Christmas Traditions around the world

AJ Casaus

Many people around the world have different holiday tradition during December.  Many Christians and non Christians celebrate Christmas.  I personally love Christmas, it is a magical time of the year where everyone can come together and bring joy to one another.  I like to break out a Christmas tree, Christmas decorations all around the house and make holiday cookies.  I was curious to see how these traditions differ from different cultures. Here’s a handful of interesting ones I have found.

Christmas cards can be traced back to England. A man named John Horsley helped to popularize sending Christmas greeting cards when he began producing small cards Newly efficient in England and the United States made the cards nearly overnight sensations. At about the same time, similar cards were being made, the first American card maker, in Albany, New York, and Louis Prang, and many other independent artists around the world after that. Now Christmas Cards are an essential tradition to England

New Zealand celebrates Christmas during their summer.  A number of their traditions center around a barbie, or grill, where families and friends gather for a casual cookout of fresh seafood, meat, and seasonal vegetables. During sunny days they sing Christmas carols before Christmas time comes.  A fun tradition in Switzerland, I found that they make their own advent calendars. They give each child an advent calendar. Every day of December they  open a door for a surprise  treat or for a fun activity. Each day’s bag reveals a new bag with the biggest gift is on Christmas Eve.  While doing my research, I didn’t find that it is much different from the United States, as many Christians participate in advent calendars as well.

In Norway the Christmas season is called julebord and begins on December 3rd.  Local bars and restaurants and stores are very busy throughout the month. Families celebrate Little Christmas on Dec. 23 , each have their own ritual for the day that may include decorating the tree, making a gingerbread house, and eating risengrynsgrøt ,which is a rice pudding

One Last interesting perspective that I see is Christmas in Brazil. On Christmas Eve, they eat dinner as late as 10 p.m. Then at midnight they exchanged gifts, make toasts, and good wishes are exchanged. This a chance to meet up with neighbors and extended family to wish them well for the holiday season. This tradition is similar  to ours, however more social. Celebrating with other families is a wonderful way to spread Christmas cheer.

 

Sources:

History.com Editors. “Christmas Traditions Worldwide.” HISTORY, 10 June 2019, www.history.com/topics/christmas/christmas-traditions-worldwide.

Image:

https://www.whychristmas.com/cultures/uk