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Well, Posetteforever is a very international comunity, and would be nice and interesting to know about Christmas <br /> <br /> tradition all over the world, not just the country tadition but some family traditions too. <br /> <br /> I'm from Argentina, a south America country in the souther emisphere, thus in december we are in full summer, and that <br /> <br /> has a lot to do with our traditions. Our christmas festivity start december 8th, in catholic tradition we conmemorate the <br /> <br /> Inmaculate Conception of Mary, and is a holly day this is the day when we decorate the christmas tree, of course most of <br /> <br /> the trees are artificial, unles one have a garden or the tree won't live too much with 30ºC in the shadow, and for the <br /> <br /> simple reason tha we don't have much Pine trees over here. <br /> <br /> Dicember 24 usualy we work until midday and have a long siesta (you'll see why). Like in most places, I think, Christmas <br /> <br /> is a family celebration and here usually is a massive family celebration (maybe heritage of our european ancestors), so <br /> <br /> at about 7:00 pm people start to arrive at the chosen home, as I mentioned here is summer and if one have a house big <br /> <br /> enough with a nice garden this will be for shure the place for the dinner (or supper?, I don't understand the diference). <br /> <br /> this is a country with a big food tradition and the Christmas food is very important, we start waiting the supper with <br /> <br /> some aperitives, beer (whe have the best of the country here) and some snacks, for the supper we usually have some cold <br /> <br /> food usually lamb, pork, or chiken, mainly roasted and stuffed, with salads of all kind and a good wine; we decorate our <br /> <br /> tables with candels and red gold and green christmas motives, and it may sound strange but usually all have snow on it. <br /> <br /> We start our supper at about 10:00 pm to finish it near midnight. Then we set our Chirstmas sweet table, with nougats, <br /> <br /> chocolates, almond, praline, and all those winter candies (strange isn't it) that allmost nobody eat, but they must be <br /> <br /> there because is a tradition. In my family my brother make his famous icecream cake for the desert, and that everybody <br /> <br /> eat. five minutes before midnight we fill our glasses with champagne, or alcoholic cider, (non alcoholic for the kids) <br /> <br /> (cider is our real traditional drink for this the hollydays here), when the clock gives midnight toast and the kids blows the <br /> <br /> candles of the table and the cake then saying Feliz Navidad (marry christmas) we give a kiss in the cheek to every body <br /> <br /> (woman or men). then we eat the cake or and/or cleriko ( fruits and white wine) and go lounch and see the fireworks, I <br /> <br /> think this is a very latin american tradition, the sky get covered with fireworks and no noice is amaithing, everybody in <br /> <br /> the city colaborate with this show. <br /> <br /> This is the time to distract the kids as well, and here is a diferent tradition, not so far ago the presents were brought <br /> <br /> by small Jesus riding a star at midnight, and we invite our childrens to go outside to try to see him playing between the <br /> <br /> fireworks, slowly this tradition is loosing and now allmost every kid tray to see Santa's sleigh (we call him Papa Noel <br /> <br /> because he is the label of a traditional sweet panetone brand called Noel), but in some famylies remain the tradition of <br /> <br /> small Jesus riding a star, and I want that my girl wait for Him too in spite of my wife and my mother that insist with <br /> <br /> Santa's because he is everywhere now, in every shoping mall, in every market, in every toy shop; I have nothing agaist <br /> <br /> him, in fact I think is a very beautiful tradition, but not our, and I don't think it's good to torture a poor old man <br /> <br /> with all that hair and beard in that heavy suit with all those poor animals making him come to our 30ºC summer, I think <br /> <br /> this is a better weather for a small kid in diapers riding a star. I think this is diferent here too, our kids can stay <br /> <br /> awake all far as they can in christmas and the receive their presents at midnight and will be awake and playing with them <br /> <br /> until they resist (usually not much). <br /> <br /> After all that we go out to greet some some people we know, and live near and make some phone call to the people that are <br /> <br /> not near (as far as the lines are not saturated). This is the moment for moe beer and sandwiches to invite the people <br /> <br /> that come to greet, and to play with the kids and their new toys, an lounch some more fireworks, and if the there are <br /> <br /> enough people why not to dance. No need to tell that after all this we usually go to bed very late (or early?) in the <br /> <br /> morning, and usually all the city wake up passed midday of dicember 25 to visit by the evening the people that remain not <br /> <br /> to greet to drink some matਠwith the sweet panetone that nobody wanted to eat the previous night. <br /> <br /> This is more ore less, the Christmas tradition here in my country, specially here where I live, of course, in other zones <br /> <br /> of Argentina have others traditions, but this are mainly common all over my country, and all social classes. <br /> <br /> (No enought time to correct it, so please don't laught at my english and bad typing) <br /> <br /> Merry Christmas!

I like baby Jesus riding on a star!! Sounds like a great christmas celebration. <img src="https://www.posetteforever.com/images/smiles/eusa_dance.gif" alt="" /> <br /> <br /> Here in Sweden you can say that christmas begins sort of december 1. That’s when the advent/christmas calender starts on TV/radio or homemade ones, It’s a countdown to christmas eve, and it’s for kids. <br /> I’m a christian so for me christmas starts at the first advent. <br /> Up here it’s darker during the late fall, winter and early spring. We have a much shorter period of daylight. That means that daylight comes late around 9.-10 in the morning and starts to go away around 14.30 – 15.00 . In the late spring, summer and early fall the light conditions are reversed. This means that it’s darker this time of the year. People put up special candleholders with 4 (symbolising the 4 advents) or seven (symbolises god creating everything in seven days) candles in their windows (electrical or real candles). <br /> We also put of big electric stars in the windows, that symbolises the star when jesus was born. It really lights up the dark and i love it. <br /> We also send christmas cards before christmas. <br /> <br /> The 13th december we celebrate Lucia. She was an italian saint that was killed december 13th 304. She used her dollery.. the money that came with her in marriage to buy food for the poor. This made her fiance very angry and he turned Lucia in to the prefect for being a christian. They decided that she was guilty and she was to be burned to death, but the fire didn’t touch her. This made the ppl that were to kill her angry so they took a sword and took out her eyes and then killed her with the sword. <br /> WE celebrate Lucia by performing songs for others. A group of ppl will dress up in white – symbolising Lucia’s purity. One woman/girl is selected Lucia (when this is at schools it is usually a popularity contest) she will wear a crown of candles on her head – symbolising Lucia’s saint hood and a wide red band around her waist – symbolising Lucia’s blood. She is followed by women/girls called tà¤rnor (don’t know how to translate that). They are also dressed in white, but instead of a crown of candles they have a ring of tinsle and tinsle around their waists. The group sing Luciasongs and christmassongs. <br /> The reson behind why Lucia is celebrated is that before Sweden was a christian country we had nordic gods and godesses; Tor, Oden, Loke, Freja, Idun, Siv, Brage, Njord, Frej,Hà¶der, Balder, Tyr etc. This time of year the godess Freja (godess of birth, crops, love) was riding around the earth in a wagon pulled by her cats, making sure that everything would grow in the spring again. This was a celebrated occation and to help make sweden a christian country the missionaries trew in the celebration of Lucia instead of Freja. <br /> <br /> <br /> Here the most important christmasday is christmas eve and not dec 25. People start to decorate for christmas around dec 22-23. We have a tree – pine. That we decorate with a star on top and put lights, tinsle, balls, candy, paper stuff on. We have special bonader ( images usualy on linnen) on the walls with christmas motifs, we decorate the home with candles, santas, a church playing silent night when you open the door, some have a male goat made of hey. That symbolises the male goats that the god Tor had. Swedish christmas is kind of a mix of christian and the old gods stuff. Aslo a mary, joseph, babe jesus, the whise men are put up together <br /> <br /> WE drink Glà¶gg, wich is warm wine with spices in it. It tastes sweeter that normal wine and some ppl put raisins and nuts in it. We eat ham, fish, special bread, fat cheese, a specail porridge that i love!, and christmas cookies and cakes. <br /> In old times the food and drinks were left on the table over night and ppl slept on the floor. They believed that passed away loved ones came to visit and that they were tyo eat the left over food and sleep in the beds. Now that has changed to some ppl putting out a bowl of christmas porridge for santa. <br /> <br /> Santa usualy visits on christmas eve in the evening and deliver the presents to the different family members himself. We don’t have the tradition of him flying around with raindeers or leaving presents under the tree. <br /> <br /> A lot of ppl play games and dance around the christmas tree. At midnight there’s a mass, and very early the next morning there’s another mass. A lot of ppl that usualy don’t go to church come to them. The churches here are left open and unlocked during christmas, so that ppl can come in and warm themselves, mainly homeless ppl do that. Christmas is celebrated for 3 days and 20 days after there’s a party and the tree gets thrown out and the decorations are taken down.

I will take that under advisement. Oh I get itoh#8217;s darker this time of the year . It sounds delicious. Do you ever eat meat?

Yes, Thilda, I forgot to mention the mass after midnight, we call it MISA DEL GALLO (cock mass), and the churchs are open all day too. I forgot to mention the representation of the born of Jesus by teatre groups in diferent parks, and of course the presentation of the kids chorus and the orchestra mainly in the old churches of the old naiborhood. <br /> It's nice to know the tradition of your country, very interesting the mix of mith and christianity. Sound weird for me the times of light you have, here in now the sun come out at 6:00am and go down at 8:30pm in winter come out at 8:00 and go down at 6:30 pm. <br /> We undecorate the tree and the house at january 6 when we celebrate the Magician Kings at the night of january 5 the kids will leave their old shoes with some grass inside for the camels, and at the morning of the 6 they will receive new shoes with candies inside. (but this another tradition that is loosing too) <img src="https://www.posetteforever.com/images/smiles/very_sad.gif" alt="" />

Of course here in Italy with the Vatican so near and an old christian tradition the celebrations for the birth of Jesus and saints like Lucia are very popular. The day of Santa Lucia in my zone of Italy was considered a very important day, the real day when children have their gifts and Christmas the day when they receive some candies, but now the Christmas day has become the most popular because the local tradition tend to be forgotten. There is also the day of La Befana <img src="https://www.posetteforever.com/images/smiles/lol.gif" alt="" /> , La Befana is an old witch who drives a broom and give candy if you has been good or choke if you hasn't... During the working hours Tormie uses to yell to some women who nearly caused a crash something like: "HEY ! "La Befana" it's on the 6th of january ! You're too early !" <img src="https://www.posetteforever.com/images/smiles/rolleyes.gif" alt="" /> <br /> <br /> I'm not too much in religious thing, however I like to meet my beloved ones during the Christmas period, this year I'll go to my mom <img src="https://www.posetteforever.com/images/smiles/heartbeat.gif" alt="" /> the day before Christmas with my brother and I'll stay here on the Christmas day. This year we celebrate the Christmas one day before because my mother has to work on the 25th, but it's not a real problem <img src="https://www.posetteforever.com/images/smiles/smile.gif" alt="" /> ...