Traditional Christmas is best ushered under the snow with families snuggling up on the dinner table. But there are some different mores across the world too. From a July Christmas, to a devil scare, to an eight layered stuffed roast, to Santa wearing speedos and jet boarding, SUNDAY PIONEER brings in the variety
A little twist to the axis of the Earth and you have a summer Christmas at hand in the southern hemisphere. So do spare a thought for the jolly good fella, Santa Claus, when he arrives down under and has to endure temperatures of up to 30 degrees C! It’s hardly surprising that he often sheds the heavy woolen suit and boots in favour of speedos, jandals and sunglasses and heads to the beach. Santa’s been spotted surfing, jet skiing, paragliding and sailing, and even doing deliveries by water in a traditional waka Maori canoe.
Yes, Christmas in New Zealand is essentially an outdoor experience that includes a leisurely lunch on the barbeque, afternoon fun in the water and casual evening gatherings under a starry sky.
Outdoor music festivals, summer sports and an en masse migration to the beach breathe in the Christmas spirit. Kiwis wind up business and schools for the year so major urban areas empty out and families relocate to bachs and cribs (holiday houses) or camping grounds in smaller coastal and lakeside towns.
Beaches fill up as never before. lakes and coastal areas bring the Kiwis to indulge in a range of water sports. Boating, water-skiing, fishing, diving, kayaking, surfing and swimming are all popular recreational activities, with larger settlements providing equipment for hire.
Christmas Day itself is low-key as compared to traditional celebrations across the world. Presents are generally opened mid-morning followed by a large lunch meal of traditional Christmas fare with some Kiwi twists such as salads, a barbeque, fresh seafood and pavlova.
While many families decorate a traditional pine or fir tree, New Zealanders regard the native Pohutukawa tree as their Christmas tree owing to its scarlet blooms.
The following day is Boxing Day, which sees Kiwis attending race meetings, one-day cricket tests, family picnics, flocking to the Boxing Day sales at retail centres, or simply recovering from the excesses of Christmas Day.
While traditions of the northern hemisphere influence Kiwi-style Christmas, there are many festive season experiences uniquely Kiwi:
Hangi: The Kiwi version of a traditional roast dinner is cooked in a pit under the ground by Maori and typical fare for a cultural Christmas with large groups of whanau / family and friends.
Kiwi ‘barbie’: barbecuing is a popular option on Christmas Day when groups gather at home, the park or the beach for a casual cook up and to eat out of doors. Fresh seafood and quality cuts of meat are complemented with exotic salads and seasonal vegetables - an emphasis on simplicity, organic, home-grown and healthy.
Pavlova: While plum pudding might still feature on some menus, the standard Kiwi Christmas dessert is a classic pavlova covered in fresh seasonal fruits like strawberries and kiwifruit.
Pohutukawa Christmas tree: This coastal species produces dramatic bright red blooms throughout December. For many Kiwis, lazing at the beach on a sunny day, under the shade of these natural Kiwi Christmas trees, is all they want for Christmas.
Southern Cross: New Zealand’s most recognised constellation is the Kiwi version of the famous star that guided the three wise men to Bethlehem. It also provides the theme for the New Zealand Christmas carol ‘The Southern Cross looks down’. New Zealand is a star-gazing paradise with its own starlight reserve, the Aoraki Mackenzie Dark Sky Reserve above the South Island’s Mackenzie country.
NZ’s tallest ‘Christmas tree’: Auckland’s iconic Sky Tower stands at 328m high and becomes most prominent at Christmas when it is lit up like a giant Christmas tree that changes colour in an orchestrated phase.
Kiwi in a tree: New Zealand’s national bird is flightless but at Christmas, can be spotted on tree tops in various decorative guises and vying for pride of place with the traditional fairy.
Christmas carols in Maori: New Zealand has its own Christmas songs some of which are set to traditional tunes and have a different dimension when sung in Maori like Marie te po or Silent Night. Other original titles include A pukeko in a ponga tree and Sticky beak the Kiwi.
Christmas first & last: After the Chatham Islands, New Zealand is the first place in the world to see the Christmas sun and with the country on summer time or daylight saving, there are maximum daylight hours to enjoy Christmas. In parts of the South Island it’s light by 5 am and doesn’t get dark until 10 pm.
nativity scene & compassion tree
The Vatican Christmas Tree is erected annually in the Saint Peter’s Square directly in front of St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. The tradition of placing a Christmas tree as well as the life-size Nativity Scene in Saint Peter’s Square started in 1982 during the pontificate of Pope Saint John Paul II when the Polish-born Pope introduced this northern European symbol of Christmas spirit.
The first tree came from Italy. Since then, the offering of the Christmas tree to the Pope has become an honour and each year the Vatican accepts a tree donated by a different European country or region.
The life-size nativity scene alongside the tree is unveiled on Christmas eve. The Nativity Scene has 17 life-size statues. Of these, nine are original figures donated in 1842 by Saint Vincent Pallotti from the nativity scene in the Roman church of Sant'Andrea della Valle. The other eight figures were added over the years.
This year’s tree is 69 ft high comes from Polland and is about 60 years old. Its tip was lost when it was struck by lightning several years ago. It was donated by the Archdiocese of Elk and cut down by a local forestry service, which transported it by truck over more than 1200 miles in 12 days to reach Rome, travelling mostly by night, when traffic was slim. The ornaments decorating the spruce were created by children with cancer and their parents from several hospitals in Italy, as well as by children from Italian zones affected by earthquakes the past two years.
Semolina cookies
In the holy land of Israel, Christmas is celebrated in true spirit. Traditional Christmas food in every household is a big bowl of freshly baked cookies such as maamoul or ghraibeh. A maamoul is a butter cookie that has a date paste in the middle while ghraibeh is made up of semolina also known as the cream of wheat, pistachio nuts, butter, sugar and orange blossom. You will usually find in the shape of a letter ‘S’ with one full pistachio nut in it. People also use rose water and mistka spice to make distinctly fragrant maamouls. Santa shaped chocolates are served with high quality sweet liqueur.
gamble ramble
Monaco being so much about gambling and casinos, a lot of it gets translated into Christmas spirit too. This year, the Place du Casino will turn into an outdoor casino. The centrally located and pivotal Casino Square will spell uniqueness this winter as it will be adorned with decorations inspired by the world of gaming – from the Casino façade with its illuminated casino chips displaying Merry Christmas in several languages, to the Pavillons Monte-Carlo shopping area, where a carpet of playing card is weaving its way along the walkway, past the fountain. This is being turned into a huge snow ball resembling a gaming table, giant die thrown here and there, and Christmas tree decorated in elegant golden hearts, spades, clubs and diamonds.
santa’s home Santa Claus village: Rovaneimi
In the heart of Finland lies the home of Christmas’ most famous personality. The village of Santa Claus draws more than 3,00,000 visitors for Christmas every year but sadly the resident celebrity, Santa Claus himself, goes missing every December 23 – on a journey to deliver secret gifts to children around the globe. It is a whirlwind trip for the white bearded old man but flying for him has never been a problem. Back home, the activities are full of fun and include elf training workshops, real reindeer rides and of course, a visit to the world’s most famous post office.
Since 1985, Santa Claus has received 15 million letters from 198 countries, which makes Santa Claus Main Post Office a must visit. The merry postal elves serve at this real post office operated by Posti, Finland’s national postal service. Every letter sent from here gets a unique Arctic Circle postmark.
Broom lockers
In Norway, it’s thought Christmas Eve coincides with the arrival of evil spirits and witches. To protect themselves, families hide all their brooms before they go to bed.
swarovski shine
The highlight of the Swiss Christmas is a huge glitter that comes up in Zurich every Christmas. The market that attracts visitors the most is the Christmas Market from the main train station for the fact that it is one of the largest indoor Christmas markets in Europe. The pride and joy of this Christmas market is the massive Christmas tree which is adorned with more than 7,000 Swarovski crystal ornaments, giving the area a big glow in the night.
decompose delight
If you think sprouts are bad, you should try one of Greenland’s Christmas delicacies. Mattak - raw whale skin with blubber - is one. Another is kiviak, which is when an auk (a small bird) is wrapped in seal skin, buried for several months, and then eaten once decomposed
Horsing around
The Welsh, the House of Tudor dynasty which ruled England like forever, have their own lot of quaint traditions to follow, the roaming ghost horse Mari lwyd (Grey Mare), covered in bells in ribbons, being the centre point of celebrations. The best re-enactment of the Mari is in the village of llangynwyd.
Mari lwyd was the name given to a decorated horse’s skull in 19th century Wales. The skull would be decorated with bells and draped in a white sheet before being placed on top of a wooden pole. The figure would then be carried from door to door by a group challenging others to a battle of Welsh verse. This tradition still takes place today in some part of the country.
Attending a Plygain service from 3am-6am on Christmas morning is a key festive tradition. This twilight tradition involves unaccompanied male voices singing three or four-part harmony carols in the local parish chapel. By the way, did you know that the tradition of carol singing door to door is actually a result of carols being banned in churches in medieval timesIJ
waxing eloquent
The Dutch flock in thousands to a very special city in the night, the city of Gouda. Gouda is the wax candle capital of the world and its candles sell at a premium all over the world. Gouda candles are made from a natural wax that burns steadily for hours and can be purchased around the city as souvenirs. Gouda by Candle light is a star event drawing visitors from across the world every Christmas. The event is held at the central market square in front of the Gothic town hall. Street and electric lights are turned off, and instead, the evening is lit by candles placed in windows facing and around the square. The lights twinkle from a towering Christmas tree adorned with thousands of lit candles to create a truly magical experience. The Christmas tree is an annual gift from its Norwegian sister city, Kongsberg. The Candle Night (Kaarsjesavond) in Gouda is a long-running tradition.
NATIVE PARADE
Tourism Thailand organises a rememberable Christmas parade every December. The parade and counting glittering stars are an annual ritual of the famous Christmas Star Procession at Ban Ta Rae in Sakon Nakhon, from December 21-25. Ban Ta Rae is a 100 years old home to Thailand’s largest Roman Catholic community which celebrates the Christmas Star Procession annually to commemorate Christmas nativity. The community elaborately decorates its colonial and Vietnamese-style houses with star-shaped lamps and glittering Christmas trees. The highlight of the event is the traditional Christmas star parade which is unique to Ban Ta Rae. This year the spectacular Star Procession will take place on December 25 from 6 pm onwards at The (Roman Catholic) Archdiocese of Thare and Nonseng. Over 200 vehicles join the procession, brightly decorated by members of the Roman Catholic communities. The real atmosphere is generated by the thousands of Christian pilgrims and locals who join in the procession with their own glittering star lanterns.
GRAVEYARD SHIFT
Finnish people mark Christmas by lighting up graveyards to remember their dead, making the graveyards a star attraction for Christmas decorations.
SANTA KUROHSU
IN JAPAN, Christmas isn’t a national holiday but that doesn’t stop a large number of people celebrating the festival. Santa Claus, or Santa Kurohsu as he is called in this part of the world, has eyes in the back of his head to keep an eye on naughty children, while Japanese Christmas cake is usually made up of sponge, whipped cream, and strawberries. Also, in a strange tradition, probably powered by commercialisation, Japanese people have the Christmas lunch at KFC!
Birthplace Bethlehem
In Christ’s birthplace, Christmas celebrations stretch for a long period. Roman Catholics and Protestants celebrate Christmas on December 25; Greek, Syrian and other Orthodox Christians celebrate it on January 6 and Armenian Christians on January 18.
Events most important religiously and special to Bethlehem include multiple services and processions led by different Christian denominations, including Catholic, Protestant, Greek Orthodox, Ethiopian, Armenian and more. Most Christmas processions pass through Manger Square, the plaza outside the Basilica of the Nativity, which stands on the traditional site of Jesus’ birth.