Celebrating Christmas Around The World
The Many Faces Of Christmas Around The World
Christmas around the world has a number of different holiday traditions and Christmas stories that are told and celebrated. The practices and cultures are as various as the activities and cultures of the lands the holiday is celebrated in.
In the United States, the melting pot of cultures results in a variety of different fashions, Christmas symbols and holiday traditions that are celebrated in the USA. For example, the European based tradition of the Christmas stories of Santa Claus is heavily celebrated.
One major component of Christmas celebrations in America is the Christmas stories of Santa Claus. Santa Claus is widely celebrated and promoted during the holiday season. Charities dress workers up in Santa Claus outfits to raise funds during the holidays. Santa Claus appears on television and in advertising campaigns. Kids can even go to the mall to see Santa Claus and take pictures with him.
In Australia, December is the beginning of the summer season. As a result, Christmas is as much of an outdoor activity as it is an indoor activity. While the Australians do the traditional indoor stuff, like open Christmas presents and eat a big family dinner, outdoor activities like backyard fun and picnics are incorporated as well.
Religious worship is a major piece of the Christmas holiday in Australia. The majority of the population is Roman Catholic or Protestant so church plays a major role in the celebration of the holiday. Most churches have a midnight mass that you can attend and many families go to church together.
On the other hand, in Japan Christmas is not a religious holiday at all. Remember, the large majority of the Japanese population are not Christians. Despite this, the Christmas holiday is still celebrated, more for its commercial aspects than its religious aspects.
Christmas technically is not an official holiday on the Japanese calendar. One contradiction to most holiday traditions are the way the Japanese handle Christmas dinner. While most cultures eat dinner together at home, the Japanese go out to eat. In particular, there is a very popular Christmas Chicken dinner at KFC that many people actually make reservations for on Christmas!
Like Japan, China also has a very small population of citizens that profess Christianity. However, also like the Japanese they still celebrate Christmas anyway. The Chinese embrace the Santa Claus concept. In China, his name means "Christmas Old Man."
Christmas is more of a prelude to the Chinese New Year, which is the major holiday in China. However, you can most certainly see celebrations in China for Christmas. Many of the commercial aspects like decorations, bright lights and greeting cards are celebrated and participated in by the Chinese people.
A French Christmas has several aspects of holiday traditions as many of the other countries in the world. However, there are some slight differences. The French do not decorate Christmas trees.
One holiday tradition that is very popular in France is the placing of Christmas scenes outside of the home. These scenes offer an illustration of Christmas stories. In particular, the French populate their scenes with little "santons" or "saints". Besides the typical Christmas characters that you see in outdoor scenes, it is not uncommon to see figures of local French leaders and personalities as well.
As you can see there are many different ways that you can celebrate Christmas around the world. Each culture has taken the holiday, adapted their own culture and influences and made it their own. As a result, it has become one of the most universal holidays celebrated.
By: Kerry Beck..
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Kerry Beck offers free advent calendars with daily Christmas crafts to prepare your family for Christmas. Your family will learn more about Christmas history with some of the daily activities.
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