Christmas
Customs Around The World
December is well-known for
Christmas but do you know how people in countries around the
world celebrate it? Here are some customs from various parts
of the world.
Australia
Greeting - Merry Christmas
Santa's Name - Santa Claus. Children leave him a piece of cake
or biscuits and a glass of milk or a bottle of beer.
Food - Many Christmas dinners include roasted meats and
vegetables, special fruit cakes, and puddings with a coin
baked inside. Since the temperature can reach 100 degrees
Fahrenheit, people are starting to eat cold meats and salads,
tropical fruits like mangoes, and stone fruits like plums.
Often, the main meal is eaten for lunch.
Gifts - These are left under the Christmas tree and opened
Christmas morning.
Decorations - Shops and homes are decorated with tinsel,
Christmas trees, decorations for the holiday, and special
lights.
Customs - Traditional and Australian carols are sung by
candlelight on Christmas Eve and are broadcast on television.
On Boxing Day, the day after Christmas, two sporting events
take place:
The Boxing Day Test Match (cricket game) and the start of the
Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race.
Brazil
Greeting - Feliz Natal
Santa's Name - Papai Noel (Father Noel), who is dressed in a
red, silk suit with boots.
Food - Many people eat a traditional feast with roast turkey
and vegetables, while others eat chicken and rice or beans.
Beer and wine are also served. Some regions begin eating
around 9 PM on Christmas Eve, while others eat around
midnight.
Gifts - Local charities take in donations but do not seem to
have enough presents for all the children.
Decorations - Brazil has a mixture of people so Christmas is
celebrated in different ways. In the northeastern area, it is
common to find Nativity Scenes; in the southern part, snow is
simulated with little pieces of cotton on pine trees.
Customs - Brazilians sing a number of Christmas carols.
Greece
Greeting - Eftihismena
Christougenna
Food - Special holiday cakes are baked.
Gifts - Most Greek people exchange gifts on Saint Basil's Day,
January 1.
Customs - To honor Saint Basil, the holiday cakes have gold
coins hidden inside them. The cakes are cut at midnight on New
Year's Eve. Whoever has a gold coin in his piece of cake will
have good luck the following year.
Hungary
Santa's Name - Actually,
the Baby Jesus is said to bring presents on Christmas Eve. A
bell sounds signaling that the Angels have brought the tree
and gifts.
Customs - On December 5, children leave out their shoes.
During the night, Mikulas and Black Peter come to fill them
with goodies for well-behaved children and switches for
naughty children.
India
Decorations - Sometimes,
houses are decorated with mango leaves; mango or banana trees
are also decorated. Small, clay, oil-burning lamps are placed
on the edges of flat roofs as decorations.
Israel
Greeting - Chag Semeach
(Happy Chanukah)
Santa's Name - Actually, parents, grandparents, and other
family members give presents to the children.
Food - Because oil is an important part of the holiday, many
foods are prepared with it. A favorite is potato latkes
(pancakes).
Gifts - Since Chanukah lasts for eight days, children may
receive one present each night.
Decorations - Jewish stars, blue or silver foil garlands,
dreidels (spinning tops), Chanukah gelt (chocolate coins), and
pictures of the Macabees (Jewish army that recaptured the Holy
Temple and Jerusalem from the Assyrian Greek King Antiochus)
are found around the house.
Customs - The menorah (candelabra) is lit each night. On the
first night, one candle is lit; on, the second night, two
candles; and so on until all the candles are lit on the eighth
night. After lighting the candles, families eat a festive
meal, dance, play games, and open presents. They also attend
Chanukah parties.
Japan
Greeting - Kurisumasu
Omedeto
Santa's Name - Santa Kurohsu. He does not appear in person but
is pictured in advertisements as a kind old man with a round
sack on his back.
Food - Depending upon the family's custom, they eat turkey on
Christmas Day or on Christmas Eve. Japanese families also eat
Christmas cake.
Gifts - Stores sell merchandise for men, women, and children;
and on Christmas Day, families exchange gifts.
Decorations - More and more artificial Christmas trees are
beginning to appear. They are decorated with small toys, gold
paper fans, dolls, lanterns, paper ornaments, and wind chimes.
A popular ornament is the origami swan. Other decorations are
mistletoe, evergreen, tinsel, and lights. An amulet is put on
the front door for good luck and children exchange 'birds of
peace,' pledging there must not be anymore war.
Customs - The daiku, or Great Nine, refers to Beethoven's
Ninth Symphony and is performed many places.
Mexico
Greeting - Feliz Navidad
Customs - Beginning on December 15, some families carry
colorful lanterns and walk from house to house in their
neighborhoods, each night, until Christmas Eve. This is called
La Posada, which means 'the procession.' On each of the
nights, the families are invited into different houses where
they become guests at a party. There is plenty to eat and
drink. Children play the pinata game, trying to break open the
papier-mache figure with a stick while blindfolded; when it is
cracked open, candies and small gifts fall out.
Netherlands
Greeting - Hartelijke
Kerstroeten
Santa's Name - Sinterklaas (St. Nicholas), who wears a red
bishop's hat and bishop's cloak and has white hair and a white
beard. He arrives on a white horse with his servant, Black
Pete, to put small gifts in children's wooden shoes.
Food - The Dutch people eat lots of marzipan, spiced ginger
biscuits, tall chocolate letters, and 'bankletter' - initials
made of pastry and filled with almond paste. When they are
around the Christmas tree singing songs, they eat 'Kerstkrans'
- a Christmas ring.
Gifts - On December 6, after hearing a knock at their door,
children find a bag full of toys, nuts, and gifts.
Decorations - The Christmas tree is known as the Paradise
Tree. Decorations of the season include dolls, musical
instruments, fruit, candies, and lights.
Customs - The Dutch sing carols, the most popular one being
"O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree."
Sweden
Greeting - God Jul
Food - Coffee, cakes, and special buns are served on Santa
Lucia Day, December 13.
Customs - Santa Lucia Day honors Saint Lucy, who helped blind
people. The oldest daughter in each Swedish household dresses
in a white gown with a red sash, wears a crown of evergreen
with seven candles in it, awakens the family with a song, and
serves the coffee, cakes, and buns. Each town and city also
chooses a young woman to be Lucia for the day. She then serves
coffee and food to the townspeople at schools, hospitals, and
other public buildings. From these women, a national Lucia is
chosen; followed by a parade, feast, and dance.
Now that you have this
data, let your children put the information in a comparison
chart. Label the left side with the names of the countries and
the bottom with the various information (ie: Greeting, Food,
and so on). Then fill in the boxes!
Let your children do
research to find out the information I left out.
Conduct research to find
out the same customs for other countries, especially the
heritage countries of students in your class or your own
family.
However you celebrate the
holidays, have a safe, wonderful season and a Happy New Year!
I hope these ideas are
useful and inspire your own creative thinking.
And remember...Reading is
FUNdamental!
About
the Author:
Freda J. Glatt, MS, retired from teaching after a 34-year
career in Early Childhood and Elementary Education. Her focus,
now, is to reach out and help others reinforce reading
comprehension and develop a love for reading. Visit her site
at http://www.sandralreading.com.
Reading is FUNdamental!
Source:
http://www.isnare.com
Permanent Link: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=21232&ca=Culture
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