MERRY CHRISTMAS

Christmas traditions around the world

IRELAND:
Tall red candle
A tall red candle is traditionally left in a front window by the Irish
overnight as a warm-weather sign of safety and protection.
Debido a la persecución religiosa a la que el pueblo irlandés se enfrentaba, las
familias encontraron maneras de practicar su fe sin delatarse ante los británicos.
En la víspera de Navidad, si una familia irlandesa deseaba que un sacerdote se
quedase en su casa y les ofreciera los sacramentos de forma encubierta, ponían
una vela encendida en la ventana como señal de petición. La familia debía dejar
la puerta de su casa abierta para que el sacerdote viajero pudiera ofrecerle la
misa a cambio de su hospitalidad. Esta tradición se prologaría durante muchos
años.
Christmas Day Swim

With thousands of people entering the chilly Irish waters on Christmas

Day, the Christmas day swim has grown in popularity in Ireland over the
past 40 years. The Christmas Day Swim is enjoyable for the whole
family, and many Irish people make sure to include it every year as part
of their Irish Christmas celebrations. There will be more to some events
than just the frenzied scramble to the water; there will be competitions
between the better swimmers.

MEXICO:
Las Posadas
Las Posadas are traditions in Mexico during the Christmas season. They
prayed for 9 days from December 16 to 24. Each of the nine days has a
different meaning: humility, strength, detachment, charity, trust,
justice, purity, joy and generosity. It can be celebrated each day in a
different house, or it is customary to organize the neighbors by streets
or blocks and in this way each block is responsible for the realization of
each of the 9 posadas.
SWEEDEN:
The Y ule Goat
Cities and villages in Sweden construct huge statues of Christmas goats
each year (called Julbock in Swedish). The Gävle goat is the most well-
known. The goat, which is constructed on the first day of Advent in late
November or early December, is designed to symbolize the Christmas
season as a part of the Yule festivities.
ST Lucia day
La tradición cuenta que una niña con velas encendidas en el pelo se les apareció
cargada con una cesta llena de alimentos a unos campesinos hambrientos.

The Festival of St. Lucia, which is traditionally celebrated on December 13, begins the
Christmas season in Swedish custom.
It consists of a religious procession composed of a girl who embodies St. Lucia and is
accompanied by other girls called bridesmaids as well as boys called star boys (in Swedish:
stjärngossar) and sometimes, the youngest children are included, emulating little elves, who
make a tour or circuit illuminating and filling the spaces of churches, workplaces, schools and
hospitals with their songs in honor of St. Lucia, exuding a pleasant peace and energy to the
people who observe them.
the girl representing Lucia wears a crown with lighted candles carefully attached to a tiara and
is dressed in a long white tunic.

JAPAN:
KFC
The manager of Japan's first KFC in the 70's was inspired to market KFC as a Christmas
meal when he overheard some foreigners reminiscing on how they missed turkey dinner
at Christmas. KFC called the campaign “Kurisumasu ni wa Kentakkii or Kentucky for Christmas
and the idea took off!
FUN FACTS ABOUT USA CHRISTMAS
Menora lighting:
Thousands attend the National Menorah Lighting every year at The
Eclipse in front of the White House. Since 1974, a menorah has been lit
on the mall. The National Menorah Council advertises theirs as the
largest menorah in the world. Since then Hanukkah has
become an official White House tradition.
Jingle bells began as thanksgiving song:
James Lord Pierpont wrote a song called "One Horse
Open Sleigh" and performed it at his church's
Thanksgiving concert. Then, in 1857, the song was
reissued under the title it has today, and eventually
became one of the most popular Christmas songs. Bonus
fact: it was also the first song broadcast from space. On
December 16, 1965, the Gemini 6 crew sent a serenade
to Mission Control after they reported seeing an
astronaut "in a red suit."
The socks hanging :
Legend has it that a man, after losing his wife and falling
into deep sorrow, gave away and distributed his entire
fortune. He and his daughters lived happily in poverty
until they fell in love and it was time to get married, but
none of the daughters and their three suitors had
enough money to celebrate such engagements.

This tender story reached Santa Claus' ears, and on

Christmas night he dropped three gold coins down the
chimney of the girls' house, which rolled into some
socks that were drying in front of the fire. The next
morning, when the girls woke up, they found that
surprise and discovered that with that gold coin they
could make their respective engagements come true.
- Fireplaces were once the place where socks and small
items of clothing were hung to dry in front of the fire.