Christmas Traditions

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Slide 7

Christmas in Greenland

Family gatherings, drinking coffee and eating cakes, as well as giving of brightly wrapped presents which might consist of a model sledge (sleigh) or a pair of tusks.

Everyone in the village gets a gift and children go from hut to hut, singing songs.

After eating and singing, everyone gets a piece of Mattak, which is whale skin with a strip of blubber inside. It tastes like coconut but is very tough to chew.

Another food is Kiviak which consists of raw flesh of an auk (bird), which has been buried whole in sealskin, for several months.

This is the one night of which the women are waited on by the men.

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Slide 8

Christmas in Hungary

The main Christmas celebrations take place on Christmas Eve. The evening is called Szent-este or Holy Evening.

On December 6th the children receive a visit from Mikulas or St Nicholas. He arrives wearing the robes of a bishop, with a red miter on his head, a staff in one hand and a sack full of small presents.

Accompanying him a "Devil" boy in a black costume, complete with horns and long tail. He holds a switch made of dry twigs, ready to smack any "naughty" children.

The presenting of nativity plays is an important part of the Hungarian Christmas tradition.

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Slide 9

Christmas in Ireland

Christmas in Ireland lasts from Christmas Eve to the feast of the Epiphany on January 6, which is referred to as Little Christmas.

Irish women bake a seed cake for each person in the house.

St Stephen's Day, the day after Christmas, is almost as important with football matches.

For children, the Wren Boys Procession is their big event. Boys go from door to door with a fake wren on a stick, singing, with violins, accordions, harmonicas and horns to accompany them. The reason for the ceremony is to ask for money 'for the starving wren', that is, for their own pock.

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Slide 10

Christmas in Korea

South Korea is the only East Asian country to recognize Christmas as a public holiday.

The children call Santa Claus “Santa Haraboji” (Grandfather Santa)

Many of the Western holiday customs have been embraced by the people, such as gift-giving, sending Christmas cards and decorating trees.

After church services and fellowship they will go caroling to church members homes and are treated to snacks and hot drinks.

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Slide 11

Christmas in Mexico