Christmas is the festival of sharing love and happiness, which is celebrated all over the world. Christmas is widely celebrated in almost all parts of the part, and has become an annual part of many different countries according to their cultures. Though, 25th December is celebrated in different parts of the world, but all of the places have their own unique flavor and traditions of celebrating this wonderful festive season.
Though, Christmas means fun, eating, exchanging gifts and bringing smiles, but the traditions of making celebrations vary from family to family and country to country. Keeping in mind all the myths and traditions, following are some of the celebration traditions that are followed by these leading countries.
Christmas Traditions in Italy
It is the tradition in Italy to celebrate Christmas for three weeks. The celebration begins 8 days before Christmas which is known as Novena. During this prior celebration week, children dresses up as shepherds and go from house to house reciting Christmas poems and singing. Before 24 hours of Christmas, a feast is observed, which is followed by a big celebration meal which mainly features a light Milanese cake called panettone. It is the Christmas tradition in Italy that children wait until Epiphany, January 6, for their Christmas presents. According to Italy traditions, the gifts for children are delivered by an ugly witch called Befana on a broomstick.
Christmas Traditions in Brazil
There are different ethnic people in Brazil and therefore there are different traditions and customs associated with the celebration of Christmas. The most popular tradition in Brazil is that Papai Noel or Father Noel is the present-bringer, who thought to be lived in Greenland. The huge traditional Christmas dinner in Brazil usually includes turkey, rice, ham and wonderful dishes of fruits and vegetables. Christmas celebrations in Brazil go on until January 6th, which the Brazilians refer to as Three Kings Day.
Christmas Traditions in America
America is the most exciting country for celebrating Christmas. The most popular tradition in America is the wait for Santa Claus, who bring presents for children, wearing the red suit, pipe and his reindeer and sleigh. As there is variety of nationalities in America, there are different Christmas celebrations in all the regions. The American homes are usually decorated with holly, mistletoe and branches of trees. The most common Christmas traditions are decorating Christmas tree with adornments, bells, ribbons, candy canes, balls and flowers, observing the lavish Christmas feast and exchanging gifts and greetings with family and friends.
Christmas Traditions in France
The most interesting and different Christmas tradition is France is that the children leave their shoes by the fire place to be filled with gifts from Pere Noel on Christmas Eve. While Americans hang their socks on the Christmas tree, children in France expect their gifts in their shoes. On Christmas Eve, all the French homes are decorated with Christmastime displays. Instead of Christmas tree, the people in France make a traditional Yule log-shaped cake called the buche de Nol, which means Christmas Log, which is served at the grand feast known as le reveill on.
Christmas Traditions in England
In English people celebrate Christmas by enjoying music and decorating Christmas trees with evergreen branches. The gift giver in England is called Father of Christmas, who wears a long red or green robe and leaves presents in stockings on Christmas Eve. The children in England leave an empty stocking or pillowcase hanging at the end of the bed with a hope that they will be full of presents in the morning. In England, the only thing people ate before the lavish feast was Frumenty, which is a kind of porridge made from corn.