Christmas Traditions around the World Pt.1

As Christmas is fast approaching I am thinking about all there is to focus on. First let me start by saying that I feel that the Christmas season starts way to soon. At some stores the decorations are up even before the Halloween decorations are on display and even when they are not up they are patiently waiting in the isles on pallets to be put on the shelves.

I thought I would share some information about how Christmas is celebrated in a few different countries.

So our first stop is China; yes they do celebrate this holiday but they do not consider it a legal holiday. With only about 1% of the population being Christian that equates to about 10 million people that are baptized. Those that are baptized do so in hiding and make sure that they do not make themselves that noticed. The one thing that I found odd is that still people have been baptized and are still becoming Christian no matter what the government states. It is said that Catholic Churches cannot hold the numbers who come out for Christmas Eve mass. They do have people dress up like Santa and they call him Dun Che Lao Ren and the children hang up muslin stockings waiting for him to fill them.

Our next stop is Iraq. I often wonder what is done there since not very many people are Christians there either. They begin to celebrate on Christmas Eve by holding a ceremony in their courtyards where the Nativity story is read by the family. Children and adults read the story from the Arabic Bible. A pile of dried thorns are placed in each corner of courtyard. Once the story is completed they begin to burn the thorns and begin to sing a Psalm that continues until all the thorns are completely burned. When only ashes are left everyone in the family jumps on the ashes three times and makes a wish. It is said that the future of the household depends on how the thorns are burned. If the thorns burn all the way down until only ashes it is a good omen and indicates good fortune for the upcoming year for the family. On Christmas day a bonfire is also burned with the Bishop presiding. A congregational chant hymn is song during the entire burning of the bonfire. Once this is completed the Bishop starts a procession with an image of the infant Jesus seated upon a scarlet colored pillow. The service is quite long and ends with the "The Touch of Peace". This Touch of Peace is given by the bishop placing his hand on the person in front of him and then that person touches the person next to him until every one in attendance has received the "The Touch of Peace" Christmas became an official holiday in 2008 for Iraqi's. As far as I could see they do not celebrate any thing to do with Santa Claus.

Our next stop is the UK. They begin to celebrate their holiday with Advent. They begin by making wreaths with three pink, one white and one purple candle. In 1850 the Christmas tree was first used when Prince Albert put up a tree for his wife Queen Victoria and their children in Windsor Castle. The decorations will stay up until January 6th which is the feast of the Epiphany. It is considered to be bad luck if the decorations are left up any longer than that date. Christmas observations were believed to have begun in 596 AD. in England when St. Augustine first landed on the shores of England with his message of Christianity on his lips. Christmas dinner consists of roasted turkey, vegetables, sauces and a rich fruity Christmas pudding with a brandy sauce. Father Christmas (Santa Claus) wears a long green or red robe and brings presents to the children. The children hang stocking or pillowcases from their bedposts to receive their gifts.

They also celebrate Boxing Day which is also a legal holiday. This is where the boys go around all day collecting money in clay pots. Once they are full then the boys smash the pots. I am not sure what exactly is done with the money that is collected. I cannot find anything about the money. I would hope that after receiving gifts and then money they would share, considering they do not mention that the girls are allowed to go out begging for money.

I hope you have enjoyed learning about these three countries as much as I did and I know that this is something I never thought about looking into for the holidays. With being so busy with all our own traditions I thought it might be interesting to see what people around the world are doing. I feel that our kids deserve to know other traditions as well as our own.

Have a great week and I will be posting again with a few new countries of interest!