Christmas festivities across the world
By Veena Patwardhan
When December comes, the joyous spirit of Christmas fills the air. Veena Patwardhan takes you around the world for a glimpse of what’s in store in other places during the festive season.
The sweet voices of little children down my building chanting “Jingle bells, jingle bells…” wafted through my open window, reminding me that Christmas was just around the corner. Come December, Christmas is on the minds of millions, both children and grown-ups, across the world – not just Christians, for whom it’s a celebration of the birthday of the Prince of Peace – Lord Jesus Christ, but for non-Christians as well. That’s because, like Diwali in India, Christmas too is a feast that has transcended the boundaries of religion to become a secular festival observed around the world as a celebration of peace, good cheer and the joy of giving.
Here in India, by the first week of December, the symbols of Christmas – bells, holly wreaths, Christmas trees, tinsel, colourful streamers – adorn the windows of stores and malls everywhere. In the days before the big day, delicious smells of cakes being baked and traditional sweets being prepared fill the air in predominantly Christian neighbourhoods. Houses are cleaned, candlesticks polished and decorations carefully unwrapped and put up, including a Christmas star outside the window. Huge stare are hoisted above and across roads as street decorations. And then on 24th December, at midnight (nowadays a couple of hours earlier in cities in deference to the law), church bells peal proclaiming the good news of the birth of Christ.
We’re familiar with all of this. But what about festivities in other parts of the world? Nowadays many countries are wooing tourists with special events and fun-filled activities planned during the Christmas holidays. So let’s take a whistle-stop tour of other places and catch a glimpse of their preparations for ushering in the festive season. Fasten your seatbelts and let’s take off to distant shores.
Let’s begin with Bethlehem on the West Bank, the little town where Jesus is believed to have been born. On Christmas Day, every year, thousands of people from across the world assemble at the Church of the Nativity. Midnight Mass is preceded by a grand procession led by galloping horsemen and mounted police. A lone horseman carrying a cross and mounted on a coal-black steed follows the other horsemen. Churchmen and government officials bring up the rear of the parade. People actually climb up trees and stand on rooftops to watch this dramatic event. After the solemn procession enters the doors of the jam-packed church, an ancient figurine of the Holy Child is ceremoniously placed inside, followed by the Mass. A grotto at the church has a silver star marking the site of the birth of Christ. The late Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat used to regularly attend the midnight Mass on Christmas Day with his Palestinian Christian wife.
Christmas in Italy is marked by traditional celebrations and merriment. On Christmas Day, large crowds, including tourists, throng the vast Vatican Square to hear Mass and receive the Pope’s blessing. Nativity scenes or presepios are very popular in Italy and most houses and churches have a candle-lit presepio on display. Another interesting Italian custom is that instead of opening their presents on Christmas Day, children wait until Epiphany on January 6, a feast commemorating the event when the three kings visited the new-born baby Jesus with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
In Rome, the capital city of Italy, cannons are fired from Castel St. Angelo to declare the beginning of the holiday season. The bustling shopping market in Piazza Navona is decorated with festive lights and has a mesmerizing array of gifts including Christmas tree ornaments, nativity scene components and toys for children. A giant Christmas tree adorns Piazza Venezia while groups of merry musicians, often dressed as Santas, entertain the crowds with Christmas music. The big name boutiques such as Gucci, Valentino, Prada, Louis Vuitton, Georgio Armani, and Fendi can be found along Via Borgognona. For those looking for more affordable Christmas buys, there’s a range of street-side shops lining Via del Corso, Via del Tritone, Via Nazionale and Via Cola di Rienzo overflowing with a dazzling range of gifts to suit every pocket. Other popular shopping destinations are the flea markets of Via Sannio and Porta Portese.
In the United Kingdom, the three most important days of the holiday season are Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and the following day, 26 December, celebrated as Boxing Day. Christmas Eve is an exciting day for children as they look forward to Santa Claus stuffing their stockings with gifts. Brightly lit churches resonate with Christmas carols and hymns. On Christmas Day, children can’t control their excitement as they tear open their gifts. Later, the whole family sits down to a traditional Christmas meal comprising roast turkey, roast potatoes and vegetables, cranberry sauce and Christmas pudding.
London, the capital of Great Britain, is one of the best cities to visit during Christmas. The city has an abundance of food, drink, and gift options for tourists. Streets, shops, theatres, everything radiates the holiday mood. Santa Claus figures can be seen clanging bells at street corners and outside stores. At Trafalgar Square in the heart of London, stands one of England’s most loved Christmas trees. Gifted by the Norwegian people as a gesture of gratitude and friendship, the magnificent tree is decked up with glowing white lights at Christmas time. Each evening, carol singers surround the tree, regaling people with their sweet singing. The Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, Canary Wharf, and the city’s famous shopping streets – Regent Street and Oxford Street – are all bathed in Christmas lights, entertaining visitors with a dazzling display of the season’s decorations.
Hong Kong, a former British colony located on the Southeastern coast of China, always celebrates Christmas with gusto. Street decorations, carol singing, elaborate church services, music concerts, parties, gaily decorated restaurants, pubs and shops – Christmas festivities in Hong Kong are marked by all this and more. The beautifully decorated Central Business District has a huge lit-up Christmas tree that can be seen even from across the harbour. The grandeur of tall, illuminated buildings on both sides of Victoria harbour is breath-taking. The recently opened Hong Kong Disneyland also gears up for Christmas with scintillating decorations, lively performances and gift bonanzas that thrill not just kids but visitors of all ages.
The fabulous Hong Kong Winterfest is a major tourist attraction at Christmas time. Extending from 30 November to 1 January, it’s a fun-filled event that transforms the whole city into a glittering winter wonderland. Hong Kong’s famous Causeway Bay draws hordes of tourists because of its line-up of glitzy stores as well as the attractive bargains available in the street markets.
Germany celebrates Christmas with great fanfare. In fact, many of the traditional Christmas customs, including the decorating of the Christmas tree, are believed to have originated in Germany. A brightly lit up Christmas tree is an integral part of Christmas for Germans all over the world. But a unique Christmas symbol in German homes is the Advent (the four weeks before Christmas) wreath made of bound fir twigs to which four fat red or yellow candles are attached. The wreath is hung from the ceiling, and then one candle is lit for each of the four Sundays in Advent. The Advent wreath can also be found in churches and shopping malls.
Berlin, Germany’s capital city, attracts tourists from all over the world, specially during the Christmas season. The city has over 50 Christmas markets, the most popular of which is Wilhelm Gedächtniskirch attracting more than 2 million visitors each year. The quaint market has hundreds of traditional wooden stalls selling artworks, decorations, jewellery and other festival gifts. Another popular market is the Scandinavian market located in the fashionable district of Prenzlauerberg and famed for its range of shopping items and cultural events. Berlin also has some of the best stores like KaDeWe and Galeries Lafayette where shoppers can look forward to buying the most exquisitely made Christmas decorations, candles and other souvenirs.
In the USA, Christmas is a family festival, and so, people usually travel across states to go home and spend the holidays with their parents if they stay in another part of the country. The sentiments expressed in the American Christmas number “I’m coming home for Christmas” perfectly portray the Christmas spirit and mood. Exchanging gifts with family and friends is another widespread custom. Homes are decorated with mistletoe, holly, Christmas wreaths, and outdoor lights, some having their Christmas lights up even from the 1st of December. Streets, town centres, and shopping malls are decorated with Christmas symbols by the end of November, reminding one and all that Christmas is coming.
The excitement builds up as the stores get busier. Long lines of cars snaking their way into the parking lots of malls is a familiar sight. Smiling faces, lighthearted banter shared with shop assistants, and the sweet strains of Christmas carols wafting across the speaker systems inside the malls make the last minute shopping for Christmas gifts a more pleasurable experience. On Christmas Eve, presents pile up below the Christmas tree in every home to be opened the next morning either immediately after midnight Mass or later in the day after the kids wake up. After that it’s a whirl of feasting, merry-making, and partying. In offices, Christmas parties are held a few days earlier before they close for the holidays.
But traditional Christmas customs vary from region to region in America since people of many nationalities have settled in this country bringing with them the customs from their places of origin. In Washington D.C., the President presses a button to light up a giant, beautifully decorated Christmas tree. In Boston, carol singing with singers carrying hand bells is a familiar scene. Down in New Orleans, a huge ox is paraded around the streets, its horns decorated with holly and colourful ribbons. In California, Santa Claus makes a dramatic entry on a surfboard. Arizona observes the Mexican ritual of Las Posadas, a procession depicting how a heavily pregnant Mary and her husband Joseph went from inn to inn at Bethlehem searching for a room to stay for the night on the first Christmas eve more than two thousand years ago.
New York City literally sparkles at Christmas time. The festivities in the Big Apple begin with the annual lighting of the world’s most famous Christmas tree – the Rockefeller Centre Christmas Tree, a massive mountain of branches covered with 30,000 lights on 5 miles of wire. Glittering holiday displays in shop windows, at department stores and malls attract the attention of holiday revellers. New York’s famous shopping stores such as Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s, and Tiffany’s, all glow with Christmas lights and attract shoppers in droves. Besides, every restaurant, every pub, every party hall is charged with the spirit of Christmas. And if it’s a White Christmas, that is an added blessing, making the holiday experience even more memorable.
In Canada, however, people invariable enjoy a classic “White Christmas” as it comes right in the middle of winter. The country has several provinces each with their own characteristic Christmas customs, but attending Midnight Mass is an essential part of celebrating Christmas in all of them. Besides Christmas trees and other decorations, the snowy landscapes add an air of enchantment to the festivities.
One of the highlights in Toronto is the Grand Santa Claus Parade, an event that is being organized there since the last 100 years. The six kms. long parade is a lively affair featuring 20 musical bands and 25 themes, and attracting thousands of children from all over Toronto and other parts of Canada. At Nathan Phillips Square, a huge Christmas tree decorated with thousands of lights presents a dazzling sight. There’s also an ice rink for skating enthusiasts and an artisan market with a variety of exquisitely crafted artifacts and gift items. Traditional concerts, carol singing and stage productions are an essential part of the Christmas celebrations in Toronto. Other attractions include spectacular light displays at the Niagara Falls, the Kingsway, Old Cabbagetown, Queens Quay Harbourfront and Korea Town. Tourists also flock to the Christmas parties hosted aboard fully heated ships in the harbour.
Unlike in Europe and other parts of the world, in Australia, Christmas comes in the summer time, as the country is located down under in the Southern Hemisphere. Instead of sheets of snow as in the US and Europe, Australia has blue skies and sparkling sunshine. With the Australian Christmas coming in the middle of the school summer holidays, most families spend Christmas with a picnic at the beach, holidaying in a caravan, or visiting their family staying in some other city or state. Notwithstanding the opposite weather conditions, Christmas customs and decorations are the same as in other western countries. The Christmas dinner too resembles the traditional English dinner in most homes, but nowadays, many families prefer to have a meal more suited to the summer. So, instead of eating a hot meal in temperatures touching 35 degrees Celsius, such folks celebrate Christmas eating cold meats, salads, seafood and tropical fruits like mangoes and watermelons!
Famous for its spectacular coastline, Sydney has swarms of visitors during the Christmas holidays. Concerts, carol singing events, the splendid street decorations, and markets brimming with Christmas gifts and souvenirs are a big draw. At Christmas time, Sydney gets transformed into a city of lights. City parks like Harry Noble Reserve, Redfern Park, Turuwal Park and heritage buildings like Hyde Park Barracks, the Mint, Parliament House and the State Library are all grandly illuminated. One of the popular concerts in Sydney is the mesmerizing singing of carols with music by top-rate orchestras in the lovely Royal Botanical Gardens. The concert concludes with a magnificent display of fireworks.
Like in Australia, in South Africa and Latin America too, summer is at its peak in December. So, unlike the familiar “White Christmas” scenes we see on Christmas cards, in these parts of the world they have Christmas without snow. In South Africa, the abundance of flowers and lush greenery make up for the absence of snow at Christmas time. Except for the climate difference, Christmas here is much the same as in Europe. The traditions are European right down to the Christmas family meal. In the days of apartheid, Indian passports used to have “Not valid for South Africa and the Colony of Rhodesia” stamped on them. But not any longer. Today, a short six-hour flight takes thousands of Indian tourists to South Africa each year. The beauty of Cape Town has a spell-bending effect on visitors, but the city is even more beautiful at Christmas time. The streets are aglow with Christmas decorations and shops and restaurants do brisk business till late into the night.
Rio de Janeiro, the capital of Brazil, is one of the most romantic places on earth and buzzes with tourists at Christmas time. Since Christmas is a summer festival here, Rio’s famed beaches are packed with locals and tourists all out to have a whale of a time during the Christmas holidays. Those who want to beat the summer heat and escape from the teeming crowds, go to places like the cool mountain town of Penedo, also called “Cidade do Papai Noel” or “Santa Claus City” because of a villa there named “St. Nick’s summer home”(Santa Claus is also referred to as St. Nick). Brazil being a former Portuguese colony, many of the Christmas traditions here are of Portuguese origin.
And that brings us back to India, to Goa, another territory formerly ruled over by the Portuguese and where Christmas has a Portuguese flavour. While Indians fly off to different destinations across the globe for Christmas, the whole world makes a beeline for Goa, which has evolved into a hip international destination for chilling out during the Christmas holidays. In fact, foreign tourists book their tickets and hotel accommodations up to a year in advance to avoid disappointment! Grand Christmas balls, singing and dancing competitions, music festivals and beach parties are planned for the festive season, including kiddie parties with Santa Claus in attendance. From Christmas Day till the Feast of the Three Kings on 6 January, all of Goa is ablaze with Christmas lights at night. People not only put up Christmas stars, they even decorate the coconut palms and other trees in their gardens with strings of colourful light bulbs. Goa lives up to every tourist’s expectations. Whether it’s shaking a leg, letting your hair down, or wining and dining, Goa lets you do it all.
Though we’ve covered just a handful of exciting Christmas destinations, there’s a lot more happening in other parts of the globe too. But whether you decide to go off on a holiday or not, do keep the joyful spirit of Christmas alive in your heart. And keep smiling, for as that wonderful song from our childhood days goes…
You better watch out, you better not cry;
You better not pout, and I’m telling you why;
Santa Claus is coming to town!
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