Christmas celebrations around the world

Belgium

On the sixth of December Sinterklaas or Saint-Nicholas is celebrated, which is an entirely different holiday from Christmas. Santa Claus in Belgium is called de Kerstman or le Pere Noel and he does come around on Christmas day to bring children presents.

There are different cultures in Belgium, the Northern part being Vlaanderen (speaking a Dutch dialect), the Southern part being Wallonie (speaking a French dialect) and the Eastern part speaking German.

Small family presents are given at Christmas too, under the tree, or in stockings near the fire-place, to be found in the morning. Christmas breakfast is a special sweet bread called ‘cougnou’ or ‘cougnolle’ - the shape is supposed to be like baby Jesus. Some families will have another big meal on Christmas day.

Brazil

Father Christmas is called Papai Noel. Many Christmas customs are similar to USA or UK. For those who have enough money, a special Christmas meal will be chicken, turkey, ham, rice, salad, pork, fresh and dried fruits, often with beer.

Poorer people will have chicken, rice and beans and will also drink beer and coke. For dessert people enjoy some Brazilian sweets Brigadeiro made of condensed milk and chocolate.

Both rich and poor have Christmas trees. A poor person’s Christmas tree is made of plastic or is just a dry tree branch.

As we don’t have snow in Brazil, poor people put cotton over their Christmas tree branch to simulate snow.

Christmas time varies a lot from south to north region.

France

In France, Christmas is always called ‘Noel. Everyone has a Christmas tree, sometimes decorated in the old way with red ribbons and real white wax candles. Fir trees in the garden are often decorated too, with lights on all night. Father Christmas is called Pere Noel. The Christmas meal is an important family gathering with good meat and the best wine. Few people send Christmas cards. More people send New Year cards to wish everyone good luck and joy for the New Year. These days Christmas lunch is a starter of fois gras (a strong tasting pate made from goose liver) followed by lunch of seafood - usually including lobster and oysters. Decorations in houses are minimal but British traditions are catching on here and all the big shops and town centres have Christmas decorations including trees.

Germany

Germans love to decorate their houses at Christmas. Many houses will have little wooden frames holding electric candles in their windows, and coloured pictures of paper or plastic which look beautiful from the outside at night. Often too, they will have an ‘Adventskranz’ - a wreath of leaves with four candles. (Advent - meaning ‘coming’ - is the 4 week period before Christmas). On each Sunday of Advent, another candle is lit. Most homes will also have little wooden ‘cribs’ - a small model of the stable where Jesus was born, with Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, and animals. Father Christmas - ‘Der Weihnachtsmann’ - brings presents in the late afternoon of Christmas Eve (December 24), after people have been to a church meeting. The presents are then found under the Christmas tree. One person in the family will ring a bell and call everyone to come to the room. On Christmas Day, fish (carp) or goose will be cooked.

Hungary

Susanna Denes, a Hungarian friend contributed the following: Santa Clause (Winter-grandfather) (Tel-apo or Mikulas) comes on the 6th of December. Children should clean and put their shoes outside next to the door or window before they go to sleep. Next day candies and/or small toys appear in them in red bags. For children, who don’t behave well, a golden birch placed next to the sweets, a symbol for spanking... (but don’t worry, it is just for fun, and not for actual punishment.) On December 24, children go to their relative or to the movies, because little Jesus brings the tree and the presents that evening to their house.

It is customary to hang edible things on the tree, like golden wrapped assorted chocolates and meringues beside the glass balls, candles (real or electrical), and sparklers.

Families usually cook festive dinner for that night. An example would be fresh fish usually with rice or potatoes and home made pastries as dessert. After dinner, the tree would be viewed by the children for the first time.

It was very exciting. Christmas songs are sung and then the gifts under the tree are shared.

Older children attend the midnight mass with their parents. (During communism, children had to hide at the back of the church. Teachers could have lost their jobs for attending the mass. Later (in mid 1970s) most of the Communist Party leaders of the town attended it too.) Next day the children attack the edible part of the tree. Festive food is enjoyed on the second and third day too.

Latvia

Latvians believe that Father Christmas brings presents on each of the 12 days of Christmas starting on Christmas Eve. Usually the presents are put under the family Christmas tree. (What a good idea to spread Christmas out longer!) It was in Latvia that the first Christmas tree was decorated.

The special Latvian Christmas Day meal is cooked brown peas with bacon (pork) sauce, small pies, cabbage and sausage.

New Zealand

Lou from DownUnder writes: Christmas starts for us with gifts under the tree, to be opened Christmas morning.

Then its onto a Christmas lunch either at home or at one’s parents place. Turkey or chicken with all the trimmings is eaten, then come tea time, it is a Bar-B-Q for friends and family to get-together and have a few beers or wines with the meal!! Portugal People adhere to the tradition that Father Christmas brings presents to children on Christmas Eve.

The presents are left under the Christmas tree or in shoes by the fireplace. A special Christmas meal of salted dry cod-fish with boiled potatoes is eaten at midnight on Christmas Eve.

www.soon.org.uk/country/christmas.htm