CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS AROUND THE WORLD
So, here we are – it’s that time of year again! You can certainly feel (and see) the hustle and bustle of Christmas everywhere and of course everyone is extra busy!
We all have our own special traditions at Christmas and every family celebrates Christmas in their own unique way. The same can be said for Christmas celebrations around the world as each country marks its’ own centuries old traditions that are enjoyed year in, year out and these customs are passed on from generation to generation.
Here are some of those Christmas traditions taken from around the world – some you may be familiar with, others perhaps not! It is always interesting to see what everyone else is up to out there while here in the UK we enjoy our roast turkey lunch with all the trimmings – or does your family eat something different?!
Australian Style Christmas:
Australian celebratory traditions are similar to those in the UK, however, it is the start of their Summer so of course these are adapted accordingly! So, Christmas Day is usually spent down on the beach with family & friends and lunch is served ‘al fresco’ in the back yard! Australian Christmas food includes plenty of seafood, although many do actually cook a turkey and ham, but it is served cold.
Children believe in Santa Claus and presents are left under the tree on Christmas Eve. Instead of the usual reindeer, one popular Australian song says that six white ‘boomers’, which are large kangaroos, pull Santa’s sleigh!
On Christmas Eve, there is the also the annual tradition of Carols by Candlelight. This was popularised in the city of Melbourne in 1938 and today, crowds still gather in parks and outdoor venues to listen to carols. One of the largest carols by candlelight events still takes place in Melbourne and is broadcast throughout Australia.
Indian Style Christmas…
Although the majority of Indians are Hindu, millions of people still celebrate Christmas all across India and they call it Bada Din, meaning Big Day.
The Christian population in India is of course relatively small – approximately 2.3% of the nation – however, as the population of the country is over a billion people, that means that there are still approximately 25 million Christians living in India and celebrating Christmas!
One of their special traditions is attending Midnight Mass with family and friends. Churches are typically decorated with poinsettia flowers and candles for this important service in the calendar year. After the service, there is a feast of a variety of traditional foods – often biryanis (dishes made with rice and meat) will be served and also this is the time when gifts are exchanged.
Some Indian families will display a small clay oil-burning lamp which is symbolic of showing that Jesus is the ‘light of the world.’ Homes are traditionally decorated with banana or mango leaves – mango leaves being particularly important as the mango tree is considered ‘sacred’ and its’ leaves are used as decoration on many special occasions.
Christmas preparations start early in India! In November work begins on cleaning their homes in readiness for guests and making a traditional cake or a sweet rice pudding called kheer that will be shared with family and friends – all very similar to preparations in the UK with Christmas puddings and cakes made well in advance too!
In recent years, some elements of the celebration of Christmas has been adopted by some non-Christian communities in India to include the more secular traditions of giving and receiving presents and the appearance of Santa Claus – although the Indian Santa delivers presents to children from a horse-drawn cart.
Because there are many different languages spoken in India, Father Christmas can be known as: ‘Christmas Baba’ (Hindi), ‘Baba Christmas’ (Urdu), ‘Christmas Taathaa’ (Tamil ) and ‘Christmas Thatha’ (in Telugu & literally meaning Christmas Old Man), ‘Natal Bua’ (in Marathi & meaning Christmas Elder Man)and finally ‘Christmas Papa’ (Kerala).
Denmark Style Christmas…
In Denmark many people go to a church service on Christmas Eve around 4pm to hear the Christmas story. Denmark has a lovely old tradition of giving animals a treat on Christmas Eve, so some people go for a walk in the park or the woods in order to take food to feed the wild birds and animals.
They serve the main festive meal at dinner on Christmas Eve usually between 6 and 8pm. Popular foods for a traditional meal are roast duck, goose or pork served with boiled and sweet potatoes, red cabbage, beetroot and cranberry jam/sauce.
For the festive pudding, most families will have a ‘ris á la mande’. This is a special kind of rice pudding, made of milk, rice, vanilla, almonds and whipped cream. Dropped into the pudding is one whole almond, while the rest of the almonds are chopped into pieces. The person who is lucky enough to find the whole almond is given a present called a ‘Mandelgave’ which means ‘almond present’. Traditionally the little present was a marzipan pig now it is usually sweets or a little toy.
After the meal the lights on the Christmas tree are lit and people might gather around the tree to sing carols together. Presents in Denmark are also opened on Christmas Eve and
on Christmas day itself, people meet with their family & friends to share a big lunch together which consists of Danish open sandwiches on rye-bread.
Portugal Style Christmas…
In Portugal, Father Christmas (‘Pai Natal’) is believed to bring presents to children on Christmas Eve and they are left under the Christmas tree or in shoes left by the fireplace. Some people say that the presents are brought by the Baby Jesus rather than Father Christmas.
Similar to Spain, the traditional Christmas meal in Portugal, called ‘Consoada’, is eaten during the evening of Christmas Eve and consists of codfish with green vegetables and boiled potatoes. This is usually followed by shellfish, wild meats and other expensive foods/delicacies.
After the meal on Christmas Eve people go to church for the ‘Missa do Galo’ or ‘Mass of the Rooster’ service. During the service an image of baby Jesus is brought out and the congregation queues up to kiss it. The image is then put into the nativity scene (the presépio). After the service people return home to open their presents.
Before they leave home for the church service, parents will secretly place the baby Jesus in the nativity scene in their houses and put gifts under the Christmas tree so that Jesus will ‘miraculously’ be in his manger when the family returns home. Once home, children run to check the nativity scene to make sure baby Jesus has arrived as no baby Jesus means no presents!
To everyone, whatever your special traditions and celebrations, we would like to wish you very happy, peaceful and joyful festivities!
