Whether it’s breaking out into an impromptu karaoke rendition of “All I Want For Christmas Is You” or baking cookies with your grandparents, there are certain Christmas rituals that people do every year to ensure that our holidays will be as great as we want them to be. After all, these moments are what makes this season “the most wonderful time of the year.” The United States are not the only country to have holiday traditions, however. Here are some other nations who are all about celebrating the Christmas spirit.
Australia:
In Australia, Christmas comes at the beginning of the of the summer holidays. Children have their summer holidays from December to early February, so some of them are camping and surfing at Christmas. Australians hang wreaths on their front doors and sometimes go out on Christmas Eve to sing carols. People also decorate their houses with Christmas lights. Neighbors have competitions to see who has the better lights. One house in Sydney raises over $35, 000 (AUS) for charity with its light display. When Santa gets to Australia, he gives the reindeer a rest and uses kangaroos or “six white boomers,” a popular Australian Christmas song. He also changes his clothes for less warm ones. On Christmas day, Australians eat their feast at lunchtime. They eat a barbecue with seafood such as prawns and lobsters along with the traditional English food that we all love.
Italy:
In Italy, the Christmas season lasts for 3 weeks. It lasts from December 17th to January 6th. During this wonderful time, children go from home to home reciting Christmas poems and singing. Children wait until January 6th, Epiphany, to open their presents. That’s a big departure from the December 25th gift-opening celebration that has been synonymous with American culture. Presents are delivered by La Befana, a kind but ugly witch who rides on a broomstick. Panettone, a traditional cake filled with candied fruit, is one of the popular Italian foods eaten during the holiday season. Nativity scenes also originated in Italy. The first one was created in 1223 by St. Francis of Assisi in Greccio in an attempt to place the emphasis of worshiping Christ at Christmas instead of secular materialism and gift-giving. Christmas Day is reserved for church, family, and feasting. Shepherds come into each town at the end of the day, going from house to house playing bagpipes and singing carols.
China:
Christmas in China is treated a lot differently than in other countries around the world. The last holiday of the year is treated like a lighthearted day of going out with family and friends, not staying home like we do in the West. Typical ways of going out are seeing a movie or going to a karaoke bar. Young couples treat this holiday as a romantic one, with ice skating rinks and amusement parks as popular destinations. Paper lanterns are decorated around the house, along with a Tree of Light, which is usually adorned with paper chains and paper flowers. These trees are usually artificial. Children fill their stockings with small presents and anxiously await for Dun Che Lao Ren, or Christmas Old Man to visit. Local festivals such as Hong Kong’s Ta Chiu festival are held all throughout China. They may not be directly associated with Christmas. Christmas Mass is still important to the small Catholic population of the Chinese. For those who don’t celebrate Mass, many prepare for Chinese New Year, officially called the Spring Festival, which celebrates the beginning of the new Chinese calendar year. During the holidays, the Chinese believe it’s appropriate to honor their ancestors and family. They hang up portraits of relatives of previous and present generations to honor and remember them. The Chinese display bowls of oranges and tangerines, which symbolize wealth and good fortune.
France:
In many parts of northern and eastern France, Christmas celebrations begin on the 6th of December, Saint Nicholas’s Day. The celebrations take place because a long time ago, there were three children who got captured by an evil butcher. Luckily, Saint Nicholas rescued them and sent them to their parents. Saint Nicholas, better known as Santa Claus, is also the protector of children, which is why kids gravitate toward the jolly old man with the big white big beard in order for their Christmas to be wonderful. On December 5th, the eve before Saint Nicholas’ Day, children place their shoes in front of the fireplace and sing traditional songs to the saint before going to bed. They believe that he rides on a donkey carrying treats and gifts for the children. On the morning of December 6th, children awake to find their stockings filled with treats and gifts. Naughty kids arise to find a bundle of twigs tied with ribbon. Most children receive the twigs along with their presents to symbolize any time they were naughty throughout the year. Le Reveillon de Noel is Christmas Eve dinner. At around midnight, French families eat a special meal to celebrate the beginning of Christmas Day. Christmas dinners often include seafood, oysters, lobster, snails, smoked salmon, caviar, duck or goose, turkey, green beans, and cheese. For dessert a buttercream log called La Buche de Noel is eaten.
