English Plus

Christmas Around the World

December 19, 2022 Danny Ballan Season 3 Episode 740
English Plus
Christmas Around the World
Show Notes Transcript

Learn about the origins of Christmas and the different traditions of Christmas from all around the world. Learn how different countries from around the world celebrate Christmas in this new episode from English Plus Podcast. 

Read the transcript of the episode on https://englishpluspodcast.com/christmas-all-around-the-world/

Support the show

Support our mission to keep creating high-quality educational and entertaining content available to everyone around the world. Become my patron on Patreon today and unlock a world of learning and knowledge through exclusive premium episodes, audio and video series/courses.
And never stop learning with the myriad of topics and content types that I add daily to my website englishpluspodcast.com

0:05  
This is your host Danny and this is English plus podcast Welcome to a new episode from English plus podcast. And today we have a very special episode in which we're going to talk about Christmas. Well, for this episode, it's not going to be the story of Christmas because I'm pretty sure that everybody knows the story of Christmas, whether you're Christians or not, because it's a very common story. But some of the Christmas stuff that you might not know is the origins of Christmas, the rise of the modern American Christmas and Christmas around the world in the United States, in Canada, in Italy, France, Greece, Russia, Spain, Mexico, Germany, England, India, Japan, China, and a lot of other places. We're going to learn about all that in this episode, we will talk about how Christmas started and we will talk about how Christmas is celebrated around the world. So if you're interested if you want to learn more, stick around and we will talk about all these things.

1:22  
So let me start with a small introduction of Christmas. Christmas is the annual Christian holiday commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ. Most members of the Roman Catholic Church and followers have protested DISM celebrate Christmas on December the 25th. And many celebrate on the evening of December the 24th as well. Members of most Orthodox churches around the world also celebrate the holiday on December the 25th. Some Orthodox Christians in Russia, Ukraine, the Holy Land and elsewhere celebrate Christmas on January the seventh because they follow the Julian calendar. Members of the Armenian Church observe Christmas on January the sixth, following the unique custom of celebrating both the birth and baptism of Christ on the same day, the official Christmas season popularly known as either Christmas died or the 12 days of Christmas extends from the anniversary of Christ's birth on December the 25th to the Feast of Epiphany on January the sixth, on the Epiphany, some Catholics and Protestants celebrate the visit of the Magi. While Orthodox Christians who call it the feast, they often celebrate the baptism of Christ. The most important holiday on the Christian calendar is Easter, which commemorates the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. Nevertheless, many people, particularly in the United States, and Canada consider Christmas to be the most significant annual Christian event. In addition to being a religious holiday. Christmas is a widely observed secular festival. For most people who celebrate Christmas. The holiday season is characterized by gatherings among family and friends, feasting and gift giving. Christmas is based on the story of Jesus's birth as described in the Gospel. According to Matthew and the Gospel, according to Luke, Roman Catholics first celebrated Christmas then known as the Feast of the Nativity as early as 336. Add. The word Christmas entered the English language sometime around 1050 as the Old English phrase grist mace, meaning festival of Christ, scholars believe the frequently used shortened form of Christmas Xmas may have come into use in the 13th century. The X stands for the Greek letter chi or chi, as Greeks call it an abrogation of resource or Christ and also represents the cross on which Jesus was crucified. So that was a very small introduction, but we're just scratching the surface. There's a lot of information that I prepared for you for today's episode. And by the way, if you want to find the transcription of this episode, you can find it in the description. So if for some reason you would really want to check a thing or two I'm talking about just take the link, go to my website, English plus podcast.com. There you will find the post I created for this episode, where you can find everything I'm talking about. Now,

4:32  
let's talk about origins of Christmas. Historians are unsure exactly when Christians first began celebrating the Nativity of Christ. However, most scholars believe that Christmas originated in the fourth century as a Christian substitute for pagan celebrations of the Winter Solstice before the introduction of Christmas each year beginning on December the 17th. Romans honored Satan, the ancient gods of agriculture in a festival called safer Analia. This festival lasted for seven days and included the winter solstice, which usually occurred around December the 25th. On the ancient Julian calendar, during Saturnalia, the Romans feasted postponed all business and warfare, exchanged gifts and temporarily free their slaves. Many Romans also celebrated the lengthening of Digg light following the winter solstice by participating in rituals to glorify Mithra, the ancient Persian god of light. These and other winter festivities continued through January the first, the festival of Callens, which Romans marked the day of the new moon and the first day of the month and year. Although the Gospels describe Jesus's birth in detail, they never mentioned the date, so historians do not know on what date he was born. The Roman Catholic Church chose December the 25th as the day for the Feast of the Nativity in order to give Christian meaning to existing pagan rituals. For example, the church replaced festivities honoring the birth of Bheatha, the god of light with festivities to commemorate the birth of Jesus, whom the Bible calls the light of the world. The Catholic Church hoped to draw pagans into its religion by allowing them to continue their revelry while simultaneously honoring the birthday of Jesus. The Eastern Orthodox Church took a slightly different courts. By the end of the fourth century, the Eastern Church in Constantinople had also begun to acknowledge December the 25th as Jesus's birthday, but it emphasized the celebration of Christ's baptism on January the sixth as the more important holiday. Over the next 1000 years, the observance of Christmas followed the expansion of Christianity into the rest of Europe and into Egypt. Along the way, Christian beliefs combined with existing pagan feasts and winter rituals to create many long standing traditions of Christmas celebrations. For example, ancient Europeans believed that the mistletoe plant held magic powers to bestow life and fertility to bring about peace and to protect against disease. Northern Europeans associated the plants with the Norse goddess of love Freya and develop the custom of kissing underneath mistletoe branches. Christians incorporated this custom into their Christmas celebrations and kissing under a mistletoe branch eventually became a part of secular Christmas tradition. During the reformation of the 16th century, protesters challenge the authority of the Catholic Church, including its toleration of surviving pagan traditions during Christmas festivities. For a brief time during the 17th century, Puritans banned Christmas in England and in some English colonies in North America because they felt it had become a season best known for gambling, flamboyant public behavior and overindulgence in food and drink. Europeans who settled in North America often found they had to change their Christmas celebrations because they could not faithfully recreate the traditions of their homelands. For example, colonists in the American South may have aspired to recreate a sense of the English Christmas, but colonial accounts of Christmas celebrations in the south do not mention the presence of mummers, which means masks or costume Merrymakers or weights the musicians or carolers paid to perform at Christmas time, both of which were central figures of the traditional English Christmas, nor do historical accounts describe settlers engaging in such traditional English customs as feasting on boars heads or drinking from was sailed bowels, which means bowels filled with spiced ale or wine. Colonists from England, France, Ireland, Spain, and other countries also gradually modified their Christmas ceremonies as they encountered new cultures and traditions in the new world. For example, in large towns where diverse groups lived close together, the common ground for celebration could often be found in public and secure cooler festivities, rather than in potentially divisive religious ceremonies. Thus,

9:39  
at least in New York City, the winters holidays often culminated on New Year's not Christmas. So that was about the origins of Christmas. Now what about the rise of modern American Christmas? We'll talk about that next.

10:05  
In the United States and Canada, many elements of modern Christmas celebrations did not emerge until the 19th century. Before then Christmas had been an ordinary work day in many communities, particularly in New England, where early Puritan objections to Christmas celebrations remained highly influential. Among some groups Christmas was an especially boisterous event characterized by huge feasts, drunkenness, and raucous public revelry. In an English tradition that survived in some parts of North America, Christmas revelers would dress in costume and progress from door to door to receive gifts of food and drink. Most holiday gifts were limited to small amounts of money and modest presence passed from the wealthy to the poor, and from masters to their servants. Families almost never exchanged Christmas gifts among themselves. The rapidly expanding industrial economy of the 19th century not only flooded the market with new goods for sale, but also helped establish a new middle class one that place special value on home and family life. Christmas gained increased prominence largely because many people believe it could draw families together and honor children giving gifts to children and loved ones eventually replaced the raucous public celebrations of the past and Christmas became primarily a domestic holiday. The new custom of Christmas gift giving allowed the market place to exert an unprecedented influence on holiday celebrations. Commercial innovations such as department stores and mass advertising further expanded the custom of exchanging Christmas gifts. Seasonal retail sales helped fuel the economy causing merchants and advertisers to become some of the season's most ardent promoters. Many holiday celebrants regretted these changes, however, and began voicing the now common lament that Christmas had become too commercial. Christmas also gained new importance among urban residents cities became crowded with immigrants who introduced a wide variety of religious and cultural practices to North American life. Celebrating Christmas emerged as a way for people from different parts of the world to create a sense of community in the city. The holiday forged the board nondenominational sense of Christian spirit while promoting an idealized sense of communal goodwill. And now it is some talk about Santa Claus. How did that start? Where did it come from? Now as Christmas evolved in the United States, new customs were adopted, and many old ones were reworked. The Legend of Santa Claus, for example, had origins in Europe and was brought by Dutch settlers to New York in the early 18th century. Traditionally, Santa Claus from the Dutch Sinterklaas, or I hope I'm pronouncing that even close to correct I have no idea how it is pronounced in Dutch, but it is supposed to be Sinterklaas or something like that. So traditionally, Santa Claus from this Dutch word was depicted as a tall, dignified religious figure riding a white horse through the air. known as St. Nicholas in Germany. He was usually accompanied by Black Peter, an elf who punished disobedient children in North America. He eventually developed into a fat jolly old gentleman who had neither the religious attributes of St. Nicholas nor the strict disciplinary and character of Black Peter sent us transformation began in 1823 when a New York newspaper published a poem A Visit from St. Nicholas, which Clement Clarke Moore had written to amuse his daughter. The poem introduced many Americans to the story of a kindly saint who flew over house stops in a reindeer drawn slayed portraits and drawings of Santa Claus by American illustrator Thomas Nast further strengthened the legend during the second half of the 19th century, living at the North Pole and assisted by elves, the modern sent up, produced and delivered toys to all good children. By the late 19th century he had become such a prominent figure of American folklore that in 1897, when Virginia O'Hanlon wrote to the New York Sun newspaper asking if Santa was real, she received a direct answer. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.

14:38  
And now what about the Christmas tree while Santa Claus became increasingly familiar to Americans, the German Christmas tree also acquired popularity in North America. As early as the 17th century, Germans had transformed this pagan symbol of fertility into a Christian symbol of rebirth according to legend The Christmas tree tradition began with the founder of German Protestantism Martin Luther while walking through the forest on Christmas Eve. Luther was so moved by the beauty of the starlet for trees that he brought one indoors and decorated it with candles to remind his children of God's creation. In 1841, Prince Albert of Germany gave his wife Queen Victoria of England, a gift of a Christmas tree. This was reputedly the first Christmas tree in England, but the customs spread quickly. German immigrants took the Christmas tree to other parts of Europe and to the United States and Canada, where it soon became a popular tradition. blown glass ornaments, tin angels paper chains, candles cornucopias, filled with sugar plums and other decorations made the simple evergreen tree into a beautiful parlor centerpiece at Christmas time. Now, what about Christmas cards, the practice of exchanging Christmas cards also became a widespread custom in the 19th century, Europeans had distributed wood prints of religious themes for Christmas during the Middle Ages, somewhere from the fifth century to the 15th century. In 1843, English illustrator John CallKit hoarsely created the first modern Christmas card, the card depicted a family celebration and its caption read a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you. In the United States German born printer Luis sprang made advances in color lithography that enabled him to mass produce a colorful Christmas card in 1875. The cards sold extremely well, and soon the customer of exchanging Christmas cards spread throughout the country. And now, we talked about those origins stories of Christmas cards, trees, Santa Claus, let's talk about Christmas all over the world. And we will start with Christmas in the United States today. That's coming next don't go away stay tuned. The inhabitants of the United States have emigrated from all over the world. As a result, many traditions have mingle to form modern American Christmas celebrations and folklore. Some Swedish American communities hold Santa Lucia festivals to honor a young girl who was killed in the fourth century for her Christian beliefs. German Americans in Pennsylvania create elaborate landscapes called booters. Beneath their Christmas trees, these displays made of moss pine branches, stones and logs depict the birth of Christ. Christmas Eve bonfires illuminate the banks of the Mississippi River in Louisiana so that Papa Noel, which is French for Father Christmas, will be able to find his way to the homes of the local Cajun children. In the southwestern United States. Mexican Americans hold festivals called Posadas that recreate Mary and Joseph search for a place to stay where Mary could give birth to Jesus.

18:26  
In addition to these Christian celebrations, the eight day Jewish festival of Hanukkah and the seven day African American festival of Kwanzaa are popular celebrations that coincide with the Christmas season. Despite this variety of people and faiths. There is this striking unity to Christmas celebrations in the United States. For many people. The holiday season begins with the arrival of Santa Claus in the annual Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City sponsored by Macy's department store. television advertisements heralding the beginning of the Christmas shopping season can begin even earlier in autumn, many Americans participate in a communal sense of holiday spirit. Cities decorate their streets with Christmas lights stores fill their shelves with extra merchandise, friends and relatives exchange holiday cards, communities decorate public Christmas trees and volunteers from the Salvation Army ring bells on city streets to solicit charity donations. Most people who celebrate Christmas also participate in special holiday rituals in their homes. Families often decorate evergreen trees and place colorfully wrapped presents beneath them. A family member might give a reading of A Visit from St. Nicholas or read passages from the Bible or families might gather around the television to watch old movie favorites such as It's A Wonderful Life and miracles on 34th Street or holiday cartoons such as How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer every year as Christmas approaches, many families attend church pageants that we count the story of Jesus birth in Bethlehem. On Christmas Eve, children often hang stockings. They awake in the morning to find the stockings filled with gifts from Santa Claus. Many families attend church on Christmas Eve and open their gifts that evening. Others wait until the next morning to exchange gifts. So that is in a nutshell, of course, Christmas in the United States. And now let's talk about Christmas in Canada. How is Christmas in Canada today? We'll talk about that next don't go away stay to Canada, like the United States combined sacred and secular customs brought from many parts of the world. Canadians with an English protest and heritage are likely to enjoy a feast of Turkey and plum pudding and focus their holiday celebrations on December the 25th. The French Catholic population generally attends Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve then holds a Christmas feast don't as a young many Dutch Canadians begin their Christmas on December the sixth when children leave their shoes filled with grain for centers horse Sleipner Ukrainian Canadians in the western part of the country celebrate the season much as their ancestors in the Eastern Orthodox Church did buy feasting on a 12 course dinner and distributing gifts on January the sixth. in Newfoundland and Labrador. An old English custom called murmuring has shown signs of being revived. murmuring takes place sometime during the 12 days of Christmas, usually on the night of January the fifth, the eve of Epiphany, which is usually referred to as the old 12 or 12th Night, adults practice to custom by disguising themselves with masks or by dressing in the clothing of the opposite sex. They visit the homes of friends and neighbors where they perform a short song or dance while trying not to be identified. In return for their performance. They receive small cakes and wine or perhaps a glass of eggnog, which is a blend of eggs, cream, sugar and alcohol. Despite these very customs Canadians share the traditions of most modern Christmas celebrations around the world. The holiday helps create a sense of unity among Canadians as they decorate Christmas trees, attend church shop for and exchange gifts and join in Christmas feasts. And now before we talk about the rest of the world, let's talk about religious practice and popular customs that's coming next don't go away.

23:01  
The Bible provides no guidelines that explain how Christmas should be observed, nor does it even suggest that it should be considered a religious holiday. Because of the lack of biblical instructions. Christmas rituals have been shaped by the religious and popular traditions of each culture that celebrates the holiday. Traditionally, the sacred Christmas season starts with advent, which begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas and continues to Christmas Day. The sacred season ends on Epiphany, January the sixth, during Advent Christians make preparations for the commemoration of Jesus birth on December the 25th and also look forward to the second coming of Christ. Each of the four weeks symbolizes a different way in which believers perceive Christ through the flesh, the Holy Spirit, death and Christ's judgment of the dead. The Advent wreath, which consists of four candles anchored in a circle of evergreen branches originated with German Lutherans. The tradition has been adopted by many churches and families at the beginning of each of the four weeks preceding Christmas Christians light and Advent candle as they say a prayer on Christmas Eve churches around the world hold evening services at midnight, many Catholic and many protests and churches hold special candle light services. The Catholic Midnight Mass was first introduced by the Roman Catholic Church in the fifth century. Christmas masses are sometimes solemn and sometimes buoyant, depending on the particular culture that conducts them. Among some congregations worshipers enter the church in communal processions. Church services often feature candlelight and organ music. Some also include a dramatization of the biblical story of Jesus birth, a practice begun by Saint Francis of Assisi in the 13th century. Christmas observances have also assimilated remnants of ancient midwinter rituals that celebrate the returning light of the sun following the winter solstice. For example, many cultures continue the pre Christian custom of burning Yule logs during the midwinter season. The Yule logs symbolizes the victory of light over the darkness of winter. The tradition of lighting the Yule log is still observed, especially by Europeans, families like the log on Christmas Eve, and keep it burning until epiphany. Some families save the remains of the Yule Log to help kindle the fire the following year. According to ancient tradition, the ashes provide protection against bad luck during the year. Christians traditionally exchange gifts as a reminder of God's gift of a savior to humankind. Gift giving also recalls an ancient Roman custom of exchanging gifts to bring good fortune for the new here. In most cultures that celebrate Christmas, a mythical figure delivers gifts to children. Many of these legendary gift givers bear a passing resemblance to pre Christian elves and pranksters who would distribute gifts while also making mischief in the community. As cultures adapted to Christianity, however, the gift givers often required that children behave well in order to receive their treats. This good behavior usually entailed obedience to parents and recitation of verses from the Bible. If the children misbehave, they might receive a lump of coal or a switch rather than sweets and toys. Since the 19th century, Santa Claus and other mythical gift givers have become increasingly gentle, generous and forgiving. And now finally, we come to my favorite part of this episode, Christmas around the world. We'll talk about that we'll talk about Christian among Eastern Orthodox Christians among Protestants and among other cultures all around the world. Stay tuned that's coming next.

27:19  
Christmas customs around the world reflect a variety of cultures that celebrate the holiday. For some people, Christmas is primarily a holy day marked by religious services for others, gift giving, feasting and good times figure more prominently at its root. Christmas celebrates one of the fundamental events of Christianity, the birth of Jesus. However, the celebration of Christmas also incorporates many secular customs that have been handed down through families and borrowed from other cultures. This complex layering of sacred and secular observances creates celebrations that vary from nation to nation, and from culture to culture. So first, let's talk about Christmas among Eastern Orthodox Christians in Greece and Russia, countries where the Orthodox Church is strongest. Christmas is not as prominent a holiday as it is in the West. Epiphany holds more significance for members of the Orthodox Church while New Year's Day is the more popular secular festival in these countries. Let's talk about Christmas in Greece. The Greek Christmas or crystal Jenner pays homage to the Nativity of Christ while also incorporating popular folklore and superstitions. On Christmas Eve, Greek children go from house to house knocking on doors and singing Greek songs that heralds the arrival of the Christ child. The family celebration focuses on a Christmas eve dinner, which in the Greek Orthodox tradition follows several weeks of fasting, according to legend, mischievous, often hideous looking ELLs called Cali cancer or wreak havoc in houses for the next 12 days. burning incense or leaving a peace offering may offer some protection against the elves. Most families decorate a small wooden cross with basil and dip it into a shallow bowl of water. This is believed to give the water holy powers. The water is then sprinkled throughout the house to keep the mischievous spirits away. In the Greek Orthodox Church, the water bow and cross are also part of an important epiphany right known as the blessing of the waters. Now how about Christmas in Russia after the Russian Revolution of 1917, authorities of the newly formed Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or USSR prohibited the practice of all religions, millions of Russian Orthodox Christians could no longer openly celebrate Christmas or epiphany after the USSR dissolved in 1991. However, The Russian Orthodox Church revived Christmas rituals, like the Greeks some Russians fast during a period before Christmas. Then at the site of the first star in the sky on Christmas Eve at 12. Course supper begins with one course for each of Jesus's 12 disciples. The meal includes brushed or beet soup, stuffed cabbage and Katia a dish of Kashia whole wheat grains soaked in water for hours and season with honey nuts and crushed poppy seeds. Despite the widespread influence of Western Culture in Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union, the American custom of holiday shopping has not spread among Russians. In fact, December The 25th holds little religious or secular significance for most Russians. New Year's Day remains the most festive holiday in the country. The Russian periodic Zimmy or winter festival is celebrated during the Christmas and New Year's season. Festivities include carnivals, sports and special circus performances. During this festival. Russians decorate evergreen trees which they call New Year's trees, like Santa Claus. The admirals or Grandfather Frost has a white beard and appears dressed in red and black boots. He arrives on New Year's Day to give children toys, Ginger cakes, and perhaps a traditional set of matryoshka dolls, which open to reveal smaller dolls nested inside one another. So that was about Christmas among Eastern Orthodox Christians. And now we will talk about Christmas among Roman Catholics and in countries where Roman Catholics are the majority. That's coming next. Stay tuned,

31:42  
don't go away. I know you want to know about this. Among Catholic populations in Europe, Latin America and the Philippines, Christmas celebrations have distinctive local variations. Nevertheless, Catholics in all these regions share customs that have become long standing Catholic traditions of the Christmas season. People in many Catholic cultures celebrate the days before Christmas with elaborate public reenactments of Mary and Joseph search for lodging before the birth of Jesus. Official Catholic observations of Christmas Day Center on three masses at midnight dawn, and during the day, however, the Christmas season among Catholics usually begins with special prayers and church services on or around December the 16th. Since 1969, the Roman Catholic Church has also observed the holiday known as the solemnity of Mary Mother of God. On January the first this holiday replaced the traditional feast of the circumcision, which commemorated Jesus's circumcision. The Catholic Christmas season does not end until the Sunday after epiphany. Now let's talk about Christmas in Italy. During the Christmas season, Italians perform music at shrines of the Virgin Mary. They also play songs at the homes of carpenters in honor of St. Joseph, who was a carpet on Christmas Eve. After a day of fasting Italians enjoy a feast of eels in the spaghetti dish with anchovies called schenone. Santa Claus is not a prominent figure in Italian folklore. Instead, Italian children wait for LA Befana a good witch who rides her broom to their homes on Epiphany to distribute gifts according to folk belief, la Befana, whose name refers to the word epi Fannia, or Tiffany was too busy to accompany the three wise men on their journey to visit the infant Jesus in Bethlehem. Now, to atone for her failing, she visits all good children leaving treats. She also visits bad children and leaves them lumps of coal or bags of ash. So that was about Italy. What about friends? What about Christmas in France, Christmas in France is called Noel celebrations reached their peak on Christmas Eve, which tends to be more boisterous than solemn, especially in the cities. The festival meal is the river young and midnight supper that may consist of oysters, sausages, baked ham, fowl, fruit, pastries, and wine. In the French countryside families often burn a large view log and preserve the ashes to protect the home from evil during the coming year. In the cities. The EU law customs survives as a booster No l. A pastry baked in the shape of a log and ice with chocolate cream that is made to look like bark. Children put their shoes in front of the fireplace on Christmas Eve for pear Noel or Father Christmas to fill with gifts. But the traditional day for exchanging gifts is New Year's Day. In Northern France children receive gifts on December the sixth, the feast day of st So that was about friends. What about Christmas in Spain, Spaniards attend church at Christmas, but during the Christmas season, they also participate in seasonal rituals that can be traced back to pagan times. For example, townspeople gathering village squares around an urn of fate of each person writes his or her name on a piece of paper, and places it in the urn. a designated person then draws the names out two at a time. According to an old belief, those who names are drawn together will be best friends for the coming year. Some Spaniards also play a traditional game called Catalonia as part of their observance of Christmas to play the game. Adults fill a hollow tree trunk with candy and nuts and children hit the tree with long sticks trying to knock out the treats. The children of curries tried to swing in the sun. Another old winter time custom, each child tries to swing higher than the others in order to lead the sun farther north, thereby lengthening days.

36:03  
In addition to observing Christmas, children in Spain celebrate the eve of Bethany popularly known as no che there is or 12th night on this night they commemorate the journey of the three wise men who traveled to Bethlehem to pay homage to the Christ child or not. Today his children put barley in their shoes and place them outside their doors. The barley is for the Wiseman to feed their camels while traveling to visit Jesus by morning, the barley has disappeared and Wiseman have left candy and gifts in its place. And now since we talked about Christmas in Spain, we have to follow it up with Christmas in Central and South America, since Spanish conquerors of Latin America brought many of their Christmas traditions with them. Today, Latin American Christmas celebrations mix the strong Catholic heritage and folk culture of Spain with various indigenous customs that predate the Spanish conquest. Because most of South America lies below the equator. Christmas falls during the hottest period of the year there. In the warm December weather of most Latin American countries, people stroll the streets at Christmas time buying candles, pictures of the Nativity toys, drinks and special foods. However, the streets empty as whole communities attend Midnight Mass at local churches. Children in some countries receive gifts on Christmas Eve from either Santa Claus or from a mythical figure of local folklore. In other regions, the three wise men leave gifts for children on the eve of Epiphany. In Chile, a significant number of people have German heritage, and many Chileans decorate Christmas trees in the German tradition. A traditional Christmas feast in Chile often includes a pudding of dried fruit and a drink called aroma bond which is made of milk eggs and alcohol. Chileans also drink a Christmas beverage called cola de mano that is made with coffee, a liquor milk and eggs. As part of their Christmas celebration. Puerto Ricans go caroling in small processions called rulers. Most people in Puerto Rico wait until the feast of the Epiphany to exchange gifts for epiphany celebrations children plays straw and bowls of water under their beds for the camels of the three wise men. In the morning, they find that the straw and water have been replaced with gifts. Cuba shares a Catholic heritage with the rest of Latin America but the practice of religion has been officially banned on the island since the communist regime led by Fidel Castro took power in 1960. In 1997, Castro allowed Cubans to celebrate Christmas in honor of the first visit to the island by Pope John Paul the second and what about Brazil Portuguese colonists brought Roman Catholic racism to Brazil in the 16th century. Today, Popeye No l or Father Christmas and his helpers walk the streets of Brazilian cities to wish people Felice natal for Christmas and give small gifts to children. Because Christmas falls during the summer, many Brazilians celebrate the holiday by having parties on the beach Midnight Mass is especially popular among the poor, who have no money to buy gifts or to build nativity scenes after church. They celebrate by exploding firecrackers and ringing bells. Now, let's talk about Christmas in Mexico, but that's coming next. So stay tuned.

39:41  
Mexicans decorate their homes with flowers, Evergreen bows and colored paper lanterns during the Christmas season. Most houses also build Persepolis replicas of the manger scene where Jesus was born. The main events of the holiday season are the Posadas, which begin on December the 16th and continue until Christmas Eve Posadas are evening processions that commemorate Mary and Joseph search for lodging. Friends and relatives accompany people dressed as Mary and Joseph, some people in the procession dressed as angels. The group goes from house to house carrying candles and singing songs. While Mary and Joseph knock on doors and asked to stay. Each house refuses them entry, but eventually a household invites the men to pray at their preceptor. After each Posada participants dance, sing and eat a large meal. Children often tried to break up in IATA a clay or papier mache figure filled with sweets and small gifts. pinatas are usually decorated to look like a donkey bird or some other kind of animal. They are suspended from a tree branch or some other high place and blindfolded children tried to break them with long sticks. Although some Mexican children hope for a visit from Santa Claus. Many wait to receive gifts on Christmas Eve from quits alcohol, a Toltec and Aztec god and the legendary ruler of Mexico. In addition, many children write letters to the Christ Child listing the gifts they hope to receive. On the night before epiphany, they placed their shoes at the foot of their beds for the three wise men to fill with presence. So that was about Christmas in Mexico. Let's move on to talk about Christmas in the Philippines. Spanish priests introduced Roman Catholic system in the Philippines in the 16th century, and today, most Filipinos observed Catholic holidays including Christmas. The Christmas season starts December the 16th with a mass called the missa de gallo each Christmas Eve Filipinos hold the banana Lillian pageant in which a couple reenacts, Mary and Joseph search for shelter. Filipinos do not decorate the inside of their homes, but they carefully cover the outside with flags, colorful flowers and star shaped paper lanterns called pearls. So we talked about Christmas among Catholic Christians. And of course, in the countries where Catholic Christians are the majority. Let's talk about Christmas among Protestants. So don't go anywhere that's coming next.

42:29  
After the Reformation in the 16th century, most Protestant churches retained Christmas celebrations but they attempted to rid the holiday of its surviving pagan customs. During the 17th century Puritans in England and in parts of the American colonies tried to abolish Christmas altogether because they objected to the influence of pre Christian traditions. However, Christmas eventually was revived among most protesting communities as a largely secularize celebration. Today, it is probably the most widely celebrated holiday among predestines around the world. So let's start with Christmas in Scandinavia. Because the Scandinavian countries of Denmark, Norway and Sweden are high in the northern hemisphere. They like ours are extremely short during the midwinter Christmas season. Therefore, many Christmas celebrations there incorporate ancient Yule festivals that honor the first lengthening of days following the winter solstice. For example, sweet sing carols in honor of the legendary queen of light, who is believed to bring hope during periods of darkness. The holiday season in many parts of Scandinavia begins on December the 13th with a celebration of Santa Lucia day. According to legend, Lucia was burned at the state because she refused to deny her Christian faith and marry a pagan. in her honor young girls dressed in white robes and dread sashes and wear crowns of greenery and glowing candles. In some communities. These girls lead processions of carollers through the streets. Scandinavians also celebrate Christmas by decorating evergreen trees and preparing such special foods as lutefisk or preserved cod, pickled herring and Crumb Cake a delicate comb shaped cookie, Scandinavians give farm animals extra feed at Christmas time in memory of the animals that were present when Jesus was born and leave grain outdoors for birds. According to ancient legends, elves play mischievous tricks during the midwinter season, but they also help Santa Claus bring gifts to children. In Sweden children hoped to receive gifts from Santa Claus known as you'll Taunton. In Denmark, he is nice. And in Norway unison. Many children simply know him as Santa Claus and believe that he lives in Greenland. So that was Christmas in Scandinavia. What about Christmas in Germany, the German custom of decorating an evergreen tree At Christmas time has become one of the most popular images of Christmas around the world. At one time, Germany supplied the world with almost all of the decorative glass ornaments for Christmas trees. The Christmas season begins in Germany during the first week of December when town squares become filled with stalls selling everything from toys to hot spiced wine. On the evening of December the fifth, children wait for A Visit from St. Nicholas who brings them gifts. Most children also receive gifts on Christmas Eve. In some parts of Germany, Santa Claus distributes gifts but in other regions children's treats are delivered by neck repressed a mythical figure dressed in animal skins from Christmas Eve through all of Christmas day and the next day stores are closed and old work stops as families exchange gifts attend church and wish one another Happy Christmas. On Christmas Eve families traditionally gathered around Christmas trees decorated with lights ornaments and lip cushion which are spiced cookies caught into decorate of shapes. Church services on Christmas Eve are illuminated by worshipers holding candles. So that was about Christmas in Germany. What about Christmas in England religious customs of Christmas celebrations in England center on recounting the story of Christ's birth. Most people who celebrate Christmas also participate in such secure customs as watching Christmas plays feasting, singing and helping the poor before Christmas Day children write wish lists to Father Christmas, who is the British version of Santa Claus, then they throw these letters into the fire. Children believe that if a draft draws the letter up through the chimney, their wishes will be fulfilled. Children often their gifts on Christmas afternoon following a traditional meal of Turkey or goose and a dessert of Christmas pudding. The day after Christmas is also a national holiday in England known as Boxing Day or St Stephen's day. Long ago, English Gentry gave small gifts known as Christmas boxes to their servants on the day after Christmas. English custom still sets aside Boxing Day for tipping the delivery person and others who have performed personal services throughout the year. Many people in England also make charitable contributions to churches and to the needy on Boxing Day. Job is Christmas in England. What about Christmas in India, the relatively few Christians in India celebrate Christmas with festivities that bear the marks of former British rule. Many decorate Christmas trees distribute greeting cards and exchange gifts servants accept baksheesh which means money tips from their employers. In turn, the servants give a lemon to the head of the household on Christmas morning as a symbol of their esteem. During the Christmas season. Indians in the southern part of the country decorate their houses with clay lamps at night. And what about Christmas in Australia and New Zealand because Australia and New Zealand are in the southern hemisphere Christmas there falls during summertime. In the warm weather of the season. Many Australians and New Zealanders celebrate Christmas with picnics on the beach. British colonizers introduced traditional European holiday customs in the late 18th century. But these customs have since been modified to accommodate local conditions. For example, in addition to making decorations with Evergreen Christmas trees, Australians and New Zealanders adorn their homes with flowers and other summer plants. Australians gather at large festivals to sing Christmas carols by candlelight. Some Carol's feature imagery of the Australian Christmas Bush, a local plant that

48:47  
flowers at Christmas time. And finally we will talk about Christmas among Africans and other Asian countries. And we will finish with Christmas in Bethlehem. So that's coming next. Stay tuned. That's the last part of today's episode

49:11  
so let's start with Christmas among Africans. Because Christianity is not native to cultures in Africa. The celebration of Christmas is not widespread there. European missionaries introduced Christianity to the continent so the Christmas celebrations that occur among Africans resemble Western holiday traditions. However, Africans generally embellish European celebrations with their own local customs. For example, in Ghana, children traveling groups from house to house chanting and singing songs that use imagery from local folklore if a member of a household rewards them with a gift, the children's sing a song of things in Ghana and other former English colonies of Africa children hang their stockings for Father Christmas and rollers make rounds in the community on Boxing Day. You European traditions have similarly influenced regional holiday customs in areas once colonized by various countries of Europe. For example, in the former French colony of the Republic of the Congo, Catholics dramatized Mary and Joseph search for lodging, much as Catholic communities do elsewhere in the world. In Ethiopia, Orthodox Christians observe the Julian calendar and celebrate Christmas on January the seventh, they call this celebration lidded or Jenna and attend a church service lasting throughout the night. What about Christmas among Asians. European missionaries also introduced Christianity to the countries of Asia, but relatively small numbers of Asians observes such Christian traditions as Christmas celebrations. Beginning in the early 20th century, increased interest in Western culture has led many Asians to celebrate the holiday, particularly in Japan. However, most Asians who observe Christmas celebrated primarily as a secular Festival. In many countries, businesses welcomed the commercial activity generated by Christmas gift giving and traditional Western decorations transformed stores during the holiday season. So let's talk about Christmas in Japan. Although Portuguese missionaries brought Christianity to Japan in 1549, popular Christmas customs were not introduced to the country until the middle of the 19th century. At first, only the wealthier citizens of larger cities observed Christmas by the 1920s however, the holiday had become an annual festival even in rural areas and among the lower classes, textbooks for English language classes. a compulsory subject in Japanese middle schools often featured an essay on Christmas and suggested that holiday gift giving express the Western idea of democracy today Christmas is celebrated throughout Japan, about half of Japanese households hold a family Christmas celebration even though it's not illegal holiday family feasts included decorated cake and other holiday treats children wait for Santa Claus, or as they call him in Japan, Santa Kurosu or the sun they wait for Santa Kurosu or the sun to leave gifts next to their pillows, usually though Christmas acts as a prelude to the more important new year's festival. Now what about Christmas in China? Although Christianity is not officially sanctioned by the Chinese government, a curiosity about the West and a growing commercial sector in China have led to an increase of Christmas celebrations in the country. men dressed as Santa Claus appear in stores to hand out candy and waiters in restaurants where Santa hats the relatively small number of Chinese Christians celebrate the holiday by building artificial trees called trees of light and decorating them with paper chains, flowers, lanterns and other ornaments children hand Muslim stockings in hopes that the mythical figure dung Chee Loughran will fill them with presence. And finally, let's finish where everything started in Bethlehem, where Jesus Christ was born. How about Christmas in Bethlehem, in December 1000s of Christians from all over the world gathered in Bethlehem, the town of Jesus's birth to witness annual rituals at the Church of the Nativity. On Christmas Eve, a horseman bearing a large cross leads a procession of church members and dignitaries into the church. They continue down steep stairs and enter the Grotto of the Nativity, a long, narrow underground cavern carrying an ancient image of the baby Jesus, which they wrapped in swaddling clothes, they placed the figure in a manager at what is believed to be the actual birthplace of Christ. So that was everything I wanted to tell you about Christmas. Now it is Christmas time. But you might be listening to this episode when it is not Christmas time. But it is always useful to learn about Christmas, those symbols of Christmas.

53:52  
I bet that some of you know most of what I talked about, but you might not know some of the origin stories. And it is always interesting to learn about how people from different parts of the world celebrate Christmas. Now of course, I will have to apologize for those words that are not English, I try to pronounce them to the best of my ability. But I might not have been very good at some languages, nine some languages. I know exactly how they're pronounced in some other languages. I have absolutely no clue. So for people who are listening to me, and you obviously know the words, because they are your own languages, I'm sorry if I pronounce them in a wrong way. But I just try to talk about the traditions of your countries so that people all around the world can know about how Christmas is celebrated in your country. And for the other countries. Of course, there is no time and no space in one episode to talk about celebrations in all countries. But I kind of tried to talk about the different kinds of celebrations now in other countries around the world. It's usually similar to one of the things I talked about in those communities. But definitely I did not leave out one country on purpose or included one country on purpose. I just tried to talk about Christmas traditions from all around the world. I hope you like the episode and I hope that is a fitting end to this year. And of course, if you're listening to that in Christmas time, I wish you all Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and I hope the next year brings a lot of goodness to all of you a lot of good health we get rid of all these problems that we have worldwide and we have a year that we will remember for the rest of our lives and we will remember because it is good not because it is bad. Don't get me wrong. Now that being said, this is your host Danny, I would like to thank you very much for listening to another episode from English plus podcast. Don't forget if you want to read what I just talked about, because you may have missed some of the information I talked about. You can always take the link you can find in the description of the episode, go to my website, English plus podcast.com. There you will find the special post I created for this episode and you will find everything I talked about just in case you missed a thing or two in the episode. With that being said that'll be everything I will have to say for this year. I will see you again next year and the program is going to be so different. So exciting, a lot of interesting stuff, but I'm not going to tell you anything. Now I'm going to talk about everything at the beginning of the new year. With that being said again, I would like to thank you for listening to another episode from English plus podcast. This is your host Danny. I will see you next time.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai