Argentina - Most Christmas celebrations in Argentina are celebrated Christmas Eve. They place a "Peserbe" or nativity scene near the Christmas Tree because most Argentinians are Catholic. For them the Christmas season starts on December 8 which is the date of the Immaculate Conception. They do not neccessarily use fir trees for Christmas any tree can be decorated and they sometimes put cotton balls on the tree to represent snow. On Christmas Eve they go to mass in the afternoon and have a feast around 11pm which includes roast pork and roast turkey as common dishes. At Midnight there are often fireworks and "globos" are lit which are decorations that float into the sky with lights in them. Most Argentinians sleep on Christmas day as some people stay up all night chatting and seeing family and friends.
In Egypt Chrismas is not Celebrated until the 7th of January. They celebrate Advent between the 25th of November and January 6th and most people eat a vegan diet as part of the Holy Nativity Fast. On Coptic Christmas eve which is January 6th most people go to church at 9 pm and some stay till 4am when they get home they eat a Christmas Feast which includes dishes like Fata a lamb soup that includes contains bread, rice, garlic and boiled lamb meat. Sweet rolls called Kahk are given as gifts on Christmas Day. '
At the Beginning of December in Haiti they start looking for a Christmas tree. It can be a branch or it can be a tree brought from the mountains. They put it in their living rooms along with a large nativity set which is an important Christmas decoration sometimes the tree and the nativity take up a huge part of their living room. People often repair and redecorate their homes in preparation for Christmas. On Christmas eve children place freshly cleaned shoes at the door with straw in them in the hopes that tonton nwell will take the straw and place presents in and around their shoes. Houses are open with the lights on until 3am in many places and older children are expected to look after the younger ones. Some people go to a midnight mass on Christmas eve then go home and eat reveillion which is the wake up meal and lasts till the dawn. Christmas day is spent sleeping off the revels of the night before.
One of my favorite ones that I've found is in Japan the Christmas Meal is Fried chicken, often from KFC and Sponge cake. Christmas is not a religious holiday in Japan so most businesses and stores are open and is considered to be a time of spreading love and happiness through cards gifts and goodwill. Christmas Eve in Japan is considered a day of romance where couples spend time together and exchange gifts. It is the equivalent of our Valentines day and it is often hard to book dinner at a restaurant on Christmas Eve.
No comments:
Post a Comment