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Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way. Yeah, Fonzies! Christmas is around the corner. What are your plans for Christmas? If you have scheduled your Christmas plans, feel free to share your exciting plans with us in the comment box below. If you have no idea what to do for Christmas, no worries. I will be sharing how Christmas is celebrated around the world with you. Thus, please stay tuned and follow me on the journey to explore other exhilarating Christmas celebrations in four corners of the world. Without further ado, let’s begin the travel today. Drum roll, please!
1. Germany
A fun fact for you, Germany celebrates two days of Christmas which are the 25th and 26th of December. When it comes to Christmas, the first thing that comes to Germans’ minds of course is the Christmas tree! After the fourth candle on the German Advent wreath has been lit, it is time for Germans to buy a tree. It is not only a general Christmas tree, but most Germans prefer Nordmann fir as their Christmas tree. They like traditional decorations such as hanging wooden figurines, ornamental stars, handmade glass ornamental balls, and different coloured transparent paper cutting on the tree. Germans will be having potato salads with sausages as their fasting meal on Christmas Eve. During two Christmas days, they will enjoy a lavish feast including roast goose and duck with extended family on a festively decorated table. In Germany, it does not make sense if you miss out on Christmas markets. Tens of thousands of markets such as Cologne, Berlin, and Leipzig Christmas Market are absolutely fun to enjoy the Christmas ambience. Having a whale of a time getting a glühwein, grilled sausages and hot dogs on your hands, singing along with on-stage music, as well as enjoying a ride on the Ferris Wheel and ice skating on the fair must be fascinating!
2. Norway
Norwegians start their Christmas celebration with Christmas shopping and baking 7 different kinds of Christmas cookies. Making 7 types of cookies is one of the prolonged traditions in Norway each year Christmas. The most popular Norwegian cookies are sand cookies, chocolate puffed rice balls, almond lace cookies, and krumkake. In addition, many Christmas fairs in Norway have a huge variety of Christmas concerts, live choirs, and markets. Kids and youngsters can enjoy pony rides, meet with farm animals and visit Santa’s workshops. If craving charming adventures and activities, you can also check out snowshoeing, dog sledging and a northern light tour in Norway!
3. Italy
The Italians begin their Christmas with La Vigilia. They will not eat any meat on Christmas Eve as they want to purify their body ahead of the holidays. Thus, seafood, vegetables, and pasta dishes will be their Christmas meals such as lasagna filled with anchovies, mussels, and clams as well as “dolci” as their dessert. The Italians also enjoy their own Christmas cakes which are “Panettone” and “Pandoro” with a cup of hot chocolate as their sweet treats. When you go to a piazza, you can see a man who dresses as a shepherd playing the bagpipes (Zampognari) there which is a common Christmas tradition in many Italian cities, particularly in Rome. Christmas is not perfect without the sound of bagpipes in Italy!
4. France
On Christmas Eve, every French home will start burning Yule Logs. The custom of burning Yule Logs is usually sprinkled with red wine to make the log smell nice. What’s more, children will typically put their shoes on the hearth to wish for gifts and goodies to be filled by Santa overnight! The main Christmas meal in France is known as le réveillon de Noël which includes French favourites such as oysters, lobsters and foie gras, followed by roast turkey and roast goose with chestnuts. Do you know that the French will eat 13 desserts after Christmas Eve Dinner? 13 desserts consist of chocolate, navettes, fresh fruits, calissons, and nougat. They represent Jesus and his twelve Apostles. Guests who have consumed all 13 desserts will be guaranteed the best of luck for the year.
5. New Zealand
New Zealanders would like to spend their Christmas Day on the beach or camping. There is Boxing Day which falls on the 26th of December in New Zealand. New Zealanders will spend their day on sporting events such as horse races, rugby, and cricket on that day. Moreover, a myriad of people will gather around to join the Santa parade held in towns on Christmas Day to put themselves closer to the Christmas ambience. Tens of thousands of citizens and travellers will head to the Farmers Santa Parade in Auckland every year regardless of the rainy day. A lot of wonderful performances such as marching, ballet, and cheerleading as well as the Santa clause parade and Disney’s floats can be seen in such a lovely and warm moment with loved ones. Nevertheless, when it comes to the Christmas feast, barbeque is the prior choice for most New Zealanders.
6. Japan
Christmas is not a public holiday in Japan. Nativity is more inclined to the time of spreading happiness rather than a religious celebration in Japan. Nevertheless, Christmas is still a big deal celebrated by the Japanese in their unique ways. To be honest, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are the busiest time of the year for Kentucky Fried Chicken as approximately 3.6 million households will want to have KFC as their Christmas meals every year. If you want to order KFC during Christmas, make sure you place the order weeks or months in advance. If not, you will miss out on the train to enjoy KFC buckets with your loved ones. Moreover, Christmas is not complete without Japanese Christmas Cake (kurisumasu keki). It is a light sponge cake with whipped cream filling and frosting as well as ripe strawberry topping. Kurisumasu keki literally symbolizes creating a life of prosperity from nothing.
7. Philippines
The Philippines has the most Christian population among Asia countries with roughly 80% of Filipinos being Roman Catholics. With that being said, Christmas is the most significant festival in the Philippines. Tell you a fun fact. The Philippines has the longest Christmas celebration worldwide! You can hear the playing of Christmas carols everywhere in the Philippines as early as the first of September until the first week of the following year. Filipinos have their very own popular traditional Christmas decoration which is “parol”. It is a star-shaped giant lantern made from bamboo strips and cellophane papers, symbolizing the victory of light and brightness over darkness as well as hope and goodwill. Filipinos will hang lanterns outside their house and along the streets of busy cities which indicates that they get ready to receive the present of Jesus Christ. Filipinos will be having a midnight feast which is Noche Buena with family, friends and neighbours on Christmas Eve, and stay awake all night until Christmas Day.
8. Malaysia
After travelling around countries about how they celebrate Christmas, it is time to come back to our beloved Malaysia. As you already know, all Malaysians will have fun as a whole on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day regardless of religion and cultural background. Shopping malls, restaurants, and any public venues will be put up with eye-catching Christmas decorations and large displays such as Santas’ figurines, multiple stories-high Christmas trees, and snowmen as well as large Christmas train displays. It seems to be a must for everyone to visit the malls to check out the annual latest Christmas decorations and take plenty of perfect photos to be posted on Instagram! Feel free to walk around Pavilion KL, Pavilion Bukit Jalil, Sunway Pyramid, One Utama, Berjaya Times Square, Mid Valley Megamall, Suria KLCC, and other shopping malls in Klang Valley which can give you an astonishing Christmas view. Furthermore, churches are open to everyone as well to celebrate Christmas together with lovely new friends and peers even though you are not a Christian.
If you are looking for other fun events for Christmas, here are some suggestions for you:
1. LifeGen Christmas | Joy To The World in Sunway Mas Commercial Centre (SMCC)
Sun, 25th December 2022
2. Wander Wonder Christmas on Sunway Velocity Mall
17th Nov 2022- 2nd Jan 2023
3. Christmas in Museum of Illusions Kuala Lumpur
24th - 26th December 2022
A gentle reminder here, do not miss out on watching fireworks displays at midnight on Christmas Eve if you are a night owl!
That is the end of the tour! Are you looking forward to having fun on Christmas Day? Anyways, on behalf of everyone in SFPSC, we would like to wish all Fonzies a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year in advance. Hope that everyone here is having a whale of a time with families and friends on Christmas. Enjoy your holidays with joy and laughs!
Written by,
Zi Wei
The Fonz
Lovely Article!