We have been talking about Christmas traditions in our house so Nat and I thought we would make this a Christmas post and tell you about some of the traditions we googled from countries around the world!! Wherever you go Christmas seems to mean the same to us all, a time to get together with family and friends, to eat lots of yummy food and to celebrate the birth of Jesus!
Happy Christmas, Joyeux Noel, Feliz Navidad, Frohliche Weihnachten, Shub Naya Baras, Bouone Feste Natalizie, srozhdestvom Kristovym, Idah Saidan Wa Sanah Jadidah, Gun Tso Sun Tan'Gung Haw Sun!!!!
Ghana West Africa
On the eve of Christmas, children march up and down the streets singing Christmas Carols and shouting "Christ is coming, Christ is coming! He is near!" Churches are decorated with Christmas evergreens or palm trees which are massed with candles and hymns are sung and Nativity plays presented.On Christmas Day Children and older people representing the angels in the fields outside Bethlehem go from house to house singing. Church services are held and later on there is a feast of rice and yam paste called fufu with stew or okra soup, porridge and meats. Families eat together or with close neighbours and presents are given.
he Eve of Christmas everyone goes to church wearing a completely new outfit. The Christmas service ends at midnight with the ringing of church bells then people go home to eat a special Christmas meal known as Fata which consists of bread, rice, garlic and boiled meat. On Christmas morning people in Egypt visit friends and neighbours, they take with them Kaik, a type of shortbread which eaten with a drink known as Shortbat.
People go to the church with family, then come back to a family gathering. At midnight after eating a toast is made and the adults dance while the younger people go out to see the fireworks, after this they open their presents before going to sleep. The dinner food is pork, turkey and a great variety of meals. The table is then covered with sweet things such as cider, beer, and juice for consuming while waiting for the time of the toast. 
he Novena. During this period Children go from house to house dressed as shepherds, playing pipes, singing and reciting Christmas poems. They are given money to buy presents. A strict fast is observed 24 hours before Christmas Eve, and is followed by a celebration meal, in which a light Milanese cake called panettone features as well as chocolate. In Italy the children wait until Epiphany on January 6 for their presents. According to tradition, the presents are delivered by a kind ugly witch called Befana on a broomstick. It was said that she was told by the three kings that the baby Jesus was born, she was busy and delayed visiting the baby. She missed the Star lost her way and has been flying around ever since, leaving presents at every house with children in case he is there. She slides down chimneys, and fills stockings and shoes with good things for good children and it is said leave coal for children who are not good!
Iraq
In the Christian homes an unusual ceremony is held in the courtyard of the home on Christmas Eve. One of the children in the family reads the story of the Nativity from an Arabic Bible. The other members of t
he family hold lighted candles, and as soon as the story has been read a bonfire is lit in one corner of the courtyard. The fire is made of dried thorns and the future of the house for the coming year depends upon the way the fire burns. If the thorns burn to ashes, the family will have good fortune. While the fire is burning, a psalm is sung. When the fire is reduced to ashes everyone jumps over the ashes three times and makes a wish.
On Christmas day a similar bonfire is built in the church. While the fire burns the men of the congregation chant a hymn. The long Christmas service always ends with the blessing of the people. The Bishop reaches forth and touches a member of the congregation with his hand putting his blessing upon them, that person then touches the person next him and so on until all have received "the Touch of Peace."
England
Christmas in England began in AD 596, when St Augustine landed on her shores with monks who wanted to bring Christianity to the Anglo Saxons.Father Christmas delivers presents during the night before Christmas. The Children leave an empty stocking or pillowcase hanging at the end of the bed. In the morning they hope it will be full of gifts.
On Christmas Eve the only thing that people ate was Frumenty, which is a kind of porridge made from corn. Over the years the recipe changed to eggs, fruit, spice, lumps of meat and dried plums the whole mixture was wrapped in a cloth and boiled, which is how traditional plum pudding began.
In England Christmas dinner was usually eaten at Midday on December 25, during daylight. In England the traditional Christmas dinner is roast turkey with vegetables and sauces. For dessert it is rich, fruity Christmas pudding with brandy sauces.
The day after Christmas is called Boxing Day because boys used to go round collecting money in clay boxes. When the boxes were full, they broke them open.
A traditional meal includes a turkey dinner, with ham, and pork. A flaming Christmas plum pudding is added for dessert. In the Australian gold rushes, Christmas puddings often contained a gold nugget. Today a small favor is baked inside. Whoever fi
nds this knows s/he will enjoy good luck. Another treat is Mince Pies.
Many Australians have their Christmas dinner at midday on a local beach, Bondi Beach in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs attracts thousands of people on Christmas Day. Other families enjoy their day by having a picnic, usually the feast will be made up of Prawns, oysters, cold meats and salads with Pavlova for dessert. If families are at home the day will be spent with family and friends in the swimming pool, playing Cricket and other outdoor activities.
The warm weather allows Australians to enjoy a tradition which commenced in 1937. Carols by Candlelight which is held every year on Christmas Eve. Tens of thousands of people gather in the city of Melbourne to sing their favourite Christmas songs and many other towns and cities around Australia hold their Carols by Candlelight concerts in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
India
Christians in India decorate banana or mango trees. They also light small oil-burning lamps as Christmas decorations and fill their churches with red flowers.They give presents to family members and baksheesh or to charity and to the poor. In India the poinsettia is in flower and so the churches are decorated with this brilliant bloom for the Christmas Midnight Mass. In South India, Christians put small clay lamps on the rooftops and walls of their houses at Christmas, just as the Hindus do during their festival called Diwali.
Sviata Vechera OR "Holy Supper" is the central tradition of the beautiful Christmas Eve celebrations in Ukrainian homes. The dinner table sometimes has a few wisps of hay on the embroidered table cloth as a reminder of the Manger in Bethlehem. When the children see the first Star in the eastern evening sky, which symbolizes the trek of the Three Wise Men, the Sviata Vechera may begin. At the end of the Sviata Vechera the family often sings Kolyadky which is a Ukrainian Christmas Carols. In many communities the old Ukrainian tradition of caroling is carried on by groups of young people and members of organizations and churches calling at homes and collecting donations. The Ukrainian Christmas is celebrated on January 7th and is usually a peaceful and quiet event. In the Ukraine Father Frost visits all the Children in a sleigh pulled by only three reindeer, he brings along a little girl named Snowflake Girl, she wears a silver blue costume trimmed with white fur and a crown shaped like a snowflake.
On Christmas Eve locals and visitors alike crowd the Church's doorways and stand on the roof to watch for the dramatic annual procession. Galloping horsemen and police mounted on Arabian horses lead the parade. They are followed by solitary horseman carrying a Cross sitting on a coal-black horse, then comes the churchmen and government officials. The procession solemnly enters the doors and places an ancient effigy of the Holy Child in the Church. Deep winding stairs lead to a grotto where visitors find a silver star marking the site of the birth of Jesus.
Hope you liked hearing about some different Christmas traditions from around the world. Have a great Christmas wherever you are in the world, let me know about any traditions your family has and how you celebrate Christmas where your from and I will post it up for you!
lots of love Katie:)))xxxx (all emails screened by the weareamazing team)
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