Anointedtoday.blogspot.com: Bloggers Meet and Greet December- Christmas Around the World

Merry Christmas. Have You Ever Thought about how others may celebrate Christmas around the world? Did you know there are some countries that do not celebrate Christmas?

Did you know that a Christmas wreath with holly represents the blood Jesus shed (the red berries) and the crown of thorns? That is according to icebreakerideas.com.

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Let’s see what a few other countries are doing for Christmas.

1. Angola

Keep in mind that different countries have different cultures. In rural parts of Angola families might rear animals especially to eat at Christmas according to whychristmas.com. They further add that the meal traditionally consists of pirao or funge (a type of polenta made of corn meal or cassava flour) with rice, sphaghetti, french fries, turkey, fried chicken and dishes lie ozido de bacalhau’ (cooked cold fish with vegetables), calulu (a dish of fired fish or beef with tomatoes, garlic, okra, sweet potatoes and spinach, etc.

In America Christmas Dinner may range from turkey or baked ham. I have know some families to just have tacos or something simple. Americans seemingly are getting away from traditional foods, but integrating their own traditions for their meals.

2. Egypt

In Egypt about 15% of people are Christians and Christmas is celebrated on January 7^th as opposed to American traditional Christmas on December 25th according to whychirstmas.com. They further add that their Christmas services normally start about 10:30 pm and can last at some services until 4 am following going home to eat foods with eggs, butter,and a popular course of Fata ( a lamb soup which contains bread, rice, garlic and boiled lamb meat.

3. Greenland

Families in Greenlawn celebrate Christmas by visiting each other, having parties, drinking coffee and eating cakes. They further add that when exchanging gifts their traditional presents are model sledges, a pair of polished walrus tusks, or sealskin mitts.

4. Venezuela

Do you love to roller skate? I sure do. Guess what although Venezuela is a religious country in the capital city of Caracas they traditionally close the streets to cars on Christmas morning and people roller skate to church services according to cbc.ca kids. Can you just picture this?

5. Iceland

Instead of 12 days of Christmas Iceland celebrates 13. The children place their shoes by the window and they head upstairs to bed. In the morning they'll either have received candy (if they’re good) or be greeted with shoes full of rotten potatoes if they’re bad. This is according to countryliving.com. I cannot imagine that. What about you?

6. Guatemala

In Guatemala the locals believe that the devil and other evil spirits live in the dark, dirty corners of your home; therefore, they spend the week before Christmas sweeping up, collecting rubbish and then piling everything in a huge heap outside, then placing an effigy of the devil on top and the whole thing is set on fire. Wanerlust.co.uk further adds that it is called La Quema del Diablo, the “Burning of the Devil.” Isn’t it amazing how different countries have their own customs and traditions which may be totally different from your own?

7. Some Countries Don’t Celebrate Christmas

To those of you that cannot fathom not celebrating Christmas, there are countries that do not celebrate Christmas. According to theweek.co.uk Afghanistan, Algeria, Libya, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen are just a few of the countries that do not celebrate Christmas. They further add that Yemen has been a war-torn state that has not officially observed Christmas for decades. To those of us that have only known the traditionally celebrated Christmas this may be hard to understand that there are other countries that do not feel the same.

8. Christmas Cancelled in American

Although Christmas had been celebrated for ages in the 17^th century in 1645 Oliver Cromwell vowed in an effort to cancelled Christmas, but Charles II was restored to the throne and with him came the return of the popular holiday Christmas according to History.com. They further add that in the 19^th century Washington Irving reinvents Christmas and started embracing it as a family-centered day of peace and nostalgia; Also around this time Charles Dickens created the classic holiday tale, A Christmas Carol.

I can just imagine Christmas in different parts of the world would be an interesting experience. I recall going to Georgia one Christmas. When I left Michigan it was cold, icy, and snowing. I do not like cold weather. As we traveled further south the skys started looking clear and I could feel the warmth in the air. It was such a good feeling. When we reached Georgia the temperatures were in the 50's and 60’s. It felt so good. It was different not seeing any snow. It was different to be able to shed my winter clothing and only wear a light jacket. It just felt good. My first Christmas in the south.

9. A Few Christmas Fun Facts according to icebreakerideas.com

a. Did you know that Franklin Pierce (1853-1957) is believed to have been the first President to put a Christmas tree in the White House?

b. Christmas trees were banned by President Teddy Roosevelt in the White House in 1901 because of concerns about the environmental effects, but his sons decorated a small tree cut on the White House grounds and hid it in a closet until Christmas morning.

c. One can eat more than 7,000 calories at Christmas when you add up the turkey, dressing, mashed and sweet potatoes, other sides, pie rolls, and drinks.

d. Brenda Lee was only thirteen years old when she recorded “Rockin Around the Christmas Tree” in 1958.

e. Many people abbreviate Christmas “Xmas,” which is actually based upon X being the first letter of Jesus Christ’s name in Greek.

Remember the reason for the season. How will you celebrate Christmas this year.

Photo caption:

Pixabay, openclipart-vectors/27384 images

Sources:

Christmas in Angola

Christmas in Egypt

Christmas in Greenland

How do they celebrate Christmas around the world?

20 Christmas Traditions Around the World That May Surprise You

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