In the UK we traditionally celebrate Christmas by decorating our Christmas trees, exchanging presents and feasting on roast turkey – not forgetting the all-important visit from Santa on his sleigh. But how do people in other countries celebrate Christmas? We put this question to some of our customers around the world!
Did you know that in Mexico the main Christmas celebration is a procession marking Mary and Joseph’s trip to Bethlehem, and it lasts nine days!? And apparently in Norway they dress up as Julebukk – a Christmas elf – and go carol singing. From Chile to Australia and lots of countries in between, Father Christmas, Saint Nick or Santa Claus features in some form, as does lots of yummy food. In Germany, the home of the Christmas tree, they enjoy festive Christmas markets, and lots of sweet treats like Stollen and Lebkuchen.
We also discovered that many countries have their main Christmas celebration on different days, not just the 25th December. In Greece gifts are exchanged on January 1st, St Basil’s Day, and in Poland traditional celebrations start on December 24th. In Spain the official start to Christmas is December 8th but children have to wait until January 6th, the Feast of the Epiphany, before they receive any gifts.
We also found out how to say ‘Merry Christmas’ in lots of different languages. Why not give it a go?
- French: Joyeux Noël
- Hawaiian: Mele Kalikimaka
- Spanish: Feliz Navidad
- Croatian: Sretan Božić
- Afrikaans: Geseënde Kersfees
- Dutch: Zalig Kerstfeast
Feliz Navidad from all at Priddy Books!
