By Victor Block
Model boats are decorated with brightly glimmering lights. Women sprinkle water scented with basil around their house, which they believe will keep bad spirits away. Families dine on spit-roasted pork and fried pastry.
This is Merry Christmas as it’s celebrated in Greece. People around the world welcome this special day in a variety of ways, some familiar and others less so. These include festivities that are focused on Santa Claus and those that stress the Christ in the holiday’s name.
Given the seafaring history of Greece, it’s not surprising that decorated ships are an old tradition. That includes small model vessels which have been displayed in homes when sailors returned from sea voyages. Christmas also is welcomed by many Greeks with a toast of ouzo, the country’s anise-flavored spirit that is the country’s national drink.
Food often is a focus of Christmas merriment, and the list of typical fare is long and varied. Carp is the main dish at some holiday meals in Poland. Some people buy a filet, while others adhere to the time-honored practice of purchasing a live fish several days in advance and letting it swim in a bath tub before it is cooked and consumed.
Colonel Sanders would feel at home in Japan, where fried chicken at KFC and other fast-food restaurants is a holiday favorite. Other imports from the United States include exchanging cards and presents. Christmas in ways is more like Valentine’s Day, a romantic time for couples to spend time together. Sake rice wine is the traditional holiday, and anytime, beverage in the Land of the Rising Sun.
In Germany, many families attend Mass on December 24 and bring gifts for the Christkind(Child of Christ). Christmas trees have been used since the late Middle Ages. Most people have a real tree that traditionally is decorated with wooden ornaments and real candles. The libation of choice comes from the wide selection of outstanding local beers.
An impressive feature of holiday celebrations in Germany is the famous Christmas Markets. Most cities have at least one, and some are based upon a theme like angels or medieval times. The market in Frankfurt dates back to the 14th century and that in Cologne can attract more than four million visitors.
Some time-honored ways of celebrating Christmas were brought to Canada immigrants from a number of countries. Given the cold winter climate, skiing, ice skating, and tobogganing are popular pastimes if the ground is covered by snow.
An annual extravaganza in Toronto is the Santa Claus Parade, which first took off in 1905 and now attracts more than a half-million people. Lavish floats, marchers, bands, clowns, and – of course – Santa and Mrs. Claus wind through the city along a 3.5-mile route.
In contrast to the snow and shivering cold of Canada is warm winter weather south of the equator. That includes Australia, where, as in other countries that previously formed the British Empire, some practices – like Boxing Day, which takes place on December 26 – are observed.
Less familiar are the facts that Santa at times has been depicted as wearing Australian-style clothing, including a wide-brimmedAkubrahat and flip-flops and riding in a sort of pickup truck pulled by kangaroos. Some Aussies go to a beach to swim in the ocean and it’s not unknown for Santa to come ashore riding a surfboard.
Argentina and South Africa share a Southern Hemisphere location with Australia, so sand and surf are more closely associated with Christmas than snow and sleet. Santas dressed in their traditional wool clothing do their best to keep shouting “Ho-Ho-Ho” when they’d prefer to say “hot-hot-hot.”
Argentinians are lovers of meat, so it’s no surprise that an outdoor barbeque is a staple of activities. So are Christmas trees, usually artificial and sometimes decorated with cotton balls to represent snow. Fireworks at midnight often mark the start of Christmas day and the sky is filled with globos, paper decorations with a light inside that float into the sky.
Some activities there, like trimming a Christmas tree and hanging stockings, may sound familiar. Depending upon where you live in the United States, outdoor activities like beach sunbathing, hiking in a park, or camping may be less likely.
Around the same time of year, Jewish people around the world celebrate Hanukkah, which commemorates the recovery of Jerusalem and rededication of the Second Temple in the second century BC.
In Israel, the streets of Jerusalem glow with candlelight and families display their menorah, a seven-branched candelabrum. Traditional holiday food includes latkes (potato pancakes) and jam-filled doughnuts known as sufganiyot.
In Paris, many Jewish people head for Le Marais district to enjoy Jewish food specialties. In the Alsace region, Jews use a double menorah with space for 16 lights rather than the traditional eight, so a father and son can both light a candle together.
Jewish people have lived in Rome since 160 BC. That city celebrates with a 20-foot-high menorah lit at Piazza Barberini. The favorite Hanukkah treat for Italians is Precipizi, small fried balls of dough sweetened with warm honey.
