When living in S.E. Asia my wife and I enjoyed university students to our home in December for a Christmas party. They loved seeing our Christmas tree, learning a few American Christmas/winter songs, and frosting sugar cookies. We loved having the opportunity to tell them about some of our favorite traditions and, while we were at it, a little bit about what the whole “Christmas thing” was all about.
“You mean some people cut down a tree in the forest and then bring it home?”
“What’s the deal with Santa Claus?”
“Wait…you invite people to stand under a small branch so that you can kiss them?”
“Do people really walk around town singing songs to other people?
“Why don’t Christians in America spend Christmas day at the church?”
Traditions are funny things. They almost always begin with a clear and meaningful purpose, but over time the meaning can be lost and what remains can seem like a rather strange-looking fossil. So, the way people celebrate Christmas around the world comes with a wide range of activities, foods, and traditions. Here are a few examples:
In the Philippines Christmas is serious business! All of the “ber” months (Septem-ber, Octo-ber, and so on) are hold-nothing-back Christmas season with carols blaring in the malls and Christmas decorations of all kinds suddenly appearing on the first “ber” day of the year!
Although Christmas is not a national holiday in Japan, a successful 1974 advertising campaign translated “Kentucky for Christmas” (Kurisumasu ni wa kentakkii) still has people, Christian or not (mostly not), heading to KFC for Christmas fried chicken!
Our Aussie and Kiwi mates are well known for enjoying Christmas day at the beach with some shrimp on the barbie or watching some footy on the teli. I wonder if they sing carols like “I’m dreaming of a bright Christmas” and “Sandy, the Sand Man?”
In Finland, families traditionally eat a porridge made of rice and milk along with cinnamon, milk, or butter. Whoever finds the almond placed inside one of the puddings "wins." At the end of the day, the family might warm up by heading to the sauna together.
In the Caribbean island of Martinique, visit their neighbors during Advent and on New Year's Day with foods like yams, boudin créole, pâtés salés, and pork stew. They sing Christmas carols together into the early hours of the morning, adding their own creole verses to traditional lyrics.
On Christmas Eve in Poland, many families share oplatek (a thin, unleavened religious bread), each person breaking off a piece as they wish the others a Merry Christmas. The evening meal does not begin until the first star is spotted in the sky and, as is the tradition, an extra setting is left at the table should someone show up uninvited. Now there’s a meaningful tradition that I could really get behind.
Sinterklaas is the Dutch name for Saint Nicholas, the man known by children by his long white beard, red cape, and red miter. Children in the Netherlands place a shoe or a boot by the chimney or back door in hopes of waking up on Christmas morning gingerbread men, marzipan, and chocolate letters inside.
Brazilian and Portuguese families come together late on Christmas Eve to eat dinner (sometimes as late as 10 p.m). At midnight, they exchange gifts, toasts, and wish each other a Merry Christmas. Midnight mass, also known as Missa Do Galo (Rooster Mass), is a chance to meet up with neighbors and extended family to wish them well for the holiday season. The service is often followed by fireworks in the town square.
Orthodox Christians, who make up nearly half the population of Ukraine, observe Christmas Day on January 7 by dressing in traditional garments and walking through town singing carols. A dish called kutya, made of cooked wheat mixed with honey, ground poppy seeds, and sometimes nuts, is a popular Christmas Eve treat. Some families throw a spoonful of kutya at the ceiling: If it sticks, there will be a good harvest in the new year.
In Indonesia, where Christians make up 10-15% of the population, Christmas celebrations are centered around church activities. Most churches will go all-out with special Natalan (Christmas celebration service) sometime in December or January, as well as somewhat quieter service on both Christmas Eve and Christmas day. Due to Dutch influence, Sinterklaus is well known and families will sometimes exchange small gifts with one another. Christmas carols and winter songs are popular in the malls and fireworks are not uncommon.