Australia
Greeting - Merry Christmas
Santa's Name - Santa Claus. Children leave
him a piece of cake or biscuits and a glass of milk
or a bottle of beer.
Food - Many Christmas dinners include roasted
meats and vegetables, special fruit cakes, and puddings
with a coin baked inside. Since the temperature can
reach 100 degrees Fahrenheit, people are starting
to eat cold meats and salads, tropical fruits like
mangoes, and stone fruits like plums. Often, the main
meal is eaten for lunch.
Gifts - These are left under the Christmas
tree and opened Christmas morning.
Decorations - Shops and homes are decorated
with tinsel, Christmas trees, decorations for the
holiday, and special lights.
Customs - Traditional and Australian carols
are sung by candlelight on Christmas Eve and are broadcast
on television.
On Boxing Day, the day after Christmas, two sporting
events take place: The Boxing Day Test Match (cricket
game) and the start of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht
Race.
Brazil
Greeting - Feliz Natal
Santa's Name - Papai Noel (Father Noel), who
is dressed in a red, silk suit with boots.
Food - Many people eat a traditional feast
with roast turkey and vegetables, while others eat
chicken and rice or beans. Beer and wine are also
served. Some regions begin eating around 9 PM on Christmas
Eve, while others eat around midnight.
Gifts - Local charities take in donations but
do not seem to have enough presents for all the children.
Decorations - Brazil has a mixture of people
so Christmas is celebrated in different ways. In the
northeastern area, it is common to find Nativity Scenes;
in the southern part, snow is simulated with little
pieces of cotton on pine trees.
Customs - Brazilians sing a number of Christmas
carols.
Greece
Greeting - Eftihismena Christougenna
Food - Special holiday cakes are baked.
Gifts - Most Greek people exchange gifts on
Saint Basil's Day, January first.
Customs - To honor Saint Basil, the holiday
cakes have gold coins hidden inside them. The cakes
are cut at midnight on New Year's Eve. Whoever has
a gold coin in his piece of cake will have good luck
the following year.
Hungary
Santa's Name - Actually, the Baby Jesus is
said to bring presents on Christmas Eve. A bell sounds
signaling that the Angels have brought the tree and
gifts.
Customs - On December 5, children leave out
their shoes. During the night, Mikulas and Black Peter
come to fill them with goodies for well-behaved children
and switches for naughty children.
India
Decorations - Sometimes, houses are decorated
with mango leaves; mango or banana trees are also
decorated. Small, clay, oil-burning lamps are placed
on the edges of flat roofs as decorations.
Jews don't celebrate Christmas (a Christian holiday)
in December; Jewish people worldwide celebrate Hanukkah
(Chanukah), the Festival of Lights. Several traditions
and symbols of Hanukkah are similar to those of Christmas,
although they have different meanings.
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Greeting - Chag Semeach (Happy Chanukah)
Santa's Name - Actually, parents, grandparents,
and other family members give presents to the children.
Food - Because oil is an important part of
the holiday, many foods are prepared with it. A favorite
is potato latkes (pancakes).
Gifts - Since Chanukah lasts for eight days,
children may receive one present each night.
Decorations - Jewish stars, blue or silver
foil garlands,
dreidels (spinning tops), Chanukah gelt (chocolate
coins), and pictures of the Macabees (Jewish army
that recaptured the Holy Temple and Jerusalem from
the Assyrian Greek King Antiochus) are found around
the house.
Customs - The menorah (candelabra) is lit each
night. On the first night, one candle is lit; on,
the second night, two candles; and so on until all
the candles are lit on the eighth night. After lighting
the candles, families eat a festive meal, dance, play
games, and open presents. They also attend Chanukah
parties.
Japan
Greeting - Kurisumasu Omedeto
Santa's Name - Santa Kurohsu. He does not appear
in person but is pictured in advertisements as a kind
old man with a round sack on his back.
Food - Depending upon the family's custom,
they eat turkey on Christmas Day or on Christmas Eve.
Japanese families also eat Christmas cake.
Gifts - Stores sell merchandise for men, women,
and children; and on Christmas Day, families exchange
gifts.
Decorations - More and more artificial Christmas
trees are beginning to appear. They are decorated
with small toys, gold paper fans, dolls, lanterns,
paper ornaments, and wind chimes. A popular ornament
is the origami swan. Other decorations are mistletoe,
evergreen, tinsel, and lights. An amulet is put on
the front door for good luck and children exchange
'birds of peace,' pledging there must not be anymore
war.
Customs - The daiku, or Great Nine, refers
to Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and is performed many
places.
Mexico
Greeting - Feliz Navidad
Customs - Beginning on December 15, some families
carry colorful lanterns and walk from house to house
in their neighborhoods, each night, until Christmas
Eve.
This is called La Posada, which means 'the procession.'
On each of the nights, the families are invited into
different houses where they become guests at a party.
There is plenty to eat and drink. Children play the
pinata game, trying to break open the papier-mache
figure with a stick while blindfolded; when it is
cracked open, candies and small gifts fall out.
Netherlands
Greeting - Hartelijke Kerstroeten
Santa's Name - Sinterklaas (St. Nicholas),
who wears a red bishop's hat and bishop's cloak and
has white hair and a white beard. He arrives on a
white horse with his servant, Black Pete, to put small
gifts in children's wooden shoes.
Food - The Dutch people eat lots of marzipan,
spiced ginger biscuits, tall chocolate letters, and
'bankletter' - initials made of pastry and filled
with almond paste. When they are around the Christmas
tree singing songs, they eat 'Kerstkrans' - a Christmas
ring.
Gifts - On December 6, after hearing a knock
at their door, children find a bag full of toys, nuts,
and gifts.
Decorations - The Christmas tree is known as
the Paradise Tree. Decorations of the season include
dolls, musical instruments, fruit, candies, and lights.
Customs - The Dutch sing carols, the most popular
one being "O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree."
Sweden
Greeting - God Jul
Food - Coffee, cakes, and special buns are
served on Santa Lucia Day, December 13.
Customs - Santa Lucia Day honors Saint Lucy,
who helped blind people. The oldest daughter in each
Swedish household dresses in a white gown with a red
sash, wears a crown of evergreen
with seven candles in it, awakens the family with
a song, and serves the coffee, cakes, and buns. Each
town and city also chooses a young woman to be Lucia
for the day. She then serves coffee and food to the
townspeople at schools, hospitals, and other public
buildings. From these women, a national Lucia is chosen;
followed by a parade, feast, and dance.
Now
that you have this data, let your children put the information
in a comparison chart.
Label the left side with the names of the countries
and the bottom with the various information (ie: Greeting,
Food, and so on). Then fill in the boxes!
Let your children do research to find out the information
I left out.
Conduct research to find out the same customs for other
countries, especially the heritage countries of students
in your class or your own family.
However you celebrate the holidays, have a safe, wonderful
season and a Happy New Year!
I hope these ideas are useful and inspire your own creative
thinking.
And remember...Reading is FUNdamental!
About the Author:
Freda J. Glatt, MS, retired from teaching after a 34-year
career in Early Childhood and Elementary Education.
Her focus, now, is to reach out and help others reinforce
reading comprehension and develop a love for reading.
Visit her site at http://www.sandralreading.com.
Reading is FUNdamental!
Source: www.isnare.com |