CHRISTMAS AROUND THE WORLD
BY EMMA WOOTAN
Even though Christmas is seen as a western holiday
it is celebrated worldwide. Cultures from all over
the world have made Christmas their own by
incorporating their own traditions into this holiday.
Most follow the general idea of gift giving.
However, there are some interesting traditions that
spring from the combination of native and western
culture. Religion also affects the way Christmas is
celebrated as a large portion of the world is
Christian and celebrates a more traditional
Christmas rather than a secular one.
For Christmas in Poland a lot depends on whether
a person’s family is religious or not. Ms Polina Orel,
a preschool teacher at Shanghai Livingston
American School (SLAS), offered some insight into
Christmastime in Poland, “If you are religious
Christmas is a big deal, but if you are not it is a small
holiday and New Years is much bigger,” she said.
Christmas Eve is known as ‘Wigilia.’ The house is
cleaned and everyone wears festive clothes. The
Christmas meal is called ‘Kolacjo Wigilia.’
In the Philippines Christmas is a mixture of western
and native Filipino traditions. Ricalyn Sandoval, a
junior at SLAS, talked about one of these traditions
in an interview, “On the 25th of December we go
to the houses of relatives and friends. Older people
like our grandparents give the younger kids money.
We also open presents and go to church.” Another
Filipino tradition is the parol. The parol is a bamboo
pole with a star lit up on the top. It represents the
star that guided the wise men. This is very similar
to the western Christmas tree that has a star on top.
The star on western Christmas trees is also meant
to symbolize the star above the manger.
Spain celebrates the Epiphany, which takes place
on January 6. The Epiphany is when the kings or
wise men as said to have brought gifts to the baby
Jesus. While some children open presents on the
25th of December, most open presents on the
Epiphany. Some children believe that the kings or
wise men are the ones who bring them presents.
This is similar to the western Santa Claus or Saint
Nicholas. On December 26th, Boxing Day, some
children write letters to the wise men asking for
specific presents. On the Epiphany Eve they leave
shoes on windowsills and under Christmas trees to
be filled with presents. Much like the western
tradition of leaving cookies and milk for Santa Claus
and carrots for the reindeer, children in Spain leave
gifts for the wise men. They leave a glass of cognac
for each king, a Satsuma, and some walnuts. They
sometimes will leave a bucket of water for the camel
that is said to bring the wise men.
In almost every culture around the world some
evidence of western influence can be found
concerning Christmas. The combination of western
ideas and native cultures results in interesting and
unique traditions. While these traditions vary
widely they all have factors in common. They all
involve getting family together and celebrating
what they believe in.
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