December 2020

Christmas around
the world
It has been a strange year in more ways than one and as we approach the end of 2020, many of us are
now wondering what Christmas will be like this year; will we be able to see our families or will the
traditional British Christmas, be the latest victim of the coronavirus pandemic?
But if the traditional British Christmas is in jeopardy, how about Christmas in other countries and on
other continents? To cheer us all up, we’ve taken a festive trip around the 7 continents to see what other
families would traditionally be doing at Christmas.
Europe
We know how we celebrate in the UK,
but Finland is a snowy place for much of
the year, and you can be guaranteed a
white Christmas if you visit the country
in December. Many Finnish people (and
others) believe that Father Christmas lives
in the north of the country, in Lapland, so
a lot of children send letters to him each
year, which are delivered by the Finnish
post office.
Christmas Eve is the most important day
at Christmas and people traditionally eat
a porridge made from rice and milk, often
topped with more milk, cinnamon or butter.
Sometimes parents hide an almond in the
puddings and children love it if they ‘win’
the almond.
Finland gets dark at around 3pm on
Christmas Eve and a growing Christmas
tradition here is to visit the graves of
family members and light candles of
remembrance. Cemeteries are often lit up
with hundreds of candles burning brightly
as Christmas Eve turns into Christmas Day.
And what do the Scandinavian people do
after that? Well many of them warm up in
the traditional way – in the sauna!
Australasia
In the southern hemisphere, Christmas
comes at the height of summer, so many
people in New Zealand and Australia
celebrate Christmas with a BBQ on
the beach. Towns hold parades and
there is a carnival-like atmosphere with
marching bands and decorated floats.
Santa still traditionally visits with his
reindeer and many people leave out some
refreshments, but it is just as likely to be
a bottle of beer and some pineapple
chunks as some sherry and a mince pie!
One Christmas present that has gained
popularity in this part of the world in recent
years are ‘jandals’ which are New Zealand
sandals - even Santa is seen wearing
them at times!
North America
Christmas in North America is like the one
we know in the UK, with similar traditions
of Santa Claus delivering presents to
children who leave out their stockings by
the chimney. Many people decorate their
houses with lights and groups go around
the neighbourhood singing carols to raise
money for charities. Some communities
place lit candles on their pathways to
signify ‘lighting the way’ for Mary and
Joseph to find a safe place to rest for the
night (or to help Santa find his way too of
course!)
South America
South America is predominantly a Catholic
continent, so Christmas celebrations here
revolve around celebrating the birth of
Jesus. Many people attend Midnight Mass
on Christmas Eve which can end at 1am on
Christmas morning. Fireworks are also big
ways to celebrate Christmas too. In Brazil,
many people get a 13th month salary or
bonus at Christmas, so they get double
their salary at this time of year. The 6th of
January is also widely celebrated in South
America as Three Kings Day or Epiphany,
when the Three Kings traditionally visited
Jesus and left him gifts, and many children
do not get their Christmas presents until this
time, celebrating with a special Christmas
sponge cake called the kings’ cake.
Asia
In many Asian countries, Christmas is
celebrated as a secular holiday rather than
with any religious significance. However,
traditions are emerging, nevertheless.
In Japan for example, Christmas Day
is largely ignored but Christmas Eve is
considered a day for romantic couples akin
to Valentine’s Day here, where couples eat
out in restaurants. An advertising campaign
in Japan by KFC in recent years has also
made this a popular choice of Christmas
dinner too!
In other parts of Asia, such as Bali,
Christmas trees are made from chicken
feathers and fireworks are part of the
traditional Christmas fun.
Africa
There are many different religions in
Africa, and Christianity is only one of them.
Many Africans practice Islam and so do
not traditionally celebrate Christmas in
the same way that we do in Christian
European countries. However, in countries
like Nigeria, Zambia and South Africa,
where Christianity is the majority religion,
Christmas is celebrated by going to church,
exchanging gifts and a chance to spend
time with family, and share special meals.
Ethiopia and Egypt celebrate Christmas
on January 7th as they follow the Julian
calendar (introduced by Julius Caesar) as
opposed to the Gregorian calendar we use.
And in Senegal, which is mostly a Muslim
country, Christians celebrate Muslim
holidays and vice versa so Muslims often
put up Christmas trees in the mosques,
complete with tinsel and Santa Claus.
Antarctica
Finally, in Antarctica, Christmas comes in
the middle of summer, characterised by 24
hours of daylight. Even in the most northerly
parts of Antarctica, there is only about 1
hour of ‘dusk’ at this time of year and the
only people living here are scientists or
tourists. However, Christmas does not go
unmarked although the celebrations are
more muted since most people are on
working contracts, and there isn’t the same
commercial build up that exists in more
populated areas – (after all, what would
the penguins do with wrapping paper?)
Antarctic research also tends to be a
multinational affair, so Christmas traditions
can change with the research crews but
simple gifts are exchanged and there
may be a special meal and crew party.
Snow is guaranteed and the wildlife can
make Christmas in Antarctica a ‘once-ina-lifetime’
experience, connecting humans
together with their home planet in a simple,
communal way that is unrivalled anywhere
else on earth. But shh, rumour has it that
this is what Christmas is really all about
anyway!
We hope you have enjoyed our sojourn
around the world – perhaps you could
find out about the Christmas traditions of
families at your setting and share them with
the children.
Whatever you do, Happy Christmas!
18 December 2020 | parenta.com
parenta.com | December 2020 19