First of all, Merry Christmas to you all! As these days are special ones, I also wanted to publish a special entry. Of course it is about Christmas. However, I am not going to tell you the same old story about why it is celebrated or what we usually do. This time I do not want to focus on how we celebrate Christmas but on how other cultures or countries do it.
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| Picture by eGuide Travel from Flickr |
The first country I want to explore is Australia. Did you know that their Christmas starts at the beginning of the summer holidays? For me that sounded awkward, because in Spain we relate Christmas to winter so I think it must be really different and amazing to have this festivity in the summer.
Australians also decorate their houses with lights and Christmas trees and they also use 'Christmas Bush' a native Australian tree. Moreover, in each State capital, city carols are sung, even sometimes by famous people. These carols are broadcasted on TV. I guess that carols' lyrics must be different from the ones we sing because they do not talk about winter, snow and so on. Furthermore, Santa's clothes must be a little different too taking into account how hot it must be there!
Another country I am interested in is Canada. This is a large country and it is influenced by many cultures and so is Christmas. Many traditions of this festivity come from France, England, Ireland, Scotland, Germany, Norway and Ukraine.
It is usual to send Christmas cards to your friends and relatives, same as in the UK. In Spain we normally open our presents on Christmas Day, but Canadians do it on Christmas Eve. They usually eat roast turkey, differently to their American neighbors who reserve this food for Thanksgiving Day. A funny tradition which takes place in Canada is one in which people wears Santa's costumes and go over the neighborhood until someone finds out who they are. |
| Picture by Alex Indigo from Flickr |
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| Picture by Luisa from Flickr Roscón de Reyes |
The last country I am going to focus on is the United States of America. As Canada, their Christmas are also influenced by traditions from UK, France, Italy, The Netherlands, Poland and Mexico. As said before, the traditional meal is not normally turkey but ham with cranberry sauce.
Americans love to decorate their houses with Christmas motives and lights. The typical image of a house full on lights we see on films is not a hyperbole. Curious data: some Americans use pop-corn to decorate their Christmas tree! Another interesting fact is that in the south of Louisiana, families along the Mississippi River, light bonfires to help Santa find their way. They call him Papa Noel because that is the name he has in France, and this state has a deep relationship with the French country. Moreover, they do not say 'Merry Christmas' but 'Happy Christmas'.
In conclusion, even though Christmas is a festivity celebrated in several countries, there are many differences among them. Traditional dishes, the opening-time of the presents, the parades, the decorations are divergent. However, there is something that unifies Christmas all around the world: it is a time to spend with our family and beloved ones, it is the time of the year when you meet your relatives and friends to have dinner together, open presents and share moments. It does not matter if it is summer or winter, if you are eating turkey or roscón, Christmas is always a special time and we should enjoy it.
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| Picture by Johnny Lai from Flickr |
If you want to know more about Christmas traditions all over the world visit Why Christmas page, where I have found all the information of the post. I hope you liked to learn something about other cultures.
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