Christmas Traditions in France, French Guiana, and Germany

1. Christmas Ten European countries present Christmas

2. FRANCE In France, just about everyone celebrates Christmas, even families that aren’t Christian. Above all, it’s about gift giving; everyone gets some, both adults and children. There’s a lot of shopping involved too. The storefront windows are beautifully decorated, as well as the shopping streets. In Paris, the Champs Elysées is magically aglow. At the beginning of December, a lot of families decorate their houses with a pine tree. Children love this time of year when they can make their own garlands with shiny paper. At the homes of Christian families, you can find a “manger”, which represents the birth of Jesus in a stable among the farm animals. You’ll also sometimes find advent calendars. During the Christmas season, there are two weeks of vacation. Christmas is a family celebration and people gather together to partake in delicious meals. We also eat a lot of chocolate. Once we’re back to school, we’ve usually gained quite a few pounds and we’re not so well rested at all… On Christmas Eve, we cook special dishes. The traditional menu is composed of turkey with chestnuts and a frosted Yule log for dessert. Singing Christmas carols helps to create a festive atmosphere. Among Christian families, some still go to midnight mass, but France is a country that is becoming less and less religious. Up to the age of about 7, many children still believe in Santa Claus. They think that he flies all around the world in his sled, slides down the chimney, and puts presents under the tree for all of the good boys and girls. Children are so excited for the next morning, especially since they’ve written their wish list several weeks before! When the presents are finally opened is a moment of great joy for the parents.

3. FRANCE

4. FRENCH GUIANA From early December you can feel a change in the air. Days are getting shorter and the rainy season starts. The weather is cooler. Most families start decorating their house with all Christmas symbols: Christmas trees with shiny garlands, baubles, stars and even Santa Claus and his sleigh! Christmas lights are set up in all shops and streets. Christian families also install a “manger” which represents the birth of Jesus Christ in a stable among the farm animals. Every weekend, Christmas caroling parties are organized. We call them “Chanté Nwèl”. People join together to sing in a joyful atmosphere during the Advent until December 24th. During these parties, people eat a soup called “Creole soup” made of vegetables and meat. There are as many recipes as cooks! You can find everything in shops to prepare your Chrismas Eve dinner and your Christmas lunch depending on your origins. It is really difficult to define a stereotyped Christmas menu because of French Guianese multiculturalism. You can find on the same table Christmas ham, “Creole pâtés”or “Marinades”, foie gras, oysters, salmon and so many delicious dishes. The only important thing is to join together around a tasty meal in a happy atmosphere with the whole family . The feast generally last from December 24th to December 25th. Some people go toChristmas mass. It is time to exchange presents and children love this period because there are many events organised for them. Nevertheless, because of the diversity of the population or of a growth of other religions in French Guiana not all families celebrate Christmas. But, Christmas time remains a special time full of peace, joy and happiness for everyone!

5. FRENCH GUIANA A “Chanté Nwèl” Christmas lights in Matoury

6. GERMANY We think that the most important in Germany is the atmosphere which is really very special. Christmas preparations start rather early at the end of November and many things must be done. Usually we start decorating rooms and houses before the first Advent Sunday. On that day we light the first candle on the Advent wreath. Very often you will see a wreath on the doors and Christmas decoration in the windows. On December 1st children get an Advent calendar and each day they open one small door and enjoy the fillings, usually sweets. On December 6 Saint Nicolas is celebrated. Where we live there is the tradition of “Nikolauslaufen” (Santa Walk). Children meet with their friends and walk from door to door in their neighbourhood and also to the shops where they say a poem, sing or play a song, and then people reward them with sweets or little presents. Small children are accompanied by their parents, of course. People love the Christmas markets. There are many stalls where you can eat and drink and look for nice presents, often handmade. These markets are also decorated very nicely and lots of tourists come to visit them and to feel the atmosphere. There is also an enormous Christmas tree in every town and all streets are full of lights. Many families prepare Christmas cookies – often a tradition with family recipes . Today Christmas is celebrated very individually. Some people go to church in the late afternoon or evening, some don´t, but the church services are much more crowded than usual and there is always a festive atmosphere. Some families have an excellent Christmas dinner on the Holy Evening, others enjoy it on December 25th. But of course families gather, exchange presents and they all have a beautiful Christmas tree.

7. GERMANY

8. GREECE On Christmas Eve, children in villages travel from house to house offering good wishes and singing the christmas carols, "kalanta". The songs are often accompanied by small metal triangles and little clay drums. The children are usually treated with sweets and dried fruits or some pocket money. After40 days of fasting, the Christmas feast is looked forward to with great anticipation by adults and children alike. Pigs are slaughtered and there are loaves of christopsomo (the Crist's bread) on almost every table. There are a number of beliefs connected with the Kallikantzaroi, which are a species of goblins or spirits who appear only during the 12-day period from Christmas to the Epiphany. These creatures are believed to emerge from the center of the earth and to slip into people's house through the chimney. Furthermore, more mischievous than actually evil, the Kallikantzaroi do things like extinguish fires, ride astride people's backs, braid horses' tails, and sour the milk. To further repel the undesirable sprites, the hearth is kept burning day and night throughout the twelve days. Gifts are exchanged on St. Basil's Day on January 1st. St. Basil is the Greek version of Santa Claus and some families leave a log in the fireplace for him to step on as he slips down the chimney with a bag of toys. Moreover, Christmas trees which were once rare in Greece have become the most popular decoration inside houses and on squares or city centers. They are usually artificial and are placed in the home in mid-December, decorated with tinsel and topped off with a star. In some harbours you may even find a lighted ship. The Christmas meal usually includes pork or lamp and desserts such as kourabies (κουραμπιές) and melomakarona (μελομακάρονα). Other Christmas and new year sweats include 'Baklava' (sweet pastry), Kataifi (pastry), Theeples (a kind of fried pastry).A traditional table decoration cosists of loaves of 'christopsomo'. It's a round sweet loaf and the crust is often decorated with what the family does for a living (if you're a fisherman there would be fish, etc.). Merry Christmas - Kala Christougenna !!!!!

9. GREECE

10. ITALY All the people celebrate Christmas, cìwhich is considered the feast of the family, of peace and love. Children love this festivity because they wait for the gifts from Father Christmas. At school we have two weeks holiday. We decorate the Xmas tree, we prepare the Crib. The streets and the shops are full of coloured lights and decorations. From the 7th December to the 10th January we light the highest Xmas Tree in the world. It isn’t a real tree but it is made of more than thousands great and coloured lights in a shape of a Xmas tree on the Mt. Ingino. On the top there is a big comet. It is really astonishing because you can see from very far and it spreads its lights all around the town and the countryside. On Xmas Eve we have a big dinner but we eat only fish and not meat according to the Catholic tradition. Then most of us go to church for the Mass but others go on Xmas Day. After it we open the presents and exchange gifts near the Xmas tree in the houses. We have a big lunch and generally we have special and rich starters, pasta (Lasagna, cappelletti, cannelloni, etc.), roast meat and vegetales, and typical Xmas cakes: “panettone”, pandoro” and “torrone”. In the afternoon we generally go out for a walk and we visit the various and beautiful cribs in the churches or in the streets of the town center. If the weather is too cold or wet we stay at home and play cards or bingo with our relatives and friends. On the last day of Xmas time we celebrate the visit ot he Three Kings to Infant Jesus. On this day children believe that a very nice old poor woman, with a long nose and wearing poor dress, called “la Befana”, flying on a broomstick, give them some sweets, cakes, small toys in a stocking that they hang on the fireplace or under the Xmas tree.

11. ITALY

12. POLAND Christmas time in Poland begins on the 24th of December when - with the first star - each family gather at a table. There are 12 dishes on the table, which represent 12 months of the year. First, everybody shares the holy wafer with one another and some wishes follow, then the dinner starts. We usually eat fish prepared in many different ways, forest mushroom or beetroot soup, dumplings with a mushroom filling. For a dessert we have racuchy – a kind of pastry fried on the deep oil. We don’t eat meat on that day. In the middle of the meal Santa Claus throws presents through an open window straight under the Christmas tree. These days Santa Claus is replaced by parents who make children leave the dining- room while the presents are about to appear.Then the presents are unwrapped, Christmas carols are sung and at midnight all people go to church to midnight mass. In all churches there is a place where you can admire szopka - a scene of birth of Jesus Christ. On the Christmas Day people have a special dinner which usually consists of broth, stuffed turkey, potatoes and salads with some delicious cakes for dessert. People go for walks and meet their relatives. The atmosphere is great and everybody wishes Wesołych Świąt to each other! Polish Christmas carols are very beautiful and it is quite popular to sing them along with the family. Interestingly, when you have an opportunity to take a fish scale, keep it safe in your wallet to be wealthy all year round.

13. POLAND

14. SLOVAKIA We have Christmas holiday that time of the year and the whole family members get together to celebrate this feast. žWe buy a Christmas tree (bigger=better) and keep a live carp in the bathroom till Christmas eve. žSlovakia is a very religious country, so people usually go to churches at midnight for a Midnight mass. On the 24th family sits by the table when the first star rises at 6 pm. It is important to serve right food; we have cabbage soup with mushrooms, potato salad and a carp. You also have to bring things in right order to the table: First there is an apple, then wafer with honey and bread with garlic.Later we eat cabbage soup with mushrooms and after that potato salad with carp. At the end some Christmas cookies are eaten. After dinner is over children run to find presents under Christmas Tree. Some superstitions: You can´t borrow anything at Christmas time because you would call poverty to your house. žSome coins or fish scales bring money to the house. You cannot leave Christmas table because it might bring a bad luck to your family. When you cut an apple to two halves and seeds look like a star, family will be healthy, if it looks like a cross, someone might suffer or die. ž

15. SLOVAKIA ž

16. SPAIN - Christmas, Navidad, is a very festive, and also religious period in Spain. People go to church, exchange gifts and spend quality time with their families. Merry Christmas is Feliz Navidad in Spainsh! - Many homes are decorated, and some have a manger like in the church, to remember that this is a Christian festival. It is common that families gather around the manger to sing and dance in the weeks leading up to Christmas. In addition, the Spanish honour the cow at Christmas because it is thought that the cow helped keep baby Jesus warm when Mary gave birth to him. - The patron saint of Spain is the Virgin Mary and the official Christmas celebrations start on December 8th with the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. One important ceremony is carried out in front of the Cathedral in Seville. - The 24th December, Christmas Eve, is known as Nochebuena, and it is a very family-orientated evening. Families come together to rejoice and feast around the Nativity scenes in every home. It is tradition to eat turron, an almond nougat. At midnight families go to midnight mass, and then they return home to eat a big feast of traditional foods. The family celebrations continue on the 25th December. - The 28th December, Dia de los inocentes, is like April Fool’s Day in England, where people play jokes on each other! - New Year’s Eve is celebrated by eating 12 grapes each second before Midnight. Legend has it that if you can eat a grape for each chime of the clock, you will have a year of good luck! Everybody crams into Puerta del Sol square in Madrid, or watches the celebrations on TV. - Contrary to Britain, gifts are given by the Three Wise Men, los 3 reyes magos, on January 6th, Epiphany, because this is the date the Three Wise Men gave gifts to Jesus. It is tradition to put shoes out on the balcony the night before in the hope that they will be filled with presents! The 5th of January is also celebrated by a parade called La Cabalgata de Reyes Magos. It is also tradition to eat a special cake called El roscon de Reyes for the merendar, afternoon snack, on the 6th January..

17. SPAIN

18. SWEDEN Christmas in Sweden You could say that we start to celebrate Christmas at the first of Advent when we light the first of four candles in a candlestick and with Lucia where we have a procession with songs and candles December is a dark period so it is important for us to bring some light to our homes. In Sweden the 24th is the most important day during the Christmas holiday. We celebrate with families and usually we gather during the day. We eat a lot of food at our traditional smorgasbord which consist of a lot of dishes for example: meatballs, sausage, paté, cheese and Jansson´s temptation. We aslo watch a Christmas cartoon and in the evening our Father Christmas arrives with all the gifts. Usually one family member dress up as Father Christmas and when the children ask for that person we say that he went to buy a newspaper. During the rest of Christmas we continues to celebrate with families. Some people visit an early service on Christmas Day, julotta, but in Sweden religion is important to only a small group of our population.

19. SWEDEN

20. TURKEY In Turkey new year is celebrated on the night of 31st December. This celebration has nothing to do with the Noel Celebration that the Christian World celebrates.As the 24 th December is accepted as the birthday of Jesus Christ by the Christians, the Noel celebrations in the Chistian World starts on 24th December and lasts a week until 1st January.As we are a muslim country ,new year celebration is just a calendar event for us , it hasn’t got any religious property.For this reason we call these celebrations “ New Year Celebrations” instead of calling “Noel Celebrations”. Shopping for New Year's Eve and preparing special dishes for the night have become widespread in recent years.In Turkey New Year's Eve is usually passed along with relatives and close neighbours.Various dishes of Turkish cuisine are cooked for dinner menu ; besides chicken or turkey can be cooked .After entering the new year, gift giving is common for some families.In addition the family members who prefer to stay at home that night watch TV,play bingo game , chat with eachother,etc… In some parts of Turkey ,variety of entertainments and celebrations are organized on the evening of New Year's Eve as in many other places in the world.Nowadays entering a new year in entertainment places or tourist facilities is becoming more common especially for rich people .In the squares of the big cities well-attended celebrations, firework shows, parades and concerts are organized.The most exciting and remarkable thing at that night is “ all people count from 10 to 0 at the same time and shout and scream altogether joyfully “ Some people also believe that you will spend the whole year how you enter the new year. So at that night you must be awake and do as interesting and joyful things as you can at 00.00 am. As everybody is awake that night, the 1st January is a public holiday in Turkey.

21. TURKEY

22. Merry Christmas in ten languages France “Joyeux Noël!” French Guiana “Joyeux Noël!” Germany “Frohe Weihnachten!” Greece “Kala Christougenna - Καλά Χριστούγεννα” Italy “Buon Natale” Poland “Wesołych Świąt!” Slovakia “Šťastné a veselé Vianoce!” Spain “Feliz Navidad” Sweden “God Jul” Turkey “Mutlu Yıllar!”

23. Peaceful Horizons - C.O.M.P.A.S.S Logo of the project „Peaceful Horizons: Come over – make a project attempt to social solidarity (C.O.M.P.A.S.S)“ is a Comenius project that joined 10 European countries in an attempt to fight against stereotypes, xenophobia and its aim is developing a better knowledge of our different cultural heritages, raising awareness of cultural identity in a local, national and European context. Encouraging, through ongoing contact with other people and cultures, a positive view of European citizenship. Encouraging solidarity and open-mindedness among the different cultures, including the opportunity to make friends with people from other countries and cultures.