With the holiday season upon us, we are celebrating a variety of traditions and customs from around the world! Did you know?
- In Ethiopia, they celebrate Christmas on January, 7th and it is called Ganna.
- In England, children write a letter to Father Christmas with their wishes and toss their letters into the fire so their wishes can go up the chimney.
- In India, the major holiday is Diwali, not Christmas.
- Hanukkah is an eight-day Jewish holiday recognizing the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, celebrated by lighting candles on a Menorah-one for each day of the festival.
- In China, a small number of Christians celebrate Christmas or Sheng Dan Jieh, which means Holy Birth Festival. They decorate Christmas Trees with lanterns, flowers and red paper chains
- In Holland, Dutch children eagerly wait for the arrival of Sinterklass on St. Nicholas Day on December 6th. Sinterklaas travels by ship from Spain to Amsterdam’s harbor every winter bringing his white horse and huge sack of toys!
- Kwanzaa is a week-long celebration that honors African heritage in the African-American culture. It is observed by lighting candles to represent each of the holiday’s seven principles, libations, feasting and gift giving.
- In Haiti on Christmas Eve, children place their newly cleaned shoes filled with straw under the tree on the porch. They hope that Santa (‘Tonton Nwel’) will remove the straw and put a present in and around the shoes.
- In Portugal, the Portuguese celebrate a feast called consoda. Consoda is held on Christmas morning where extra places are set at the table and food is offered in honor of the dead as this is believed to bring good luck for the New Year.
- In the Dominican Republic, Christmas lasts much longer than in many other countries; celebrations begin at the 1st of December and last until January 6th to celebrate the Three Kings.
Wishing you a Happy Holiday Season!
– See more at: http://www.bamsi.org/blog/2014/12/12/holiday-celebrations-around-world/#sthash.vG6LdbnD.dpuf
