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Christmas Traditions Worldwide
Amongst the many and varied Christmas Traditions, the following are the most dominant.
The Christmas tradition of Greetings
The Christmas Tradition of greeting people with “Happy Christmas and a Happy New Year” is a wonderful tradition. It engenders a warm feeling of celebration and gives the recipient a feeling of goodwill. The tradition of Christmas greetings also helps neighbours communicate with each other when, most of the year, they might be in too much of a hurry to speak.
The Christmas tradition of sending cards
The tradition of sending Christmas cards is probably the most popular Christmas tradition. It started in Britain in 1840 when the first 'Penny Post' public postal deliveries began. As printing methods improved, the Christmas tradition of sending cards gathered momentum and they began to be produced in large numbers from about 1860. The traditional Christmas card shows religious pictures - Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus, or other parts of the Christmas story, such as the Crib, the Three Wise Men, the Animals in the Crib or the Star leading the Three Kings to the stable. Today, the Christmas tradition of sending cards has turned into an explosive industry with Christmas cards showing pictures of winter landscapes or romantic scenes of life in past
The Christmas tradition of decorating a Tree
There is something magical about the Christmas tradition of decorating a Christmas tree and having it in your home or office. The tradition of having a Christmas started in Germany and before spreading to the rest of the world. The tradition arrived in England with the German Georgian kings and became very popular when a picture of Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and their children, grouped around a decorated Christmas tree, was illustrated in the “London News”. Behaviour at Court always became immediately fashionable - not only in Britain, but with fashion-conscious East Coast American Society. The tradition of the Christmas Tree was sealed.
The Christmas tradition of giving presents/gifts
The Christmas tradition of giving presents goes way back to Roman history. It was tradition for the high-ranking officials to give gifts to the Roman Emperor around the time of Christmas although at that time it was a pagan feast. The next step in the tradition of gift-giving at Christmas came from Saint Nicholas who was known for giving gifts. The tradition then took hold in America via giving little gifts to friends and family. To-days multi-million dollar industry has well and truly established this Christmas tradition as a “must-do” activity.
The Christmas tradition of wrapping gifts
The tradition of wrapping gifts at Christmas owes its origin to the desire on the part of the donor to preserve the mystique of the present until the receiver opens it.
The Christmas tradition of parties
Regardless of distance, Christmas has always meant the coming together of families and friends for the festive period. This led to the tradition of Christmas parties where good food and drinks provided the ambience and background for jollification and making up for time apart.
The Christmas tradition of decorating one’s surroundings.
“Deck the halls with boughs of holly”. The tradition of decorating our surroundings are Christmas started in earlier times when evergreens such as ivy, holly mistletoe, box, yew and laurel were brought indoors to create the impression of life through Winter.
The Christmas tradition of stockings
The tradition of hanging stockings on fireplaces goes back to the story of a man who squandered his fortune away after his wife's death. Legend has it that his penniless daughters, now unable to marry due to having no dowry, were drying their stockings by the fireplace one night when St. Nicholas rode by and saw them. He is reputed to have thrown some gold coins down the chimney. The coins landed in the girls' stockings, thus establishing the tradition of the Christmas stocking!
The Christmas tradition of Christmas tree lights
The tradition of decorating the Christmas tree with lights starts with the development of electricity around the year 1879. A man named Edward Johnson, who was a friend of Thomas Edison - the inventor of the first electric light bulb – was the first person to use lights on his Christmas tree in New York, in one of the first areas of the city to be wired for electricity. The tree was so admired that the tradition took hold.
The Christmas tradition of food and drink
“Eat Drink and be Merry” is the general summing up of the Christmas spirit. The tradition of eating and drinking so well at Christmas has its origins in the gathering together of family and friends to celebrate the festive occasion. Each member would bring bountiful food and drink and in general a feast ensued. The typical traditional Christmas dinner is made up of roast turkey, brussels sprouts, roast potatoes, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, sage & onion stuffing, miniature sausages wrapped in bacon and gravy. The traditional dessert is Christmas pudding - a rich, fruit pudding which is doused with brandy before serving – the tradition of this is to ward off evil spirits.
The Christmas tradition of Midnight Mass
Midnight Mass is one of the most important religious ceremonies of the year. This Christmas tradition is rooted in the belief that Jesus was born exactly when the clock struck twelve, 2009 years ago.
The Christmas tradition of singing carols
This Christmas tradition began with people singing to celebrate the birth of Christ. These songs, with religious themes, and, later themes of winter in general, became known as a Christmas carols or a noel. The tradition behind a carol is that it is a song accompanying a drama. Christmas carols revolved around dramas on the birth of Christ. At one stage in history, carols were banned from being sung in church which in turn gave birth to the Christmas tradition of carollers going from door to door and singing carols to collect money for charities. The tradition of singing Christmas carols is on of the oldest living Christmas traditions.
The Christmas tradition of Santa Claus/Father Christmas
The Old Man with the Sack
The tradition of a rotund figure dressed in red with white fur trim, coming down the chimney on Christmas Eve, is a tradition much loved by people is every country of the world. This traditional figure is based on an actual person, St. Nicholas, is also known by the name of ‘Santa Claus' which comes from the Dutch 'Sinterklaas'. St Nicholas had a reputation for giving presents. Needless to say, belief in this Christmas tradition has a limited shelf life but most of us think fondly back to the days when we held that tradition dear to our hearts. This Christmas tradition is based around Santa Claus leaving his home and factory in the North Pole, travelling by a sled pulled by his team of reindeers (the most famous of whom is Rudolf of the red nose) and bringing presents to GOOD children on Christmas Eve.
This is a general list of Christmas tradition but there are many and varied other Christmas traditions peculiar to individual countries.
Needless to say most individual countries have their own christmas traditions. If you would like to view traditions peculiar to Australia, UK, USA and Canada please see below:
Christmas traditions in Australia
Christmas traditions in Canada