Christmas Traditions Around the World

[Mia62]

We have so many different cultures represented here at Lit, I thought it might be cool to find out how you celebrate in your culture - if you do.

Do you believe in Santa Claus or Kris Kringle or St. Nick?
Do you hang stockings by the chimney with care?
Does Santa bring all your gifts or just the stocking ones?
Do you celebrate Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?

Vive le difference Litworldwide and share your customs.

 

[p_p_man]

We have so many different cultures represented here at Lit, I thought it might be cool to find out how you celebrate in your culture - if you do.

Do you believe in Santa Claus or Kris Kringle or St. Nick?
Do you hang stockings by the chimney with care?
Does Santa bring all your gifts or just the stocking ones?
Do you celebrate Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?

Vive le difference Litworldwide and share your customs.

1. When I was young it was Father Christmas (Santa Claus).

2. No chimney but the stockings, usually shop bought ones full of sweets nowadays, are always hung with care. Pinned behind the front door.

3. Just the stocking ones with a couple of bigger ones (books, jigsaws, colouring books) to keep the kids occupied.

4. Both.

ppman

 

[MissTaken]

We have so many different cultures represented here at Lit, I thought it might be cool to find out how you celebrate in your culture - if you do.

Do you believe in Santa Claus or Kris Kringle or St. Nick?
Do you hang stockings by the chimney with care?
Does Santa bring all your gifts or just the stocking ones?
Do you celebrate Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?

Vive le difference Litworldwide and share your customs.

My kids believe in Santa. I believe in him as a historical figure.
We hang stockings and Santa fills the stockings as well as brings them each a few presents.

All presents are delivered by Santa, even those from friends and relatives.

We celebrate Christmas on Christmas eve, the weekend before Christmas and Christmas day is for the children at home.

Good thread.
I look forward to other responses.

 

[concrete]

BOXING DAY...ya got yo love that extra day

 

[Pixie]

Finland

Finnish people believe that Father Christmas (Santa Claus)
lives in the north part of Finland called Korvatunturi,
north of the Arctic Circle. People from all over the world
send letters to Santa Claus in Finland. (It is only fair to say
that the people of Greenland say that really, Father Christmas
lives in Greenland!) There is a even big tourist theme
park called 'Christmas Land' in the north of Finland, near
to where they say that Father Christmas lives.

Everyone cleans their houses ready for the three holy days of
Christmas - Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day. Christmas
Eve is very special, when people eat rice porridge and plum fruit
juice in the morning. They will then decorate a spruce tree in the
home. At mid-day, the 'peace of Christmas' is broadcast on radio and
TV from the Finnish city of Turku by its Mayor. In the evening, a
traditional Christmas dinner is eaten. The meal will include 'casseroles'
containing macaroni, rutabaga, carrot and potato, with cooked ham or
turkey. Many families will visit cemeteries and grave-yards to place
a candle onto the burial graves of family members. Cemeteries are very
beautiful at Christmas-time.

Children receive their presents on Christmas Eve, usually with a family
member dressing as Father Christmas. As children grow older, they come
to realize that 'Father Christmas' is really a bigger brother, sister
or family member.

I copied and pasted that from a website, 'cause I was too lazy to type it all out I'll just add a few things...
Korvatunturi = Earfell, making it a most apt place for Santa to live, as he can hear if you're being naughty or nice...

Our rice porridge tradition didn't have the plumjuice, or mixed fruit compot which is also sometimes eaten with it. We used to hide an almond into the porridge and it meant good luck for the person on whose plate it was on.
And one can't forget the huge amounts of cinnamon and sugar sprinkled on top
We never had the macaroni casserole, or the liver one, which can also be eaten at Christmas time. Those tend to be more of an everyday food. The Christmas dinner usually includes salmon and herring in different forms, smoked or sushi type salmon usually and the herring would be in different marinades. Ham used to be more common, but the turkey, or goose, is getting more popular.

Then there are the baked goods, cinnamon and ginger cookies, spicey cakes, little pies filled with plum or applesauces... Lots of chocolates and nuts and raisin mix... all enjoyed later in the evening, after the dinner and while opening the presents...with coffee and a nice drink, whiskey usually is the choice in my family

Then there is the old tradition that says no one should ever go hungry during Christmas, so the food stays on the table all night. Not so strictly observed these days, but no one frowns a midnight snack of a ham sandwich and a cookie or two on Christmas

The Christmas day used to be spent reading the books we got, or if everyone was feeling up to it, playing boardgames.

All in all, a fun family time

 

[Kuntmode]

n/a

I believe in Hanns Schmidt

Yes I hang him from the chimney with care

Yes he wears stockings for when Santa arrives to bludgeon his rectum repeatedly

I celebrate on Christmas Day by laughing at the Schmidt family across the road with no presents, no Christmas turkey and definitely no lager!

Every year Hanns asks for the same thing. Ho! ho! ho!

And every year he gets the same thing.

Nothing!

 

[Coolville]

Vive le difference Litworldwide and share your customs.

In Denmark, like most European countries, we celebrate Christmas on the evening of the 24th. Julemanden - Father Christmas is a part of the show, as he is most places in the Western World.
Christmas is called jul, pronounced Yule, which is the name of the pagan festival that was held around the winter solstice until the Church started making up, rather creatively, replacements for all the pagan festivals. Jesus was born in July but it was convienent to move his birthday to December to try to get people to celebrate something else.

Juletid or Yuletide in English, means Christmas Time.

The evening remains a main family event. Before dinner we decorate the tree, usually with decorations handed down through the generations and adorned with candles. After dinner we sing carols and walk around the tree, hand in hand, and then open the presents.

Dinner is roast duck and for dessert we eat rice pudding and one almond is placed in the pudding. The one who gets the almond gets a special present. The trick is that if you get the almond, you hide it in your mouth and don't tell anyone, making everyone else eat more and more rice pudding, hoping for the almond. Good, clean, sadistic fun!

The next two days, the 25th and 26th, don't have any special signifigance, but they are occupied nonetheless by excessive eating with other members of the family and/or friends.

The whole calender of December is occupied by julefrokoster or Christmas lunches. With friends, collegues, family, etc. These lunches are very traditional and involve eating lots of herring, meatballs, liver paté and drinking schnapps. You can expect to take part in a half dozen or more of these lunches in the course of December.

No stockings but lots of presents. Oh, and apologies to the Finns, but Father Christmas/Santa Claus/Julemanden lives in the north of Greenland! Sorry to upset your tourism marketing strategy!

 

[Mia62]

I wondered where this thread went.

Thanks, you guys. Those are great. I had no idea things were like that. Who else would like to contribute?

 

[Guest]

 

[Coolville]

What a great idea for a thread, Mia. Thank you.

I do know a few sketchy things about Swedish Christmas. Maybe if Pagliacci sees this, he can talk about it further.

I don't know how widespread this practice is, but on Christmas Eve, a young woman (teenager I think), gets dressed as Lucia. In her hair there's a headress made up of lit candles (dangerous as anything, but really pretty). She goes around (I can't remember if it's from house to house in a town, or if it's just relative's homes) and I think she brings little gifts.

Grrrrrr, I wish I could remember more, but that's going back 20+ years for me. Warned you it was sketchy!

Lioness

As far as I know, Lucia Candlehead shows up during the midsummer festivities in Sweden. Don't know if she does a repeat performance during Jul, but maybe Pag has the answers.

 

[weed]

Let's not forget some of our American customs for comparison.

We always leave cookies out for Santa and a carrot for the reindeer to share. With little ones in the house we leave a cookie with a big bite taken out of it as evidence.

And I don't believe we've seen mention of our mistletoe custom. Perhaps someone knows just where kissing under the mistletoe started....

 

[Pixie]

As far as I know, Lucia Candlehead shows up during the midsummer festivities in Sweden. Don't know if she does a repeat performance during Jul, but maybe Pag has the answers.

St Lucia, or Sankta Lucia, is celebrated on December 13th. Both in Sweden and in Finland, though the day is a much bigger deal in Sweden. It's more of an event in the predominantly Swedish speaking west coast here, than anywhere else. At least that's the way I see it

 

[Guest]

 

[Guest]

 

[Guest]

 

[Coolville]

Hey, Hanns, how do you celebrate Christmas in the grey, drab concrete council estate where you live? Does the dole office give out cans of baked beans?

 

[Pixie]

This page has some info on the different traditions...

http://www.cyberkisses.com/Christmas/traditions.html

 

[Guest]

 

[Coolville]

It's good they give her a job during Christmas, too! When the lights are needed most.

 

[Pixie]

Hey Pixie.

What does she do, and how old is she?

Lioness

Well, like I said, it's more of a tradition for the Swedish speaking populae, so I'm no expert on the subject

The link I posted has some info.

 

[Pixie]

It's good they give her a job during Christmas, too! When the lights are needed most.

LOL! Yes, it sure is. I've never heard of her making an appearance during the summer, but then I'm not Swedish

 

[BgMma]

As a basic in the United States, we do have so many different people and traditions, but I will address mine.

For us, I was always told that Santa Claus lived at the North Pole. Always accentuated by pictures of an actual pole, as ridiculous as it seems. he has his reindeer and the one special one, Rudolph.

We usuall put our tree up the beginning of December and decorate it then. If we have a mantle, we hang stocking there, but if not, we just pick a good spot on the wall near the tree. Stockings are usually filled with the obligatory orange, which gets on my nerves to this day, a variety of nuts, some candies, and usually a few trinket gifts like a cassette tape, or make up, that sort of thing.

Of course, there are garlands galore and the mistletoe. Which is usually put in the most annoying spot possible, the front door. I don't know about you, but I hate being kissed by people I don't like. Family, but I digress......

As the month goes on, there are presents being deposited under the tree, which must be examined and shaken when the parents are not around. We usually have a nice light dinner Christmas Eve, and off to bed early, Santa IS coming, after all.....
Then we wake up before the chickens and harrass our folks until they get up to witness holiday mass hysteria. Occasionally, we will open one gift on Christmas Eve.
Amidst the hills of papers and boxes, we have toys and clothes to compare, complain, and compliment. After that, a big breakfast to hold us over until dinner. Eggs, sausage, toast, jam and sometimes cream of wheat, which I enjoy with milk, sugar, and butter.
Dinner is usually ham, yams, deviled eggs, pies, and green bean casserole. Family brings things like egg nog (again with the eggs! it's amazing how I have a good cholesterol level) potato salad, baked beans, and booze. Lord knows my uncle Mike can't make it through one holiday without being pissed.
Now, that was as a child. As an adult, it goes pretty much the same, except I have a drink or two, and my significant other gets a Christmas BJ in the morning or before bed. Just to spark up the day.

Ahhhh, traditions.

 

[Naughty Elf]

bump

 

[JerseyBoy]

bump

it's very difficult to figure out who you are with such few words...

bump in the night

 

[scrymettet]

Do you believe in Santa Claus or Kris Kringle or St. Nick?

St Nicolas, december 6th

Do you hang stockings by the chimney with care?

No he put what he have where he can.
Side note : St Nicolas brings a lot of chocolate as well
we leave a carrot for his donkey

Do you celebrate Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?

Both. Bakers make a kind of raisin and sugar bread at that period.
It's have the general form of a baby.