Yule Love These 11 Christmas Traditions from Around the World
Have You Heard of These Holiday Customs?
One of the most beautiful and exciting things about travel is that you get a chance to learn about different traditions and cultures. Christmas is a favorite holiday of many around the world, but it can certainly look different depending on where you are. Read on for a look at Christmas traditions around the world and you’re sure to be in the festive spirit in no time.
Christmas in Germany
In Germany, Christmas is called Weihnachten and is considered by many to be the most important holiday on the calendar. Advent, the weeks leading up to Christmas, is a vital part of German Christmas traditions. To mark the beginning of Advent, many people will bake Christmas cookies and make gingerbread houses.
Most homes will also track the days of Advent with a special calendar or wreath. One of the highlights of Christmas in Germany are the amazing Christmas markets which pop up in nearly every town around the country. Locals and tourists alike flock to the markets to enjoy traditional food, sweet treats, Christmas decorations, handcrafted toys, hand-blown glass Christmas ornaments and much more.
Christmas in Mexico
Christmas in Mexico is celebrated over a series of weeks beginning on December 12th and finishing January 6th with one related holiday, Candlemas, falling on February 2nd. During this entire season, visitors to Mexico will see Nativity scenes, poinsettia flowers (which originate in Mexico), Christmas shoes and a variety of festive foods.
There is a church service and midnight meal on Christmas Eve, and Christmas presents are typically opened at the strike of midnight. Christmas Day is much quieter as families recover from the night before, relax and enjoy leftovers from the Christmas Eve feast.
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Christmas in France
In France, people usually decorate their homes with a Nativity crib with clay figures in them. French Nativity scenes are unique in that they often feature additional figures from daily French village life such as a baker, policeman, butcher and priest.
France has one of the Europe’s largest Christmas markets which is called “Christkindelsmarik.” People come from all over the world to shop and experience the market. The main Christmas meal is eaten after the midnight church service on Christmas Eve and includes a variety of festive foods, not the least of which is the famous “Buche de Noel,” a chocolate sponge cake which is usually decorated like a log.
