Christmas Around the World
Nada Nour, staff writer
As soon as the calendar hits Nov. 1, it's as if the entire world beams red and green. Christmas is without a doubt one of the most celebrated holidays around the globe. Music starts filling the air with classic Christmas carols and peppermint lattes are being sold on every corner. It is often assumed that most places celebrate Christmas in similar ways, such as Christmas trees, sugar cookies and elves on the shelves. While there are some Christmas-time staples, this outstanding holiday is celebrated drastically different in each part of the globe. Each country has beautiful traditions and customs that highlight their culture.
In North America, Christmas is celebrated through a mix of religious and secular traditions. American Christmas means decorating Christmas trees with lights, exchanging gifts, and spending time with family. Winter-time flavors such as peppermint, hazelnut and cranberry hit every coffee shop. Without a doubt, the U.S. is the most influential country when it comes to Christmas. Whether it be music or movies, every classic holiday movie has emerged from the heart of the U.S.. After all, what is Christmas without Mariah Carey?
In Slavic and Baltic countries, Christmas is celebrated a little differently. Typically, a 40 day fast precedes Christmas and ends with the first star on Christmas Eve to symbolize the star of Bethlehem. Uniquely, many Orthodox Slavic countries celebrate Christmas on Jan. 7, following the yulian calendar–a solar calendar introduced by Julius Caesar that established a 365-day year with a leap day added to February every four years. Traditionally, on Christmas eve, a large feast is served, most commonly including Kutia or Sochivo––a porridge consisting of wheat, honey, nuts and other dried fruits. Other traditional dishes are pickled items, mushroom soup and a variety of pies. Similarly to the west, after the Christmas feast, children go house-to-house caroling and are rewarded with sweets or money.
In East Asia, Christmas is a blend of western style festivities in some areas, and local traditions in others. Typically, in large cities, Christmas mimics mostly western customs and traditions. However, local customs are still celebrated and honored continuously. Fireworks are fired on Christmas eve in countries such as the Philippines and Indonesia. In China, it is tradition to give intricately wrapped apples as gifts on Christmas eve as the word “apple” sounds very similar to the word “peace” (hence why it’s referred to as the “peaceful night”).
“Christmas time in Korea and Asia in general is so much more colorful, not just the basic red and green Christmas,” said sophomore Grace Liu.
Additionally, Japan is well known for its KFC tradition, in which families pre-order special Christmas buckets filled with fried chicken and other festive foods and desserts. This tradition started in the 1970s through a very successful marketing campaign and has continued to be a popular unofficial custom.
While each part of the globe has its own unique and fun traditions, most countries unite when it comes to rejoicing with family. Although the food may differ, almost every place has its own version of a Christmas feast in which they serve a large feast and connect with family and friends. In addition, gift-giving is not unique to one place. The love of gift-giving is spread all throughout the globe, and it showcases the compassion and love people have for one another on Christmas.