We couldn't wait any longer! Christmas is finally here! Time for holidays, big, fancy meals, time with family and friends, and... gifts!
It's one of the most important Christian holidays. But usually, when we hear Christmas, the first thing we think of is a myriad of secular traditions that have nothing to do with religion. It's a good excuse to celebrate, decorate, eat, drink, laugh, and do other things that warm our hearts.
France has its habits
We all have our habits and customs, which we repeat every year since childhood, well before the age of reason. This may vary from one family to another and from one group of friends to another, but they are very similar and are guided by the culture of the country: Christmas markets in the most important squares of city centers. Christmas Eve meals with foie gras, seafood, and fine wines as the main characters. Opening presents on the evening of the 24th or the morning of the 25th and judging for ourselves whether we have been good or if we need to improve. All this just before the king cake arrives.
Celebrating Christmas around the world
On the other hand, it is enough to investigate a little to see how in other countries, certain traditions change or disappear to make way for others, very different ones.
Customs in the Pacific
On the other side of the world, in New Zealand, Christmas is celebrated in summer, replacing the fir tree with the pohutukawa, a large tree with red flowers native to the North Island. Thanks to time zones, New Zealanders are among the fastest to welcome the New Year.
In the Philippines, the Christmas spirit arrives much earlier than in the rest of the world, as the streets are decorated as early as September, and the celebrations begin on December 16th and last until January 6th. A bit long, right? Among the decorative objects, you can find the famous "parolas," star-shaped lanterns made of bamboo, everywhere.
Spend the holidays in neighboring countries
On the other side of the Pyrenees, in Spain, people ring in the New Year with their families by eating 12 grapes in time with the first 12 chimes of the great clock in Madrid's Plaza del Sol. These 12 grapes represent the months of the year and are considered lucky charms. They then toast with champagne and place a gold ring in their glass.
Will anyone toast with an Agnès de Verneuil ring?
And it is precisely from Spain that Saint Nicholas arrives in Belgium on the night of December 5th to leave gifts for good children, and branches in the shoes of the less good ones.
Sights from across the ocean
However, for Canadians, Santa Claus travels a few kilometers less because he lives in the North Pole, in Canada!
In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Christmas begins when the lights are turned on on what was the world's tallest Christmas tree until 2015, when a strong gust of wind cut it in half, shrinking it from 85 meters to 53 meters. However, with its nearly 2 billion bulbs, it leaves no one indifferent.
In short, whether you are on this side of the globe or elsewhere, and whatever your habits, we wish you all a very Merry Christmas.
