In most of the countries that celebrate Christmas, it’s all about gathering with family, friends, and a festive dinner. This is the day we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Although, the way people celebrate Christmas is not the same everywhere. Differences may be small, but each country has its own customs and cultural traditions during the holiday season.
In the Netherlands it’s not common to give many presents because the Dutch celebrate ‘Sinterklaas’ in early December. In the Netherlands and Belgium it’s a custom to draw lots to decide which family member buys a present for whom, also known as Secret Santa.
Another tradition which is known in the Netherlands and a few English-speaking countries, is receiving the ‘kerstpakket,’ or Christmas Box. This box consists of festive food, wine and Christmas gifts. Employees in England receive the Christmas Box on Boxing Day, which is the day after Christmas.
The Christmas Box originates from ancient times when it was hard to collect food during the winter. Farmers, who often provided shelter to their staff, gave them a Christmas Box so they could prepare a nice Christmas dinner with their families.
In the holiday season, you can visit the German Weihnachtsmärkte. Among the Dutch it is very popular to visit these jolly markets in Cologne, Düsseldorf, Oberhausen and Berlin. Here you can enjoy hot chestnuts, grilled sausages and glühwein while you stroll along the Christmas booths.
You might be used to Santa bringing gifts to little children, but you’ll be surprised to see that this does not apply to all cultures. In Italy, the Christmas witch ‘La Befana’ distributes the presents. ‘La Befana’, who is nowadays seen as a good fairy, shares a lot of similarities with Santa Claus. They both go down the chimney and give bad children a lump of coal instead of presents.
Unwrapping the presents happens on Christmas Eve in most of the countries. In some Scandinavian countries, such as Denmark and Finland it’s a tradition to put one whole almond in the pudding. The person who gets the almond in his or her pudding gets to open the first present.
It might seem like you have to be patient, but in Greece they have to wait longer. Agios Vasilis, how the Greek call Santa, delivers the presents on New Year’s Eve.
What are your cultural traditions during the holiday season? Let us know!