You may perceive Santa to be a jolly old man wearing a red suit with a long beard, however this isn’t the case throughout the whole world. In America, Santa is nothing but a reminder of the upcoming holiday cheer of Christmas, but some countries associate Christmas with people or traditions Americans have likely never heard of. But first, here’s a joke to get you extra cheery for the holiday season: Do you know what condition Santa suffers from if he gets stuck in a chimney? Claus-trophobia!
Christmas in Germany is known as “Erster Feiertag,” which means first celebration day. Children generally open all of their presents on Christmas Eve rather than Christmas Day for a few reasons. According to the tradition, presents are put under the tree on December 24th by Christkind; also known as Christ child. This is particularly an effective tradition if parents have younger children who are impatient and can’t wait until Christmas to receive their gifts. Instead of leaving out your typical cookies and milk for Santa, in Germany kids write handwritten notes to Christkind and leave them out overnight. In the morning the letters are replaced with presents.
Although countries do things differently than us on December 25th, there are some similarities still. In most of England a popular tradition is to string popcorn, beads, or candies on a ribbon or yarn to use as tinsel on the Christmas tree, which may be something you did as a kid, as it was a popular festive activity in the late 1900s and early 2000s.
As an alternative for leaving a stocking above the fireplace, Argentina has a tradition of placing your shoes outside your front door to be filled with tiny presents. In America, we leave out snacks for Santa and occasionally carrots for reindeer, but hay and water is set on the counter for reindeer in Argentina. Remember to leave out munchies for Santa unless you want coal in your stocking!
The perception of Christmas from an American perspective is so much different than that of most other countries, so when you set up decorations this year, think about how your life would be different on the other side of the world. Have a merry Christmas!
-Carley Rapp, Sophomore at NHS
