Festival of Trees  snowman family

When it comes to Christmas, every single family has its own traditions – some watch a special movie every year, others rearrange their schedules so they can decorate the tree together, while some just pack their bags and go on vacation. But while those individual traditions are different for each family, most of the things we do on Christmas are governed by the country we live in and the customs it has. And isn’t it always interesting to find out what other people do differently?

USA

The American Christmas traditions are probably the most well-known around the world because of Hollywood. They involve eating turkey for dinner and Christmas pudding for dessert, singing carols, exchanging gifts with the family and decorating the house with lots of twinkling lights. Another American tradition is to take the children to visit the “Mall Santas” just before Christmas so that they can tell the jolly fellow what kinds of gifts they want.

China

Though there are not many Christians in China, they still honour this important holiday. They call it Sheng Dan Jieh while Santa is known as Dun Che Lao Ren, which literally translates as ‘Christmas Old Man’. The traditional decorations are made of paper in the form of flowers or lanterns and the tree is called ‘Tree of Light’. Say ‘Sheng Dan Kuai Le’ if you are in China on Christmas.

Australia

While many of us are used to the idea of Christmas during the winter because we live in the northern hemisphere, it is not the same for Australians, for whom Christmas is during the summer vacation. For that reason, Christmas lunches and dinners are often held outdoors, sometimes even on the beach! Another Australian tradition involves a flaming pudding for the dessert in which a small favour has been hidden – whoever finds it will enjoy lots of good luck throughout the next year. Probably the most important Australian Christmas tradition, however, is called Carols by Candlelight – thousands of people gather together to sing their favourite Christmas songs.

Germany

One of the most well-known facts about Christmas in Germany is that they hang an advent wreath adorned with four candles in the beginning of December. On each of the three Sundays leading to Christmas, they would light a candle and eat special Christmas meals. Another fact about the German Christmas is that on top of Weihnachtsmann (Santa Claus), an angle called Christkind, who is believed to be a messenger of Christ himself, also distributes presents. ‘Fröhliche Weihnachten’ is what Merry Christmas sounds like in German.

Bulgaria

In Bulgaria, which is an eastern orthodox country, the celebrations start on Christmas Eve when an odd number of meals is served and all of them have to be vegetarian. People crack walnuts to predict the fortune of the next year – if the nut is fresh and tasty, the year will be good. The Christmas Eve table is left as is until the next morning so that the ghosts of the ancestors may enjoy the holiday as well. In small villages, young men in traditional clothing called Koledari go around the houses singing carols for good luck. Say ‘Chestita Koleda’ to a Bulgarian on Christmas.