Merry Christmas!
Only two more sleeps to go until the jolly fellow with the red suit and long white beard comes sneaking into your home to leave presents, or lumps of coal, depending which one of his lists you are on (you know who you are…), so, I thought it is a good time to think about how Christmas is celebrated differently around the world.
As Australians we have developed our own unique traditions that make a lot more sense to us now, than those that we were brought up celebrating. We have incorporated yummy fresh seafood into our celebratory meals, which we may even eat while sitting outdoors, under a veranda at home, or in a local park or even at the beach. Some households forgo the hot lunch of roast turkey and veggies altogether in favour of cold meats and salad, or the ever-popular fallback option – a BBQ. Lunch will be followed by a rowdy game of back yard cricket with teams consisting of rellies we only ever see at this time of year, but we don’t let that little bit of nostalgia get in the way when it comes to catching Aunty Beryl out by ‘one hand, one bounce’.
While our Aussie Christmas festivities are broadly the same all over the country, Europe is quite a different story, both as a whole continent, but also country to country.
Most countries in Europe will officially begin their Christmas on 24th December, Christmas Eve, with a visit to their local church for the evening service or mass, spending time with friends from the surrounding community, before heading home to eat drink and be merry with their families, sometimes well into the early hours of Christmas morning. This means that most of Christmas Day is allocated to digesting and recovering from the huge meal from the previous night, to which I say ‘Good idea and well played Europe!’
Of course, most of the Northern hemisphere is in the midst of winter at this time of year, which also means that the older traditions that were carried over to us here, but that did not fit with our summery conditions, are perfect for celebrating in homes with snow covered rooves. I can never adjust to drinking mulled wine here, as much as I have tried, but in Germany, just to stop yourself from turning in to a popsicle as you arrive home after walking back from church, it is a necessity.
Every country that celebrates Christmas does it a bit differently, but there is always one thing in common – the element of togetherness. With family, whatever that looks like for you, friends gathering and communities rallying around any individuals who are not quite as lucky as the rest of us.
So, wherever you are over the next few days and whoever you are with, I wish you all the very best for this festive season and let’s push on to have a cracking 2021!