Celebrating Christmas Around the World
Taking a Look at Christmas Traditions Across the Globe
Dec 16, 2008
Christmas is called Noel in France. The word "noel" may come from "les bonnes nouvelles", meaning "the good news." In France children put their shoes in front of the fireplace so Pere Noel can fill them with gifts. Adults exchange gifts on New Year's Day.
In Spain Navidad is a season that lasts nearly a month, beginning December 8th with the feast of the Immaculate Conception. Festive aspects include special dances, bonfires and a Christmas dinner. On Epiphany Eve children fill their shoes with grass, straw or grain for the camels of the Wise Men and place them on the doorstep. On the morning of Epiphany (Three Kings Day) the children find the gifts left by the Wise Men. The Christmas lottery in Spain is the largest in the world. The winning numbers are sung by orphan schoolchildren on December 22.
In Sweden the Christmas season begins with St. Lucia's Day on December 13. "Lucia" is Latin for "light", and the "festival of lights." Swedish girls dress in bridal white to honor Saint Lucia.
Italy, like Spain, emphasizes Nativity scenes and religious aspects of the season in its Christmas observances. Epiphany is the day for gifts, but the gifts are left by an elderly woman (La Befana). Children write letters to La Befana requesting toys. In Russia Babouschka is the name of the elderly woman who leaves gifts for children. Christmas dinner is a meatless meal eaten on January 6th following a period of fasting.
In Egypt Christmas is preceded by a 43-day Advent fasting period which prohibits eating between midnight and 3pm. Meals are vegetarian or fish. Advent ends at Midnight Mass at Christmas.
In Latin America Nativity scenes rather than Christmas trees are the decorative centerpiece of Navidad.
In Chile Old Man Christmas climbs through open summer windows with his bag of toys. In Brazil Papai Noel arrives in a helicopter at a large soccer stadium in Rio wearing a fir-trimmed red suit. In Mexico children break cardboard or paper mache piñatas. In Guatemala Midnight Mass is followed by a Christmas dinner featuring tamales, and the occasion is marked by firecrackers.
People in the British West Indies have a Christmas celebration called Jonkonna, which is a combination of English mumming and African traditions. The festival involves elaborate costumes, music, dancing and mumming.
Christmas in Australia & New Zealand is celebrated with beach parties & outdoor barbecues -- along with caroling and other religious observances. The Christmas tree in New Zealand is the Pohutukawa, which has brilliant red flowers prior to Christmas.
Christmas is a national secular holiday in India, where the Hindus & Muslims celebrate in the secular traditions. Poinsettias & tropical plants are used for decoration and mango & banana trees receive Christmas ornaments. In the South clay oil lamps are lit on roofs and the tops of walls in the evening.
In Zimbabwe Kisimusi church services feature feasts & the singing of gospel songs. Fathers give gifts to wives & children, usually clothes & candy. Wearing new clothes to church on Christmas day is a common tradition among African Christians.
Eid (Eid Ul Fitr) is a time of feasting, celebration and gift-giving that is sometimes taken as an Islamic equivalent of Christmas. The date of the holiday is not constant on the Gregorian calendar because it is celebrated on the first three days following the ninth Islamic month.
Bethlehem is five miles south of Jerusalem. The Church of the Nativity is built on the site where Jesus was reputedly born. A cave underneath the church (the "Grotto of the Nativity") has a large silver star on the floor marking the spot where Mary was said to have given birth. The Grotto is shared by the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Armenian Church, which celebrate the Nativity on December 24, January 7 and January 18.
