Here in the United States, the holiday season
is a time for gifts and gathering with family and friends, steaming mugs of hot
cocoa on cold nights, visits from Santa, and dazzling light displays. Many of
these American traditions are actually derived from other cultural celebrations
of the season around the world; the Christmas tree, for example, comes from the
German tannenbaum, and Santa Claus
himself is a mash-up of the Dutch Sinterklaas
and the German St. Nicholas. These original traditions survive to this day and
continue to be practiced in their countries of origin.
At Place2Place, our international partners and
consultants are sharing a glimpse into just a few of these joyous cultural
traditions where they live. We reached out to a few of them to see how they
celebrate the holiday season, so join us by the fire as we take you on a tour
of winter festivities around the world.
Mexico
In Mexico, the Christmas celebration starts on
Las Posadas, or December 16th. “Las
posadas” means “lodging” or “accommodation” in Spanish, referring to the
nativity story of Jesus. People begin putting up decorations, including
nativity scenes that remain without a baby Jesus figure until December 24, or Buena Noche, when children lead
processions to churches and place a Christ child figure in each manger. The
real gift-giving day is on January 6, or the Epiphany, which celebrates the
Three Magi. It’s also the day to eat the Rosca
de Reyes, a special sweet bread in the shape of a wreath And our partner,
International Relocation Services, SA de CV, notes that the festivities don’t
stop there: “Technically, the Christmas season isn’t over until February 2,
Candlemas Day, when everyone takes their Christ child figure to be blessed,
followed by tamales for all.”
Holland/Sweden
The holiday excitement for Dutch families
starts in the middle of November, when Sint Nikolaas (or Sinterklaas) and his
helpers begin a week-long boat journey from their home country of Spain to the
Netherlands, where their arrival is broadcast on national TV. Children put out
their shoes, sing a song, and wake up the next morning to find their shoes
filled with treats (such as a chocolate letter) and small toys. On December 5,
Sinterklaas will visit and leave a bag of presents for children who have been
good. Bad children get stuffed into a bag and taken back to Spain with
Sinterklaas! But all the kids in Holland must be good - as far as we know,
Sinterklaas hasn’t stolen any of them on account of bad behavior.
One of our consultants who is Dutch and
married to a Swede celebrates not only this Dutch tradition, but also a Swedish
tradition. “After Sinterklaas leaves,our family focuses on the Swedish
tradition of St Lucia - the festival of lights. On December 13, one of the
children puts on a crown with (electric) candles and a long, white dress. The
other children put on long, white dresses as well, sing songs and hand out
ginger snaps and hot wine.”
Spain
Our partner, Antares Relocation, describes
their Christmas celebrations in Spain as a two-week fiesta. “Christmas in Spain lasts from the 24th December to the 6th
January. We have a big family dinner on
the 24th, then go to midnight mass, and we also have lunch on the 25th. Santa
Claus also comes to deliver some presents. The most anticipated moment for the
children is the 5th and 6th of January as this is when the Three Wise Men
arrive. The children go out to the street where they have the floats with the
Wise Men and many other children’s characters, there is music and dancing, the
children are given sweets and it is a fun afternoon/night out with the
Children. Before going to bed, we put our shoes around the tree and put some
food out for the Wise Men and their Camels. We wake up on the 6th, full of
excitement, and run to the lounge to see all the presents that “Reyes Magos”
have left. If you have been good, they leave lots of presents but, if you have
been bad, they leave you a lump of coal (sugar coal). We normally have a big
Family get together with an abundance of food and sweets and champagne with the
Christmas Carols in the background.”
Puerto
Rico
Puerto Rico’s holiday celebration occurs on
the feast of the Epiphany on January 6. “On the evening of January 5th, Puerto
Rican children go outside with scissors and shoe boxes to cut grass for the
Magi’s camels to eat,” one of our consultants from Puerto Rico, describes, “the
grass goes into shoe boxes and the boxes are placed under the beds of parents,
grandparents, godparents, uncles, aunts, etc. Sometime during the night, Los
Reyes (the Three Kings) visit. While their camels eat the grass, Los Reyes fill
the shoe boxes to overflowing with gifts, and sweets, and many wonderful
things.”
Finland/UK
Our partner at
TTHCurzon has lived in the UK for 28 years, but is originally from
Finland, and her family blends both traditions together beautifully. “We
celebrate ‘Finnish Christmas’ on December 24 with extended family. We start the
Christmas celebrations with rice pudding for breakfast which has an almond
hidden in it – whoever gets the almond can make a wish. Then, Christmas dinner
consists of ham, swede, carrot and sweetened potato casseroles as well as loads
of fish. Father Christmas also comes by on December 24th on his way around the
world. Before going to bed, we hang the stockings and put a glass of sherry out
for Father Christmas and bowl of nuts and carrots for the reindeers by the
fireplace.”
Her family then switches to English Christmas
traditions on Christmas Day, starting with champagne and smoked salmon,
followed by a very traditional English lunch of
turkey, roast potatoes and pigs-in-a-blanket. Finally, at 3 pm, they
settle in for the Queen’s annual Christmas speech and raise a glass of sherry
for her.
Germany
One of our German consultants living in the
U.S. describes the many different holiday traditions she celebrated growing up
in southern Germany. “Our Christmas Season starts on the first Advent Sunday.
Advent begins on the sixth Sunday before Christmas, the Sunday after St.
Martin’s Day (11 November) as a time of expectant waiting and preparation for
the celebration of Christmas. A traditional advent wreath with 4 candles is
common in most German households. The Advent wreath is usually made of an
evergreen wreath with four candles and beautifully decorated. Baking time in
Germany is also an old tradition. Families usually bake several sorts of
cookies starting in the beginning of December. The smell of the pine wreath
along with homemade cookies rings in the Christmas Season.
The Christmas Season is celebrated in Germany
with countless Christmas Markets (Weihnachtsmaerkte).
A Christmas market, also known as Christkindlesmarkt
and Weihnachtsmarkt, is a street
market associated with the celebration of Christmas during the four weeks of
Advent. The markets take place in most German cities starting on the first of
Advent and last all the way to Christmas. You can purchase handcrafted items
and much more. The famous Gluehwein (Hot Wine) is served everywhere to warm you
up while shopping and strolling.
On December 6th, we celebrate Nikolaus Tag.
Children set out their boots in front of the door and on December 6th they are
filled with sweets, chocolate, fruits and nuts.
My family celebrates Christmas Eve with a
traditional walk in the woods when life slows down, shops close up and it is
starting to get very peaceful and quite. We also visit our family grave to
light candles for our grandparents. On Christmas Eve we serve our traditional
Christmas Eve dinner, which is Raclette and Fondue. In Germany we open our
presents on Christmas Eve after dinner. Christmas day is usually a big cooking
day and we either serve turkey or goose with spaetzle, rotkraut, dumplings and
brussels sprouts.”
Thank you so much to all of our partners and
consultants for sharing their favorite holiday traditions with us. Do you
celebrate the holidays in a special way where you live or where you come from?
Let us know! Leave a comment on this blog post or on our Facebook page. We wish
everyone and their loved ones a happy holiday season, and all the best in the
New Year!
Comments
Post a Comment