cmas2

Do you ever wonder how boys and girls celebrate Christmas in other parts of the world? Let's explore together and learn about Christmas traditions in other countries!

In England boys and girls hang Christmas cards from their trees. They also put little candles on the branches of their trees.

No turkey for the children in England! Children there enjoy a wonderful meal of roast beef and plum pudding.

On December 26th in England, the English celebrate a holiday called "Boxing Day." This name and holiday comes from a legend about noblemen boxing up gifts to give to their servants. This holiday is also called Saint Stephen's Day. Do you know who Saint Stephen was? You may have read about Stephen in the Bible. Stephen was a martyr for Jesus and he was stoned to death for his belief in Christ.

In England little boys and girls receive their gifts from Father Christmas and they are not allowed to open their gifts on Christmas morning as is the custom in the United States. Children in England must wait and wait and wait until Christmas afternoon! Can you imagine!

Children in England have a very unusual way of delivering their mail to Santa Claus. Instead of using their local post office, they throw their letters in the fireplace!

In Mexico children decorate their homes for Christmas with colored paper lanterns and flowers. Children in Mexico often celebrate with a presebra which is a replica of the manger scene with Jesus was born nearly 2000 years ago!

In Mexico children have a great deal of fun when they participate in a parade called a posada. These parades represent Mary and Joseph searching for a place to stay on the night Jesus was born. Some of the people in the parade dress as Mary and Joseph and some dress as angels. The parade goes from door to door searching for shelter just as Mary and Joseph did the night Jesus was born. Just as Mary and Joseph could find no room in the inn, neither can the participants of the parade. Sometimes the people in the parade will say a prayer in front of the manger scene and then they will have a party!

Have you ever seen a pinata before? A pinata is usually a clay pot that is decorated to look like an animal. The pinata is filled with candy and goodies for the children and is hung from the ceiling. The boys and girls tkae turns swinging at the pinata until it is broken and candy falls on the ground for the children to gather!

A very unusual tradition happens in Mexico when the people there carve Christmas scense out of gaint radishes!

In Mexico children write letters to the Christ child and on the eve of the Epiphany which is January 6th, they put their shoes at the end of their beds for the Three Magi to fill.

In Finland children participate in what is called "Little Christmas." Little Christmas is a pre-Christmas celebration.

Children in Finland celebrate Christmas with advent candles. The advent candles are lit the Sundays that precede Christmas and are put into a special candle holder that holds 4 candles.

Children in Finland get their first Christmas presents with the lighting of the first Advent candle. The children also have advent calendars that contain windows which are to be opened each day before Christmas.

Turkey is not a popular meat in Finland. Most Christmas dinners in finland contain cold ham, salted meat and pickled herrings.

Christmas celebrations officially begin at 12:00 on Christmas Eve. The Mayor of Helsinki tells everyone to pay their respects to the Christ child. Children rise early in Finland and go to church services on Christmas morning just like you do! I bet your church is often decorated with candles and so are the churches in Finland!

Children in France also receive their Christmas presents in their shoes! Before children go to bed in France, they put their shoes in front of the fireplace in hopes that Pere Noel (Father Christmas) will fill them with goodies!

On Christmas Eve restaurants and cafes in France stay open all night! The restaurants are serving a special meal that is called "le reveillon." The word reveillon means to wake up! Reveillon symbolically represents the spiritual awakening to meaning of the birth of Jesus!

Children of France are busy munching away on sausages, oysters, ham and pastries while you are putting away roast turkey! French children also eat a cake which is called a "Christ Cake." A Christ cake is coated with sugar and is decorated to look like the Christ child.

One very interesting custom in France is to leave a candle burning in case the Virgin Mary passes by!

Something that you might find very interesting is that the children in France receive their gifts on December 6th!

Children in Italy celebrate Christmas with a big focus on Jesus! They start celebrating Christmas 8 days before Christmas and continue until after the Feast of Ephiphany. On December 23rd, children dress up like shepherds and they go from house to house playing shepherds songs. People give the children money for the children to buy treats!

Children in Italy are served a traditional meal of spaghetti and anchovies for their Christmas meal!

A tradition in Italy calls for each member of the family to take turns drawing a wrapped gift out of a large bowl called the Urn of Fate.

In Italy families kneel before the presepio which means manger. The manger figures are hand-carved and are usually very detailed. The manger scene is set out in the shape of a triangle. This pyramid structure is called a ceppo. The ceppo is built out of wood and is several feet high. It is decorated with colored paper and cones! The shelves in the ceppo is filled with small gifts and candy.

Just as children in America, Italian children hang up their stockings too! The big difference is that the children in Italy hang their stockings on the Feast of Epiphany which is January 6th. The children in Italy are not looking for Santa Claus but are looking for Befana. Befana is a witch-like character and she rides on a broom. The story about Befana says that on the night that baby Jesus was born, she was asked by the Three Wise Men for directions to Bethlehem and she said she was too busy! Later on that night Befana saw a light in the sky and decided to go to Bethlehem. She looked and looked but could not find the stable. Legend says that each and every year she continues to look for the Christ Child. Since she was not able to give the Christ Child a gift, legend also says that she gives gifts to good boys and girls.

Back to the Directory

Our Main Christmas Page

We love E-Mail!