Christmas Traditions

around the world

 By: Theodora Dimitrijevic

 The Meaning of Christmas
 Christmas celebrates the birth
of Jesus Christ and is
celebrated by Christians all
over the world. As the world
has become more globalized,
many people who are not
Christian also join in with
Christmas festivities by
exchanging presents and
spending time with their
families. Jesus Christ was born
in a manger in Bethlehem to a
young woman named Miriam
(Mary). Mary and Joseph
could not find an inn to stay in
on the night of Jesus’ birth.
 Christmas Traditions
 December 25th is the day of Christmas for
Christians following the Gregorian
calendar. However, many Christians
around the world celebrate Christmas
Eve on January 6th and Christmas day on
January 7th, as they follow the Julian
calendar.
 Christmas in Serbia
Chesnika is a traditional
bread that Serbs look
forward to sharing with
their families at Christmas.
A widespread custom is to
put a coin into the dough.
In some regions, little
objects made of cornel
wood may be inserted,
representing chickens,
oxen, cows, swine, bees
and other animals. A cross
usually adorns the surface
of this special Christmas
bread.
 Christmas day in Serbia
 Christmasday in Serbia is filled with
much joy. It is not unusual to see
people dancing on the streets and
playing musical instruments.
 Christmas in Greece
 Families in Greece celebrate Christmas
by making traditional almond shortbread
cookies dusted with pure icing sugar
called kourabiethes (pronounced koor-
a-byeh-thez).
 The Origin of the Christmas Tree
 The Christmas tree
originated in Germany and
can be traced back to the
1500’s (16th century), and
there is some debate that
Christmas trees even existed
as early as the 1400’s (15th
century). The Christmas tree
began to grow in popularity
outside of Germany during
the second half of the 19th
century (1850’s to 1890’s).
 Russia has gained a
reputation for having
incredibly tall and
ornamental Christmas trees.
Top Right: A Christmas tree
in Russia is being erected
with the help of a crane.
 The Origin of the
Candy Cane
 Like the Christmas tree, the candy
cane also originated in Germany.
The first candy cane was made in
Cologne, Germany in 1672. The
choirmaster at Cologne Cathedral
asked a local candy maker to
make candy canes for the
children of his church. He asked
the candy maker to bend the
peppermint sticks into the shape
of canes, to honour the shepherds
who visited Jesus at his birth. The
children were presented with the
candy canes on Christmas Eve.
 The Tradition of Giving
Presents on Christmas

 The tradition of giving Christmas

presents originated from Saint
Nicholas, an actual person who lived
in the 4th century in Myra, Greece
(today Myra is considered part of the
southern coast of Turkey). The present
day Santa Claus is named after this
man, as “Santa” in German translates
to “saint” and “Claus” is an
abbreviation for the name “Nicholas.”
Saint Nicholas began the tradition of
giving presents to the poor, especially
around Christmas and today people
continue the tradition of giving
presents to poor people at Christmas,
as well as family members and friends.
Right: Icon of St. Nicholas
 Christmas Stockings
 The tradition of hanging stockings by
the fireplace at Christmas originated
from an instance in the life of Saint
Nicholas. The saint knew a poor man
with three beautiful daughters. The
man had no money to marry his
daughters and was worried about
what would happen to them after he
died. St. Nicholas decided to help. He
knew the man would not accept
money, so at night he threw three
bags of gold through an open window
secretly. One landed in a stocking that
was drying by the fireplace, and to this
day we continue to hang up stockings
at Christmas! The girls of course,
married and lived happily ever after.
Almsgiving: Christmas is celebrated
best by giving to those in need
 Right: A child in China radiates with
excitement as she receives a Christmas
shoebox loaded with presents from
Operation Christmas Child. Below: A child
in Serbia receives a shoebox loaded with
presents from Operation Christmas Child.
 Celebrating Christmas
 People all over the world spend Christmas day with
their immediate and extended family. Most families
will treasure Christmas memories for years to come.
 Many
Celebrating Christmas by 
Christians
around the
attending Church world
celebrate
Christmas by
attending
church with
their families
on Christmas
Eve. For
Orthodox
Christians,
fasting from
meat, dairy
and fish
products
leading up to
Christmas Eve
is a tradition
that has been
kept by many
for centuries.
 Christmas Celebrations in Alaska
 Below: Large pinwheel-
shaped "stars" are spun
during a Russian Orthodox
Christmas celebration in
Anchorage, Alaska.

Above: The Kicaput Dance

Group based in Anchorage
performed songs and dances
that originated from villages
along the Yukon and
Kuskokwim Rivers at the Russian
Orthodox Christmas
celebration and starring.
 Festivities and Celebrations
 While most people reserve Christmas day for spending time
with their families, people often continue to visit their extended
families and friends in the days after Christmas and continue
the celebrations with feasts and presents. Often, churches will
hold Christmas festivals and the children of the Sunday school
will put on a Nativity play.
 Christmas Traditions
 There are of course,
many more Christmas
traditions around the
world. There are so
many that we could
not possibly fit them all
in one power point
presentation.
Christmas is a great
time to ask your
friends about their
traditions, as you will
probably learn about
a Christmas tradition
you didn’t know of! I
wish you all a joyous
Christmas! The End