HOW CHRISTMAS IS CELEBRATED AROUND THE WORLD

Christmas is a big holiday. There’s no school, families put up trees and decorations, they
eat lots of food, sing songs… and of course there’s Santa and all the presents! 

There are so many Christmas traditions around the world, Christmas tree, baking holiday
cookies, and opening Christmas presents, to name a few. But what are Christmas
traditions around the world like? You'll find that many countries celebrate the holiday
differently.

Christmas, an annual holiday that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, is celebrated
in unique ways in different countries, even those with few Christians. Secular celebrations
of Christmas are commonplace around the world: India is less than three percent
Christian, but Christmas is a national holiday. Only one percent of Japan's population is
Christian, but Santa impersonators and holiday music still fill department stores. In the
United States each person will spend more than $1,000 on the holiday, according to
the National Retail Federation.

In this article, we will learn how many countries celebrate Christmas differently.
 According to the article how much money
people in the United States spend on average?
Christmas in Japan and Canada.

Christmas isn’t an official holiday in Japan, but

many people and businesses put up lights and
trees. Young children get presents and the
family will sit down for a meal of fried chicken
instead of turkey.

Christmas Eve though is considered a very

romantic time like Valentine’s Day in Canada.
Couples will exchange gifts and go out for fancy
dinners. Restaurants are usually booked
months in advance on Christmas Eve.
What type of meal do people from
Japan eat in Christmas?
Christmas in Australia.

In Australia, December 25th is in their summer, so

Christmas Day is a time to hit the beach. There
you might see surfers dressed up like Santa and
Christmas trees set up on the sand.
Christmas dinner is often made on the grill, usually
grilled meat or grilled fish and it’s said that when
visiting Australia, Santa gives his reindeer a rest
and gets kangaroos to pull his sleigh!
 What time of the year does
Australia celebrate Christmas?
_____
Christmas in Venezuela.

Venezuela is a religious country where

most of the people are Catholic, so
Christmas-time involves a lot of going
to church. In the capital city of Caracas,
there’s a tradition of closing the streets
On Christmas morning and people
roller skate to church services.
What involves Venezuela Christmas?
What people do at Christmas?
Christmas in Norway.
One of the most unreligious Christmas traditions
can be found in Norway, where people ride their
brooms like witches. It’s a tradition that dates back
centuries when people believed that witches and
evil spirits came out on Christmas looking for
brooms to ride on. To this day, many people still hide
their brooms in the house to stop them from being
stolen. People give a bad gift for fun and normally
have hamburgers for Christmas dinner. The houses
are decorated in yellow and black colors in a horror
decoration. People always watch horror movies on
this day.
What is the main Christmas tradition in Norway?
Christmas in Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, people celebrate Christmas on January

6th in accordance with the Ethiopian Orthodox
Calendar. Mass often begins with a special candelit
procession, in which participants wear a thin white
shawl called a Netela and walk around the church
three times before the service begins. They don't
give gifts but it's a time for church, games and of
course, food. People give big donations to the
church or help with remodeling and painting of the
church. Gifts are given only to the church on this
day.
Christmas in
Germany.
Christmas celebrations start in Germany on 24th
December (Christmas Eve) when Christmas gifts are
exchanged. On 25th December (Christmas Day) and 26
December, usually the family gets together for
celebrations and also the religious Christians will visit
Christmas mass during these days.
In Germany, you can do your Christmas shopping with
a mug of hot chocolate at outdoor markets. The
Christmas markets pop up all over the country with
artisans selling gifts for everyone on your list.
People usually wear Christmas sweaters and hats.
Christmas in Mexico.

In Mexico, Christmas is celebrated from December 12th to January 6th.

From December 16th to Christmas Eve, children often perform the “Posadas”.
In each Posada, children are given candles, to process round the streets with.
They call at the houses of friends and neighbors and sing a song at each
home. The song they sing is about Joseph and Mary asking for a room in the
house. But the children are told that there is no room in the house and that
they must go away. When the children go into the house they say prayers of
thanks and then they have a party with food, games and fireworks.
One game that is often played at Posada parties is piñata. A piñata is a
decorated clay or papier-mâché jar filled with sweets and hung from the ceiling
or tree branch. The piñata is often decorated something like a ball with seven
peaks around it. The peaks or spikes represent the 'seven deadly sins'. To
play the game, children are blind-folded and take it in turns to hit the piñata
with a stick until it splits open and the sweets pour out. Then the children rush
to pick up as many sweets as they can!
Christmas Eve is known as 'Noche Buena' and is a family day.
People often take part in the final Posada and then in the
evening have the main Christmas meal. Popular dishes for the
main Christmas meal include roast turkey, roast pork, tamales,
bacalao (salt cod), romeritos (a green vegetable that's cooked
in a mole sauce with potatoes and shrimps) and there are
normally salads served as side dishes such as Ensalada
Nochebuena (Christmas Eve salad). For dessert bunuelos are
very popular, they are fried pastries sprinkled with sugar and
cinnamon or a hot sugar syrup. To drink there might be Ponche
(a warm Christmas punch made with fruit) and Rompope (a
drink like egg nog which often has rum added to it!).
Activity 01. Writing.

Describe how do you celebrate Christmas with your family,

describe your own traditions and describe what type of food
do you eat and all related with Christmas Holiday.
R: my family and I every year we celebrate Christmas Eve together.
I go with my mom and dad to the posadas in church, sing songs of Christmas
and we eat tamales and drink ponche. On December 24th we make dinner in a
house of any of my aunts. We bring gifts and at night we exchange them among
us. Before eat meal we play with a piñata what was fill with candies and fruits.
The day before Christmas we decorate the house with many arrangments and
lights for everywhere. It is a tradition to put a tree and decorate it with
Christmas spheres and lights around it. For dinner at Christmas every family
bring some different dishes.
Vocabulary. Make 2 sentences with each phrasal verb.

Pop into: To go into some place very briefly (valientemente)

• I need to pop into my professor’s office to drop off the assignment.
• All I have to do is pop into the drugstore.
• I have to pop into the dark room to turn on the lights

Drop off: To take something or someone or

• The children drop off!

• fall asleep easily.
• I need to drop off my homework.
• He drop off the book that was on the table

Act up : Behave badly:

• Sorry my son is acting up again.
• I can’t support that kid, he is acting up