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Christmas Around The World
Sweden St . Lucia , dressed in white with brilliant red sash about her waist , and wearing an astonishing crown of pine boughs haloed with the light of seven candles , awakens the household proclaiming the arrival of the Christmas season on Dec . 13 . Celebrations end on Christmas Eve with tree-trimming , dancing , singing , dinner of lutefisk , and opening presents which are sealed with red wax .
Norway
Tradition says church bells chime at five o ’ clock on Christmas Eve when the Christmas celebrations start . For weeks families make gifts and prepare food . A custom is remembering the animals and birds . Cattle are given extra fodder , A sheaf saved from the fall harvest is placed on a tall pole . On Christmas morning a bundle of grain decorates gables , gateways and barn doors - the bird ’ s Christmas dinner .
Italy Eclipsing the Christmas Festival is the feast of the Immaculate Conception honoring Mary . Calbrian shepherds , dressed in goatskin trousers and colorful jackets , come from the mountains to play their pipes and flutes . Their Santa wears rags , rides to each house on a broomstick , leaving presents for children beside the hearth . A precipio is found in every home , with tiny statuettes of the Holy Family , angels , shepherds and Wise Men grouped about a miniature manger .
Switzerland Samichlaus is eagerly awaited by children on Dec . 5 . In the mountain hamlets he is heralded with a procession from a little village church . Cross-bearer and banner boys wearing quaint high-peak hoods to protect from air and snow lead the choir through the street . Samichlaus wears a red jovial mask , white flowing beard , and fur trimmed robe . He has a gray sack and staff , conveying rewards for the good and bad children .
Sicily
Mountain musicians , playing melancholy melodies on a violin and cello as they stroll through village streets at Christmas . A pyramid shaped altar with a wax image of the Christ Child is built in each home and church . A midnight mass is held on Christmas Eve . A procession goes through town , fires are lit , church bells ring and rockets are sent up to the sky .
Belgium Christmas is a season of gifts and joy in Belgium , where children leave tidbits in wooden shoes for Santa ’ s reindeer and hang up stockings . In the morning the oats and tidbits are gone , replaced with toys . Chimes in the 500-year-old cathedral chime 99 bells on Christmas Day .
Blairsville
Union County GA Magazine � Holiday 2022 Winter 2023 � Page 23
Germany
The carol “ Silent Night , Holy Night ”, Kris Kringle , hand-carved toys and the Christmas tree are a few of the contributions to the Christmas season by Germany of yesteryear . The greatest contribution is the Tannenbaum ( Christmas tree ). Years past the tree was decorated in utmost secrecy and lit on Christmas Eve . Carved toys reflected objects familiar to farmsteads : houses , stables , cows , horses , woods , wild animals , carts and wagons .
Austria
A beautiful Austrian Christmas custom places emphasis upon light as a symbol of the eternal light God gave man in the Christ Child . Three large wax candles are prepared for the ceremony . While the family gathers on Christmas Eve and sings Christmas songs , the father lights the first candle . The second candle is lit on Christmas Day and the third candle on New Year ’ s Day , when the Christmas festivities end .
Finland
Christmas Day there is suspended from the ceiling with a straw framework which is decorated with paper stars , suggestive of heaven . When lighted from below with the glow of firelight and Christmas tree candles , it produces a mysterious effect . Straw on the floor is where children sleep in a manger-like bed , reminiscent of the Christ Child . A man dressed as a yule goat , Father Christmas , leaves presents .
Mexico Shepherds dressed in grotesque clothes dance house to house while singing . The game of the pinata gives children great joy . A pinata , a colorful earthernware bowl that looks like the a face or animals , is filled with fruit , peanuts , candy and good luck charms . Blindfolded , children take turns trying to break the pinata .
Holland
To provide food and water for St . Nick ’ s white horse on Christmas Eve , children stuff clean wooden shoes with hay and carrots and place them on the window sills , next to a dish of water . Early Christmas morning children see that St . Nick has replaced hay and carrots with small gifts , toys and other surprises .
Yugoslavia
The day before Christmas men search for a young oak tree , suitable for the Badnyak , or Yule Log . The log was kept burning all night . They await polaznick , the village lad who must be first to enter the house on Christmas morning . He throws grain at each family member , asking a blessing . The log is struck causing sparks to fly in the air , each spark meaning many sheep , cattle and pigs . Polaznik pours wine on the log and leaves a coin .
From a 1958 publication Christmas Around the World , author Van B . Hooper .
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