In China, only about one percent of people are Christians, so most people only know a few

things about Christmas. Because of this, Christmas is only often celebrated in major cities. In
these big cities there are Christmas Trees, lights and other decorations on the streets and in
department stores. Santa Claus is called 'Shen Dan Lao Ren' and has grottos in shops like in
Europe and America.

n China, Santa is known as 'Sheng danlaoren' (Traditional: 聖誕老人, Simplified: 圣诞

老人; means Old Christmas Man).

Only a few people have a Christmas Tree (or celebrate Christmas at all!). If people do
have a tree it is normally a plastic one and might be decorated with paper chains, paper
flowers, and paper lanterns (they might also call it a tree of light). The Christmas Trees
that most people would see would be in shopping malls!

Christmas isn't that widely celebrated in the rural areas of China, but it's becoming more
well known.

The strange thing is that most of the world's plastic Christmas Trees and Christmas
decorations are made in China, but the people making them might not know what they
are for!!!

A tradition that's becoming popular, on Christmas Eve, is giving apples. Many stores
have apples wrapped up in colored paper for sale. People give apples on Christmas Eve
because in Chinese Christmas Eve is called "Ping'an Ye" (平安夜), meaning peaceful or
quiet evening, which has been translated from the carol 'Silent Night'. The word for
apple in Mandarin is "píngguǒ" (苹果) which sounds like the word for peace.

Some people go Carol singing, although not many people understand them or know
about the Christmas Story. Jingle Bells is a popular Carol in China!

People who are Christians in China go to special services. Going to Midnight Mass
services has become very popular.

Christmas in Japan
Christmas has only been widely celebrated in Japan for the last few decades. It's still not
seen as a religious holiday or celebration as there aren't many Christians in Japan. Now
several customs that came to Japan from the USA such as sending and receiving
Christmas Cards and Presents are popular.

In Japan, Christmas in known as more of a time to spread happiness rather than a

religious celebration. Christmas Eve is often celebrated more than Christmas Day.
Christmas eve is thought of as a romantic day, in which couples spend together and
exchange presents. In many ways it resembles Valentine's Day celebrations in the UK
and the USA. Young couples like to go for walks to look at the Christmas lights and
have a romantic meal in a restaurant - booking a table on Christmas Eve can be very
difficult as it's so popular!
Fried chicken is often eaten on Christmas day. It is the busiest time of year for
restaurants such as KFC and people can place orders at their local fast food restaurant in
advance! There was an advertising campaign by KFC in the 1974 called 'Kentucky for
Christmas!' (Kurisumasuniwakentakkii!) which was very successful and made KFC
popular for Christmas!

The traditional Japanese Christmas food is Christmas cake, but it's not a rich fruit cake,
but is usually a sponge cake decorated with strawberries and whipped cream. The
'shortcake' emoji [🍰] is Japanese Christmas cake!

Christmas in Spain

Most people in Spain go to Midnight Mass or 'La Misa Del Gallo' (The Mass of the
Rooster). It is called this because a rooster is supposed to have crowed the night that
Jesus was born.

Most families eat their main Christmas meal on Christmas Eve before the service. The
traditional Spanish Christmas dinner is 'Pavo Trufado de Navidad' which is Turkey
stuffed with truffles (the mushrooms, not the chocolate ones!) In Galicia (a region in
north-west Spain, surrounded by water) the most popular meal for Christmas Eve and
for Christmas Day is seafood. This can be all kinds of different seafood, from shellfish
and mollusks, to lobster and small edible crabs.

After the midnight service, people walk through the streets carrying torches, playing
guitars and beating on tambourines and drums. One Spanish saying is 'Esta noche es
Noche-Buena, Y no Es noche de dormir' which means 'Tonight is the good night and it
is not meant for sleeping!'

A few different languages are spoken in different regions in Spain. In Spanish

Happy/Merry Christmas is 'Feliz Navidad'; in Catalan it's 'Bon Nadal'; in Galician 'Bo
Nadal'; and in Basque (or Euskara in basque) 'Eguberri on'. Happy/Merry Christmas in
lots more languages.

December 28th is 'Día de los santos inocentes' or 'Day of the Innocent Saints' and is
very like April Fools Day in the UK and USA. People try to trick each other into
believing silly stories and jokes. Newspapers and TV stations also run silly stories. If
you trick someone, you can call them 'Inocente, inocente' which means 'innocent,
innocent'. 28th December is when people all over the world remember the babies that
were killed on the orders of King Herod when he was trying to kill the baby Jesus.

New Year's Eve is called 'Nochevieja' or 'The Old Night' in Spain and one special
tradition is that you eat 12 grapes with the 12 strokes of the clock at Midnight! Each
grape represents a month of the coming year, so if you eat the twelve grapes, you are
said to be lucky in the new year.
Apart from Christmas, there is another festival that is celebrated in Spain that is about
the Christmas Story. It is called Epiphany and is celebrated on 6th January. In Spanish,
Epiphany is called 'Fiesta de Los tres Reyes Mages': in English this means 'The festival
of the three Magic Kings'. Epiphany celebrates when the Kings or Wise men brought
gifts to the baby Jesus.

Children have some presents on Christmas Day, but most are opened at Epiphany. Some
children believe that the Kings bring presents to them at Epiphany. They write letters to
the Kings on Boxing Day, December 26th, asking for toys and presents. And on
Epiphany Eve (January 5th) they leave shoes on windowsills or balconies or under the
Christmas Tree to be filled with presents. Gifts are often left by children for the Kings, a
glass of Cognac for each King, a satsuma and some walnuts. Sometimes a bucket of
water is left for the camels that bring the Kings! If the children have been bad, the Kings
might leave pieces of coal made out of sugar in the presents!

Some big towns and cities have Epiphany Parades with each King having a big float
that is shaped like a camel. Sometimes there are also real camels in the parade. The
Three Kings in the Spanish Epiphany are:

 Gaspar, who has brown hair and a brown beard (or no beard!) and wears a green
cloak and a gold crown with green jewels on it. He is the King of Sheba. Gaspar
represents the Frankincense brought to Jesus. Frankincense is sometimes used in
worship in Churches and showed that people worship Jesus.
 Melchior, who has long white hair and a white beard and wears a gold cloak. He
is the King of Arabia. Melchior represents the Gold brought to Jesus. Gold is
associated with Kings and Christians believe that Jesus is the King of Kings.
 Balthazar, who has black skin and a black beard (or no beard!) and wears a
purple cloak. He is the King of Tarse and Egypt. Balthazar represents the gift of
Myrrh that was brought to Jesus. Myrrh is a perfume that is put on dead bodies
to make them smell nice and showed that Jesus would suffer and die.
 #110155105 / gettyimages.com

 Nativity Scenes 'Pesebres' are also popular in Catalonia (and all throughout
Spain!). Many towns also hold 'Pastorets' which are big plays/presentations
about the Christmas story, the birth of Jesus. They have lots of music and
readings from the Bible. You can find out more about Pastorets on the Pastoret
Society of Catalunya's website (goes to another site).

 A special cake called 'Roscón' is eaten at Epiphany. Roscón means 'ring shape
roll'. It is very doughy and is bought from a bakery on Epiphany morning.
Roscón can be filled with cream or chocolate and contain a little gift.
Three Kings Day

Family eating a King Cake (Tortell) at home for the celebration of the Three Kings Day,
who get the king inside is crowned as the King with a crown, and who get the bean has
to pay the cake. January 6th of 2015 in Barcelona. Catalonia, Europe.

Christmas in the United Kingdom

In the UK (or Great Britain), families often celebrate Christmas together, so they can
watch each other open their presents!

Most families have a Christmas Tree (or maybe even two!) in their house for Christmas.
The decorating of the tree is usually a family occasion, with everyone helping.
Christmas Trees were first popularised the UK by Prince Albert, the husband of Queen
Victoria. Prince Albert was German, and thought that it would be good to use one of his
ways of celebrating Christmas in to England.

Holly, Ivy and Mistletoe are also sometimes used to decorate homes or other buildings.

Most villages, towns and cities are decorated with Christmas lights over Christmas.
Often a famous person switches them on. The most famous Christmas lights in the UK
are in Oxford Street in London. Every year they get bigger and better. Thousands of
people go to watch the big 'switch on' around the beginning of November.

#458518382 / gettyimages.com

Like a lot of countries, Nativity Plays and Carol Services are also very popular at
Christmas time. The Church that I go to always has a Carols by Candlelight Service
where the church is only lit up by candles. It is a very special service and always makes
me feel very Christmassy! Lots of other British churches also have Carols by
Candlelight and Christingle services.

Children believe that Father Christmas or Santa Claus leaves presents in stockings or
pillow-cases. These are normally hung up by the fire or by the children's beds on
Christmas Eve. Children sometimes leave out mince pies and brandy for Father
Christmas to eat and drink when he visits them. Now, some people say that a non-
alcoholic drink should be left for Santa as he has to drive!

Children write letters to Father Christmas/Santa listing their requests, but sometimes
instead of putting them in the post, the letters are tossed into the fireplace. The draught
carries the letters up the chimney and Father Christmas/Santa reads the smoke.

There are some customs that only take place, or were started, in the UK. Wassailing is
an old anglo-saxon custom that doesn't take place much today. Boxing Day is a very old
custom that started in the UK and is now taken as a holiday in many countries around
the world.

In Scots (a Scottish dialect) Happy/Merry Christmas is 'Blithe Yule'; in Gaelic it's

'Nollaig Chridheil'; in Welsh (which is spoken in some parts of Wales it's 'Nadolig
Llawen', in Cornish (spoken by some poeple in Cornwall in south west England) it's
'Nadelik Lowen' and Manx (spoken by some people on the Isle of Man) it's 'Nollick
Ghennal'. Happy/Merry Christmas in lots more languages.

In the UK, the main Christmas Meal is usually eaten at lunchtime or early afternoon on
Christmas Day. It's normally roast turkey, roast vegetables and 'all the trimmings' which
means vegetables like carrots & peas, stuffing and sometimes bacon and sausages. It's
often served with cranberry sauce and bread sauce. Traditionally, and before turkey was
available, roast beef or goose was the main Christmas meal. One vegetable that is often
at Christmas in the UK are brussel sprouts. I love them but lots of people don't!

Dessert is often Christmas Pudding. Mince pies and lots of chocolates are often eaten as
well!

Trifle is also a popular dessert at Christmas. It's made in a large bowl and consists of a
layer of sponge cake (or sponge fingers) at the bottom of the bowl (which is often
soaked in sherry or brandy) then there's a layer of fruit (normally suspended in a fruit
flavored jelly) and it's topped with a layer of custard and then whipped cream. In
Scotland there's a variation called 'Tipsy Laird' which uses whiskey to soak the sponge
and the fruit are raspberries.

The dinner table is decorated with a Christmas Cracker for each person and sometimes
flowers and candles.

The UK is also famous for Christmas Cake - some people love it and some people really
don't like it! It's traditionally a rich fruit cake covered with marzipan and icing - and
often top with Christmas themed cake decorations like a spring of holly.

In the UK, it doesn't snow very often, but people always want to know if it will be a
'White Christmas'. The British definition, used by the UK Meteorological Office (who
say if it has been a White Christmas in the UK or not!), is that a single snow flake has
been seen falling in the 24 hours of Christmas Day! This doesn't happen a lot in the
UK!!!
Statistics show that in the UK, they get an official White Christmas about every 4 or 5
years and have real snow at Christmas about 1 in 10 years (but often this is only
normally in Scotland!).

Below is an animated map, made by www.signatrol.com (goes to another site) - who

make weather data logging systems - showing where it's been a White Christmas in the
UK over the last 50 years.

All across the UK, in cities and towns, there are fireworks to celebrate the New Year. Two of
the most famous fireworks displays are in London, along the River Thames, and in Edinburgh at
the Hogmanay celebrations.
 Christmas in the United States of
America

The United States of America has many different traditions and ways that people in
celebrate Christmas, because of its multi-cultural nature. Many customs are similar to
ones in the UK, France, Italy, The Netherlands, Poland and Mexico.

The traditional meal for Western European families is turkey or ham with cranberry
sauce. Families from Eastern European origins favour turkey with trimmings, keilbasi (a
Polish sausage), cabbage dishes, and soups; and some Italian families prefer lasagne!

Some Americans use pop-corn threaded on string to help decorate their Christmas Tree!

Many Americans, especially Christians will go to Church to celebrate the birth of Jesus
at Christmas. Many churches have special Christmas Carol services and events where
the story of Christmas is told.

In New England (the American States of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island,

Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine), there are shops called 'Christmas Shops' that
only sell Christmas decorations and toys all the year round!

Americans also send out Christmas Cards, like Carol singing and there's the unusual
custom of the Christmas Pickle!

People in America like to decorate the outsides of their houses with lights and
sometimes even statues of Santa Claus, Snowmen and Reindeer. Some cookies and
glass of milk are often left out as a snack for Santa on Christmas Eve!

Towns and cities often decorate the streets with lights to celebrate Christmas. Perhaps
the most famous Christmas street lights in the USA are at the Rockefeller Center in
New York where there is a huge Christmas Tree with a public ice skating rink in front
of it over Christmas and the New Year.

In Hawaii, Santa is called Kanakaloka!

Customs such as Mumming take place in some communities. On New Year's Day in
Philadelphia there is a Mummer's Day parade which lasts over six hours! Clubs called
"New Years Associations" perform in amazing costumes which take months to make.
There are four categories (Comics, Fancies, String Bands, and Fancy Brigades) which
are judged. You can find out more on the official website: www.phillymummers.com
(goes to another site).
In the Southwest USA, there are some special customs which have some similarities to
those in parts of Mexico. These include 'luminarias' or 'farolitos' which are paper sacks
partly filled with sand and then have a candle put in them. They are lit on Christmas Eve
and are put the edges of paths. They represent 'lighting the way' for somewhere for
Mary and Joseph to stay.

A popular food at Christmas in the Southwest USA are tamales. You can find out more
about Christmas traditions in the Southwest USA on
www.lonestarwesterndecor.com/vibrant-christmas-traditions-of-the-southwest.html
(goes to another site).

In the south of Louisiana, on Christmas Eve, families in small communities along the
Mississippi River light bonfires along the levees (the high river banks) to help 'Papa
Noel' (the name for Santa in French as Louisiana has a strong historical connection with
France) find his way to the children's homes!

Muchas de las tradiciones gastronómicas navideñas de los Estados Unidos (EEUU) se

basan en la comida típica de navidad de Inglaterra – el pavo relleno, el pudding de
navidad, los mincepies…. Pero otras provienen de otros lugares del mundo,
dependiendo de cada estado y del orígen de su población.

La gran comida familiar se sirve el Día de Navidad mientras que la Noche Buena se
suelen reunir amigos o vecinos en una fiesta dónde cada uno lleva un plato y, dado la
diversidad multicultural en los Estados Unidos (EEUU), se sirve una gran variedad de
platos distintos.

La comida de Navidad suele ser un asado – pavo asado con relleno aunque algunas  las
familias que han tomado asado de pavo en la comida del Día de Acción de Gracias
optan por otro tipo de ave, jamón asado o incluso ternera asada.

Al igual que en el Reino Unido se hace relleno para el asado y se acompaña con
diversas guarniciones y salsas:  maíz, puré de calabaza, puré de patata o patatas asadas,
repollo con especias, coles de bruselas, zanahorias caramelizadas, judías verdes..

Y para postre, la famosa pudin de navidad,  tarta de calabaza, marzapanes, panettone,

tarta de manzana, tarta de zanahoria…. Es costumbre que los niños además tomen
pelotas de palomitas, dulces de jengibre y caramelos durante el día de Navidad.
Pumpkin cake
https://www.whychristmas.com/cultures/japan.shtml