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 Carole P. Roman cultural books series  Walk this World at Christmastime  Christmas Around the World  A World of Cookies for Santa  Where Would Santa Go?  Winter Holidays Around the World  Stories Behind the Great Traditions of Christmas

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One Christmas season, as a radio announcer was listening to Christmas carols, he glanced up and saw an old lady with a candle in her hand listening to the music. This gave him the idea of “Carols by Candlelight.” The same day, he visited a crippled children’s hospital in Melbourne. He wondered what could be done to cheer up the young patients when he remembered the old lady. He started the carols being sung in the Alexander Gardens, and Carols by Candlelight became accepted all over Australia.

Depending on where you are, it is Father Christmas or Santa Claus who brings the gifts. While Christmas Dinner is much the same as in the USA, supper is likely to be spent at a picnic on the beach, as Christmas comes in the middle of summer. Ferns, flowers, Christmas bells, and the Christmas bush are used to decorate homes.

Belgium

In Belgium, St. Nicholas makes two visits, one on December 4, to see if the children have been good, and one on December 6 (St. Nicholas Day feast) to bring gifts. Children leave hay, water, and carrots near the door for St. Nicholas’ horse. When they awake on December 6, they know that St. Nicholas has visited during the night because their rooms are in disorder.

December 21 is the Feast of St. Thomas, and a day for mischief. Children lock their teachers out of school and don’t let them back in until they treat them. The legs of a hen and a rooster are tied together, and the children scramble to

Christmas is a holy day in Belgium. The children lead the parade carrying religious symbols decorated with streamers. One of the boys is dressed at St. John the Baptist. He leads a white lamb and carries a crucifix. They are greeted in the village with music and song.

Canada

Canadians celebrate Christmas in many ways, however the most popular way is that about two weeks before Christmas, they get their trees and generally have them decorated about a week before Christmas. On Christmas Eve, it is customary for children to go to bed and talk excitedly about getting up just after midnight to see the wondrous gifts Santa Claus brought them. On Christmas Day, the children get up early. The parents are generally awakened early so the children can open their gifts. The day is spent at home with friends and family dropping in.

The Christmas feast is usually roast turkey or ham with cranberry sauce. Candies, nuts, and fruits are plentiful.

China

In China, Christmas is called Sheng Dan Jieh (Holy Birth Festival). The Christmas tree is call the tree of light. Decorations are made of colored paper, and evergreens are used to decorate the homes.

Children hang up stockings and expect Lan Khoong Khoong (nice old father) to fill them. In some areas, Santa Claus is known as Dun Che Lao Ren (Christmas old man). Gifts are exchanged on Christmas day. Silks, jewels, and other valuable gifts are given (only to family members). A great feast is prepared and eaten amid music and songs on Christmas Day.

Czechoslovakia

Christmas in Czechoslovakia begins with Svaty Mikalas Day on December 6. It is believed that St. Nicholas, along with an angel and a devil, come from heaven on a golden bird bringing gifts. The angel is dressed in white, the devil (called Cert) is dressed in black and carries a whip and a chain to find the bad children.

December 24, 25, and 26 are the holidays of the winter season. These are days of great feasts, the candles on the Christmas tree are lighted, and the gifts are given out to the family gathered around the tree.

Bones from the meat eaten on Christmas are buried under the fruit trees to assure a plentiful harvest. Food eaten on Christmas are calta (bread), carp, and cuba (pudding made from barley, milk, and mushrooms). This meal is finished by eating fruit stew (masica) on a piece of calta. The children spend the day after Christmas (St. Stephen’s) singing carols to the neighbors who in turn give them pennies for their songs.

The Christmas festival takes place o n December 24. On this night, all of the church bells chime, people have a big dinner, a ceremony around the Christmas tree, and they sing hymns and carols in their candlelit churches.

Danish people, young and old, love ‘nisser,’ who are tricky little Christmas elves. They are much smaller than Santa Claus and live in country homes where they hide in the hayloft. ‘Nissen’ is said to keep company with the family cat, reminding people to put milk out for it and all of the smaller ‘nisser,’ or helpers of Santa Claus distributing Christmas gifts to families.

Traditionally, the Christmas dinner starts with roast goose stuffed with fruit, red cabbage, and browned potatoes. This is followed by rice porridge sprinkled with cinnamon. After this festive dinner, the father and mother light the candles on the Christmas tree, and all the family members join hands and sing Danish Christmas songs around the tree. The gifts are given out, starting with the youngest child. During the Christmas season, a lighted candle is placed in every window to tell travelers that they are welcome within. Birds and animals are given special feedings on Christmas Eve in memory of the first Christmas.

England

An English Christmas starts on December 25 and continues for 12 days. Carol singers travel from door to door, singing for householders and receiving small mine pies and coins. The homes and stores are very

(c) 2020 HomeschoolOnTheRange.blogspot.com beautifully decorated with holly and mistletoe. Stockings are hung by the fireside, for it was once said that St. Nicholas accidentally dropped some gold coins into a pair of stockings drying by the fire. St. Nicholas is also known as Father Christmas to English children. Children write letters to St. Nicholas weeks before and leave them in the fireplace.

Christmas dinner usually features turkey with chestnut stuffing, brussel sprouts, and cauliflower. The most important part of the meal is plum pudding, which is made from various dried fruits and nuts. Many hours go into the preparation of this pudding, which is sometimes made months before Christmas.

Gifts are exchanged in the afternoon. After the Christmas, meal, friends and relatives visit each other and share Christmas cheer. Boxing Day, the day after Christmas, got its name from boxes of food and gifts given to the servants on this day.

Ethiopia

Christianity was introduced in 330 AD, and Christmas is very different here from the celebration that we know. Christmas falls on the 17th of January, and centers around the church. Most of the churches are very old and often situation square with a court surrounding them.

Lailibela is the ‘Jerusalem of Ethiopia.’ On Christmas, thousands of pilgrims go to the cities from all parts of the country. Christmas Eve is spent on the hills praying and waiting for the dawn of Christmas Day. The Christmas Procession consists of thousands of nuns, monks, and priests chanting. The Ark, which is covered with gold and precious gems, is carried by four men. The pilgrims are given bread and meat which has been blessed. The rest of Christmas day is spent dancing, feasting, and sporting.

About a week before Christmas, each French family builds a crèche (the stable where Christ was born). In the crèche are the manger, Mary, Jospeh, the shepherds, angels, and farm animals. This is placed on the fireplace or another special place in the main room. On Christmas Eve, candles are lit around the crèche. At the same time, a Yule log is lighted in the fireplace. The Yule log is very carefully chosen days before and soaked with wine to make it burn brightly. The family says prayers around the fire and sings songs.

Children place their shoes before the fire, and in the morning find a small present in them, placed there by Le Pere Noel or Petit Jesus. The older members of the family go to Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. After returning home from mass, the parents place the tiny figure of the Christ Child in the crèche. There is a midnight feast called Reveillon later. The Christmas dinner is eaten around noon the next day. The table is decorated, and a large stuffed goose is eaten, followed by a dessert called Buche de Noel (a filled cake in the shape of a Yule log).

Germany

Christmas gets underway with the hanging of green wreath, each containing four candles, one for each week of Advent (the four weeks before Christmas). It is said that a missionary named Boniface, upon returning to Germany, found a chieftain’s son was to be sacrificed to the gods on Christmas Eve. The sacrifice was to take place under a giant oak tree. Boniface chopped down the tree. The people then turned to Boniface to be their religious leader. He

(c) 2020 HomeschoolOnTheRange.blogspot.com pointed to an evergreen tree and said, ‘Not a drop of blood shall fall tonight, for this is the birth night of Saint Christ, son of the All Father, and savior of the world. This little tree, a young child of the forest, shall be home tonight. It is the wood of peace, for your homes are built of fir. It is a sign of endless life, for the branches are evergreen. See how it points toward heaven! Let this be called the tree of the Christ child; gather about it, not in the wild woods, but in your homes, there it will shelter no deeds of blood, but loving gifts and lights of kindness.”

The wood of the oak tree was built into a little church, and the fir tree decorated the chieftain’s home that Christmas. Today, the Christmas trees are decorated with ornaments and fruit. Gifts are placed beneath them by St. Nicholas. A fat goose stuffed with an apple is often eaten at Christmas.

Holland

In medieval times, a legend was born about two bishops. The first was Nicholas of Myra, of the fourth century. The second was Nicholas of Penora, who lived in the seventh century. These bishops were so outstanding that their deeds merged them into the legendary St. Nicholas. During the middle ages, the Dutch called the devil “The Black Man or “Black Peter.” The legend built up that at the birth of St. Nicholas, he chained Black Peter and used him as his servant.

Today, Black Peter is an impish jolly joker who helps Sinterklaas (St. Nicholas) deliver gifts to good children. Children put out their shoes, filled with hay or sugar for Sinterklaas’ white horse on December 5, which is St. Nicholas Eve. In the morning, the hay or sugar is replaced by presents. Sinterklaas rides his white horse up and down the streets with Black Peter beside him.

It is said that St. Patrick brought Christmas to Ireland. Most Irish homes display holly wreaths in the windows, along with a lighted candle. The candle is a symbol of welcome to Mary and Joseph. It is usually the youngest girl, often named Mary, who lights the candle. It is customary to set the kitchen table after supper on Christmas Eve with milk, fruit, bread, and a large candle. The door is left unlocked for the Holy Family or any traveler who may be hungry.

In many villages, church bells toll from eleven until midnight on Christmas Eve. This practice is known as the Devil’s Funeral, for it was thought that the devil dies when Christ was born. Round cakes filled with caraway seeds are baked for every member of the family, and the one whose cake broke in baking or handling was supposed to have bad luck. Fruit cakes and mince pies in the shape of cradles and candles are common at Christmas. On December 26, or St. Stephen’s Day, small boys go from house to house singing and dancing for pennies to buy candies or to have a party.

Italy

Christmas in Italy is the warmest and happiest of all Holy Days. It is celebrated by much feasting and singing. Minstrels (Pifferari) play their music and stop to pray before shrines of the Madonna. There are different prayers for each of the nine days before Christmas. These are played and recited by the minstrels. All of the stores in the towns and cities decorate their windows for Christmas. Some carve

(c) 2020 HomeschoolOnTheRange.blogspot.com cradles from butter, and cakes are more beautiful than any other time of the year. Special breads such as pan dolci, panettone, and panforte are displayed for Christmas, along with fruits, candies, and nuts.

In the homes, each family builds a cradle for the mantle. The children hang their stockings and receive a gift of toys and candy or, if they are bad, a stick or a piece of coal. The gifts are brought by an old woman called Befana. The legend says that she was an old lady who didn’t want to help the Wise Men find their way to Bethlehem. After having refused to help them, she was sorry, and for the rest of time, she gives gifts to good children at Christmas, and to bad children, nothing but a stick of a piece of coal.

Mexico

In Mexico, the Christmas festival starts on December 16, or the first day of Posadas. Each family relives the story of the Christ Child by building a cradle and using small clay figures to represent Joseph, Mary, and the Wise Men. Singers go through the streets, led by two children playing the parts of Joseph and Mary. They go from house to house asking for lodging as Joseph and Mary did so long ago. Each household turns them away for the nine days of Posadas, until on Christmas Eve, they are given shelter in a stable.

At midnight, a figure of the Christ Child is placed in the cradle in front of the altar. All the people of the town light candles and parade into the darkened church to put flowers and candles around the cradle. Midnight Mass is then said. During the Posada, there are many piñata parties for children. A piñata is a big clay jar filled with candies and toys and then covered with paper in the shape of an animal. It is hung from the roof on the patio, and the children are

(c) 2020 HomeschoolOnTheRange.blogspot.com blindfolded and try to break the piñata with sticks. When it is broken, they all share the toys and candies. These are the only gifts the children receive until January 6, when the three kings visit as they did for the Christ Child long ago.

Poland

Christmas is a very holy holiday in Poland. The first star on Christmas Eve marks the beginning of Christmas. Small white wafers (oplatki) are blessed by the priest and eaten to represent peace and friendship. After supper, the village priest, dressed as the Star Man, comes to hear the children’s prayers. If they are correct, the little ones are rewarded with gifts from the Wise Men. On December 6, St. Nicholas brings gifts for the children.

Throughout Poland, the Joselki (manger) is often seen at Christmas. Traveling actors act out the story of the First Christmas in the villages. Sheaves of whet decorate the rooms and are later scattered around the fruit trees in the hope that the harvest will be good. A layer of straw is placed under the tablecloth and under the table to represent the First Christmas.

All foods eaten on Christmas must be blessed by the priest. At each family table, there is a vacant chair for the Christ Child, who is believed to be there in spirit. Pasterka, the Mass of the Shepherds, is heard by the family at midnight on Christmas Eve.

Following the Christmas Eve meal in Russia, the family dresses in costumes representing bears, goats, and the stable animals at Bethlehem, and parades in the village streets singing Christmas carols known as Kolyadki. Children are told that Kolya (Nicholas) places wheat cakes on the windowsill on Christmas Eve for them to eat on Christmas Day. A maiden dressed in white, known as Kolyadki, goes by sled from house to house on Christmas Eve. Children who sing carols for her receive gifts. Christmas dinner is called the Feast of Nicholas, as Nicholas of Myra is the patron saint of Russia.

Many customs are observed in Russia on Christmas. Some people eat honey and porridge. Each dish is supposed to represent the Holy crib. First, the porridge is placed in the dish (straw in the manger), then honey and fruit (fruit for body, honey for spirit) to symbolize the Holy Babe at the first Christmas. Five piles of grain are put on the kitchen floor. Each pile represents future happenings such as hope, rings, charcoals, money, or thread. A hen is brought in and placed on the floor. Whichever pile she chooses tells the future. Hope is a long journey, rings are a marriage, charcoal is death, money is wealth, and thread is for a long life of hard work.

Christmas Eve is known as Noche-buena, or the Good Night, which ushers in the birth of Christ. Manger scenes (nacimientos) are set up in the best room of each house. Christmas Day is a day for the family, just as it was the day for the Holy Family. Foods such as almond soup, tuffled turkey, and chestnuts are served to visiting relatives. In Spain, Christmas brings out the vendors of turron (a tyupe of almond candy), which is sold door to door.

Midnight Mass is said in the great cathedrals as well as the country churches. People travel many miles for the service. Christmas Day is devoted to feasting, the exchange of gifts, and greetings. The traditional rite of the Urn of Fate is practiced. All of the gifts are placed in a large bowl and drawn out, with much merriment.

It is said that the Wise Men travel through Spain on their way to Bethlehem each year. To greet them, the children fill their shoes with straw before bed on Epiphany Eve (January 6) and find presents in them in the morning. It is customary to try and meet the Magi on Epiphany. All go to the edge of town carrying food for the kings and their animals. Parents carry noisemakers to greet the caravan. The Magi always come by a different road. At the village church, people find Gaspar, Melchoir, and Balthazar, who they present with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Christmas is Sweden’s biggest festival. It starts on St. Lucia Day, which is December 13th. St. Lucia was, according to legend, a religious girl who lost her eyes, only to be given new and more beautiful eyes by God. All over Sweden, young girls dress as St. Lucia and go from door to door singing. Also it is customary to have the prettiest girl crowned St. Lucia in each town, village, or city. After St. Lucia Day, Christmas preparations officially start. Many of the decorations are made from straw. The Christmas presents are called julklapp.

Christmas Eve is the highlight of the holiday season. It starts with the Christmas meal of ham, lutfish, and rice pudding. Lutfish is usually only eaten during Christmas, and the rice pudding has one almond in it. Whoever finds it is supposed to have a lucky year. The Christmas tree has presents under it. When all the presents are given out, everyone joins hands, dancing and singing around the tree. The special Christmas church service is called julotta.