶)--and--stainless informality, with dresses assuming an
equally casual--Friday look. For hosts and guests, the change means greater simplicity and
comfort. For makers of fine china in Britain, it spells economic hard times.　　Last week R
oyal Doulton, the largest employer in Stoke-onTrent, announced that it is eliminating 1,00
0 jobs--one-fifth of its total workforce. That brings to more than 4,000 the number of pos
itions lost in 18 months in the pottery (陶瓷) region. Wedgwood and other pottery factories
made cuts earlier.　　Although a strong pound and weak markets in Asia play a role in the do
wnsizing, the layoffs in Stoke have their roots in earthshaking social shifts. A spokesman
for Royal Doulton admitted that the company "has been somewhat slow in catching up with t
he trend"toward casual dining. Families eat together less often, he explained, and more pe
ople eat alone, either because they are single or they eat in front of television.　　Even d
inner parties, if they happen at all, have gone causal. In a time of long work hours and d
emanding family schedules, busy hosts insist, rightly, that it’s better to share a takeout
pizza on paper plates inthe family room than to wait for the perfect moment or a "real" d
inner party. Too often, the perfect moment never comes, Iron a fine-pattened tablecloth? F
orget it. Polish the silver? Who has time?　　Yet the loss of formality has its down side. T
he fine points of etiquette(礼节) that children might once have learned at the table by obse
rvation or instruction from parents and grandparents("Chew with your mouth closed.""keep y
our elbows off the table.")must be picked up elsewhere. Some companies now offer etiquette
seminars for employees who may be competent professionally but clueless socially.