Comments on: Santa Claus, Christmas, and New Years traditions around the world - road trip above the arctic circle

By: Becky

Becky — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 20:55:20 +0000

I know that the Germans celebrate “St. Nikolaus Tag” on December 6th where you leave your shoe at the door and you get treats or something like coal in them depending on if you were good or bad. It sounds similar to the Czech Republic.

What I am amazed by though… the length of Santa’s beard in your picture! Holy Rapuzel Santa!

By: Kathryn

Kathryn — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 00:31:46 +0000

I know of a unique tradition observed in one small corner of the U.S. It involves breakfast cooked in the bathroom on an electric skillet and eaten picnic style on the floor of my (erm, I mean somebody’s) bedroom floor on Christmas morning.

By: Melissa

Melissa — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 15:39:22 +0000

They must be crazy in Switzerland around Christmas time. They have a 100-meter swim in the freezing waters of Lake Geneva in what they call the Christmas Cup Race.

By: Clint

Clint — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 08:19:06 +0000

Here are two other interesting holidays to check out near Christmas time.

Malaysia: Hari Raya Aidil Adha - 20th December 2007
The term “Hari Raya” literally means “Day of Celebration” — and is the Malay term for the Muslim festival of Eid ul-Fitr which concludes the fasting month of Ramadan. The main greeting used by Muslims in Malaysia and Singapore is “Selamat Hari Raya” which means “Happy Eid” in Malay. Another greeting is “maaf zahir dan batin” which translates loosely to “I seek forgiveness (from you) physically and spiritually”, for Hari Raya is a time to reconcile and renew relationships with others.

China: Dong Zhi Celebration - 22nd December 2007 (6 weeks before the Chinese new year)
“‘Dong Zhi’ literally means ‘arrival of winter’. Coinciding with the winter solstice, it is an occasion for the family to get together to celebrate the good year they have had. Tang Yuan, sweet soup of glutinous rice flour balls, is indispensable during this festival. ‘Yuan’ (literally meaning ’round’) signifies ‘yuan man’ (complete) and Tang Yuan means ‘tuan yuan’ (family reunion). Eating Tang Yuan is symbolic of family unity and family prosperity. For good luck, families prefer to have some pink tang yuan to mix with the white ones.”

By: Clint

Clint — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 18:03:23 +0000

Japan: My friends from Japan tell me that Christmas there is mainly for couples, not so much for families or kids as much. If you have a significant other, you will spend the day with them. If you don’t, then they said you are likely to just spend the day at work. One more reason to find a significant other, I guess.

Also, I have now included a picture in the main entry from Christmas day in Ethiopia, where a different kind of hockey is played than the kind here in Finland.