Christmas Eve Traditions Around the World!
The night before Christmas, Christmas Eve, is a very magical and special time of the year. Children are "wide-eyed" with anticipation on what tomorrow will bring. They have been waiting for this time of the year for a long, long time, and it is finally here. Christmas Eve traditions differ in various countries around the world, and in this article we will be exploring some of these traditions.
Santa and his elves have been working all year for this big night. Spanning the globe via sleigh and reindeer can have you working up quite an appetite. Children to the rescue. In both Canada and the United States, children leave some milk and cookies to feed Santa's ferocious appetite. In Australia and Britain they prefer to leave mince pies and sherry. The children of Sweden want to satisfy Santa's love of chocolate, so they leave brownies.
Now that Santa has been fed, attention must be turned to the reindeer. After all, who can pull a sleigh full of Christmas presents around the world and not work up a big appetite? Children to the rescue one more time. Kids from Canada, Australia, Britain, and the United States leave a carrot to help give Santa's reindeer a "bit of a push" as they span the globe. Children who follow the Dutch custom of sinterklass go a bit further. They will leave a carrot and some hay in a shoe. When they wake up the next morning it will be replaced by a gift.
Reading books and watching television or videos have become a Christmas Eve tradition as well. One popular book is "A Visit from St. Nicholas" by Clement Clark Moore. Popular videos are: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, A Charlie Brown Christmas, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, or Frosty the Snowman. For those who like to sing Christmas Carols, popular titles are: Here Comes Santa Claus, Up on the Housetop, or Santa Claus is Coming to Town.
Just before going to bed, children around the world put their stockings on mantels in hope that "Santa will soon be here", or so the song goes. They are full of anticipation that Santa will fill them with gifts, candy, and other goodies…ready for them when they wake up tomorrow morning. A quick look up the chimney to ensure that he has not arrived yet, a glance out the window to see if they can catch a glimpse of a passing sleigh, and perhaps unlocking the front door (in case Santa has problems navigating the chimney), then off to bed…
Once the kids have gone off to bed parents have rituals they need to follow as well. There are lots of gifts that need to be placed under the tree. Many of the gifts will be signed "From Santa" or "Love Santa".
We hope you liked this little tour of the traditions on the night before Christmas. In future articles we will be examining other aspects of the Christmas tradition. Hope you will join us…
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