Christmas Around the World

Because of the unifying theme of Christmas--the birth of Christ--many countries around the world celebrate Christmas in similar ways. Their differences, however, are very interesting and might even inspire you to try putting an international spin on your celebration or holiday event.

INDIA

India celebrates Christmas in various ways depending on which part of the country you are in. Areas in the south will have clay oil-lanterns on the rooftops as night-time decorations. Many will have decorated mango or banana trees instead of pines of firs, and decorate the doors of houses with mango leaves. In more cosmopolitan areas, quite a celebration centers around the Bada Din (Big Day) with parades, caroling, and festivities familiar to western countries. Areas with large Catholic churches will decorate with poinsettias and large stars adorning the doors and travelers to Goa spend the holiday on the beautiful beaches there. Even Santa has been known to make an appearance or two!

JAPAN

Only ½ of 1% of Japanese are Christian so December 25 is not the same as in America. The advent of technology has, however, made this holiday quite transcultural. Many families now enjoy a Christmas Cake sold in stores and thanks to KFC, the Christmas Chicken Dinner has become a regular event! Christmas TV has hyped the day into a day for romance and miracles so top drawer restaurants and hotels are regularly booked out for this day. Young Japanese, not normally open with their affection or feeling, see this as a day to share their feelings with their romantic partner.

AFRICA

On Christmas, carols are sung from the Congo to Johannesburg. Northern areas tend to celebrate Christmas on January 7, called the Day of the Kings (Epiphany.) In the less developed areas, as one might imagine, gift giving is not the commercial effort it is in the cities--there are no stores in which to buy them, and money is need for living, not luxury. Christmas dinner can be a goat roasted at home or a barbecue at the beach in the south. Bread, jam and tea round out the feast. Similar to caroling, African children may go house to house and sing and dance with home-made instruments and will sometimes get gifts of money in return.

UKRAINE

Throughout Ukraine, people create manger scenes called Vertep (cave) and these recall the rustic environment surrounding the birth of Christ. The familiar baby, Mary, Joseph, and shepherd all standing in their traditional positions. Christmas Eve, or Holy Evening, or sometimes Holy Supper in which there should be twelve different foods on the table, one of which must be Kutia (wheat, honey, grated poppy seeds, and raisins and nuts.) People set up Christmas trees in their houses and decorate much like western countries.

Look over this list again and think about your own Christmas traditions. One year try something different. Maybe have a party where each event, food, game, or something comes from another country. You'll be surprised at how connected it will make you feel with Christmas celebrants all over the world!