Traditions from Around the World
CBS News Slideshow of Christmas Around the World
Christmas in South Africa- Christmas in South Africa is a summer holiday. The month of December in South Africa is warm because of it's position on the world.
In the cities the schools close and carolers go around spreading Christmas cheer. On Christmas Eve in large centers a ceremony called "Carols by Candlelight" is held along with floor shows.Christmas Morning Church services are held.
In South Africa Santa Clause is called Father Christmas. They decorate trees called a Christmas Fir. Instead of decorating threir houses with lights and ornaments, they use pine branches..
Canada
Christmas in Canada-mummering is a tradition in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland where people dress up and ask neighbors if any mummers are home.
Canadians have many other countries traditions mixed in with their own. They open their gifts on Christmas eve instead of Christmas day.
When German settlers migrated to Canada in the 1700s, they arrived with many of the Christmas traditions that Canadians still cherish today - Christmas trees, carols, Advent calendars, gingerbread houses, cookies and much more.
Today, German-Canadian children anxiously await the arrival of Christkindl,representing a messenter from the Christ Child. Their mothers make stollen and decorate hundreds of Christmas cookies. The Tannenbaum is in the place of honor in every home.
Australia-
Christmas in Australia has all of the lights New York, or London would have, but the difference is the weather. During Christmas Australia has blue skies and many people head for the beaches. Christmas celebrations were heavily influenced by their original Anglo-Celtic influences. Which means is an ethnic or cultural category, used to describe Australians with British and/or Irish ancestral origins
Australia has many different ethnic groups, so Christmas is celebrated in many different ways. They have people from Asia, Europe, and North and South America, so Christmas is celebrated in alot of ways. The people born in Australia, however, sit down and eat a Christmas dinner on Christmas Day
Christmas in Italy
Christmas in Italy goes for three weeks. It starts eight days before Christmas. It is also known as the Novena. During the Novena, kids go house to house reciting and singing Christmas poems dressed as playing pipes and shepherds. They have a feast twenty-four hours before Christmas Eve, then a celebration meal, which includes a panettone, a Milanse cake, and chocolate. The Urn of Fate has presents and empty boxes in it, which always has one gift for each person. Candles are lighted by twilight around the Presepio, the family crib. Then prayers are said and kids recite poems. On Christmas day at noon, all the people gather in Vatican square and the pope gives them a special blessing. Kids in Italy wait on January 6, the Epiphany, for their gifts. The tradition is that Befana, a witch, delivers presents on a broomstick. She was told by three kings that baby Jesus was born, but she missed the star and got lost. It is said that she had been flying around ever since then leaving presents at every house in case baby Jesus was in there. She slides down chimneys, and fils stockings with treats for good children, and puts coal in children's stockings that are bad.
Christmas in China-
Christians in China celebrate Christmas by decorating their Christmas trees and putting lights, paper lanterns, paper chains, and paper flowers around the house. They call Christmas Sheng Dan Jieh. The children hang muslin stockings on their mantles and await Santa Claus which they call Dun Che Lao Ren. Although many Chinese people aren’t Christian so they consider the main winter festival a Chinese New Year festival. Part of the celebration for the kids is getting new clothes and toys, eating nice meals, and watching a firecracker display. The most important part of the celebration though is paying respect to past ancestors. They put up pictures of the ancestors in their main room of the house. During the festival many dancers come together to do the “lion walk” which is a colorful dance gliding down the city streets. One of the greatest sites to see on Christmas in China though is the Feast of the Lanterns. Everyone lights at least one lantern and stands on the sides of the street.
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Christmas in Poland-
Polish preparatinon begins many days before the actual celebration. Nearly everywhere women are cleaning windows in apartments and houses just before Christmas. Christmas and Santa Clause Day are not celebrated at the same time in Poland, but rather three weeks apart. Santa Claus Day is celebrated on December 6th, the name day of St. Nicholas. This is when St. Nicholas visits some children in person or secretly during the night.
Christmas in North America-
Christmas in North America is cold! Here in North America we have snow on the ground. Here we call Santa Santa Clause.
Durring the month of December which is the month we have christmas in, everyone gets vary festive! Everyone here hangs up lights and they put up trees with pritty lights on them, they are amazing. No one gets mad or is sad durring the time of christmas, its the best!
Christmas in Egypt
Christmas is celebrated on the 7th of January. Advent is observed for forty days and during this period and many people are expected to fast eating no meat, poultry or dairy products. Some people only do this during the last week of Advent.
On the Eve of Christmas everyone goes to church wearing a completely new outfit. The Christmas service ends at midnight with the ringing of church bells, then people go home to eat a special Christmas meal known as fata, which consists of bread, rice, garlic and boiled meat.
On Christmas morning people in Egypt visit friends and neighbors. They take with them kaik which is a type of shortbread, which they take with them to give to the people they visit and eaten with a drink known as shortbat. Christmas Day is a public holiday for Christians.
Christmas in Ireland
Christmas in Ireland lasts from Christmas Eve to the feast of the Epiphany on January 6, which is referred to as Little Christmas. Ireland's Christmas is more religious than a time of fun.
Lighted candles are placed in windows on Christmas Eve, as a guide that Joseph and Mary might be looking for shelter. The candles are usually red in color, and decorated with sprigs of holly.
Irish women bake a seed cake for each person in the house. They also make three puddings, one for each day of the Epiphany such as Christmas, New Year's Day and the Twelfth Night. It is a kind of bread pudding.
After the Christmas evening meal, bread and milk are left out and the door unlatched as a symbol of hospitality.
St Stephen's Day, the day after Christmas, is almost as important, with football matches and meetings going on. For children, the Wren Boys Procession is their big event. Boys go from door to door with a fake wren on a stick, singing, with violins, accordions, harmonicas and horns to accompany them. The reason for the ceremony is to ask for money 'for the starving wren', that is, for their own pockets.
Children often put out Christmas sacks instead of stockings.
It is tradition to leave mince pies and a bottle of Guinness out as a snack for Santa.
Comments (4)
Jake S. said
at 11:10 am on Dec 16, 2008
AWESOME PAGE
Carley C said
at 11:19 am on Dec 16, 2008
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Lexy J. said
at 11:29 am on Dec 16, 2008
wow! great information. very useful! :]
i like eggs!
Noah said
at 4:34 pm on Dec 19, 2008
yea jake! the best page
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