Celebration Religious Studies Lesson 9
Celebra'ng Christmas around the World
Celebration Area of study: Celebrating Christmas around the world Key learning questions: How do Christians celebrate Christmas in other countries? How do these celebrations compare with one another? How do you evaluate these cultural differences?
Celebrating Christmas around the World Starter questions: Do you think Christmas is celebrated the same way by Christians throughout the world? If not, which aspects of the way Christmas is celebrated in Britain do you think are there as a result of British culture, and which aspects of the celebration do you think might be found in other countries with different cultures?
Celebrating Christmas around the World With an Atlas, find out where each of the following places are then mark them on your map of the world... Grenada Finland Russia Mexico India Italy Nigeria Think about where these places are, and the lifestyles of the people who live there. You could choose to do some further research on these countries as extension work after the task.
Celebrating Christmas around the World Next, read about how Christians in these countries celebrate Christmas and answer the questions on the worksheet. Extension exercises: 1) If you were to spend Christmas in one of these countries, which one would you choose and for what reason(s)? 2) Use the internet to research how Christmas is celebrated in some other countries. Aim to make a note of five interesting facts about each extra country you research. 3) Write a few paragraphs explaining how Christians around the world celebrate Christmas both similarly and differently to each other.
...FINLAND My mother comes from Finland and we belong to the Lutheran Church. I am looking forward to spending Christmas in Finland this year. At Christmas 'me it is dark most of the day, so the candle-lights and family celebra'ons are especially welcome. On Christmas Eve, many people visit the graves of dead rela'ves and light special candles on their graves; this custom goes back to pagan 'mes but nowadays it is as if we are wan'ng to share the light and joy of Christ's birth with our whole family, living and dead. At night, on Christmas Eve, most people go to Church. AHer the service, presents are opened and we have a family party before going to bed, very late. People who miss this service have to get up very early on Christmas Day, as the service is at 6.00 am. We have many tradi'onal Christmas Carols that are sung at both services.
...RUSSIA My family comes from Russia and so we belong to the Russian Orthodox Church. Advent begins in early November and is a serious 'me of penance and fas'ng, although we do not keep is so strictly as Lent. For us, Christmas is on the 6th-7th January. On Christmas Eve, the 6th January, there is a fairly strict fast and we do not eat un'l the evening, just before going to church. The service lasts for about three hours, ending aher midnight. It is a beau'ful service with the choir singing the Liturgy in old Russian. When we come out of church, everyone greets each other with hugs and kisses, wishing a happy Christmas. On Christmas morning, we go to church again for the Christmas Eucharist. This too is very beau'ful, with the priest in especially lovely vestments. At home we usually have a tradi'onal Russian meal but it is not as rich as the English Christmas dinner, as we do not really have a special meal for this fes'val. In Russia, it is not usual to give presents...for us, Christmas is a religious fes'val rather than a social event.
...NIGERIA I come from Nigeria and live in Lagos. Lagos is a big modern city but we keep some tradi'onal customs too. In the country areas, such as Calabar, prepara'ons begin a month before Christmas. The men dress up in tradi'onal clothes and masquerade with singing and dancing. They carry cutlasses that frighten the children and go from house to house being given hot drinks and money to persuade them to go somewhere else! There are fireworks on Christmas Eve. For Christmas the dinner a lamb or goat is slaughtered and we make different local foods - yellow fries, rice, and plantain or vegetable stew, yam powage, salad, fruit and soh drinks. We all wear new clothes for the Christmas Day service - everything is new from our new hair-do to our shoes. I go to the African Church of God. At the service, men and women sit separated. We sing Christmas hymns in our own language and it is very happy. On Boxing Day, a lot of people go to the beach in Lagos. Everyone has picnics and a lot of people dance there -some'mes it is disco dancing and some'mes tradi'onal dancing. It is great fun, with drums, guitars, and wind instruments.
...GRENADA Grenada is just one of many islands in the Caribbean Circle. It lies in the Eastern region known as the Leeward Islands. It has been Chris'an since the early 16th Century. Christmas prepara'ons begin in November, soon aher Night of Remembrance of the Dead. Houses are re-decorated and the baking springs into ac'on, especially puddings, breads, cakes, Sorrell juice (like Ribena, with a spicy taste) and ginger beer is made. We do not eat turkey, but prefer spiced and seasoned chicken, beef, or pork. On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, the men dress up in costume and go from house to house singing carols in French patois (which is like broken French). In reward for their singing, housewives invite them in and give them Sorrell juice, and plum pudding - or a drink of rum! They then move on to another house. This custom mainly occurs in the northern region of St.Patrick's or the western region of St.John's but it is gradually dying out as the island becomes more Westernised and less of a Catholic country.
...ITALY In the large cities, such as Rome, during the weeks before Christmas, the shepherds come in from the hills and play Christmas music on their zampogne - that are like bagpipes. The main celebra'on is the Midnight Mass. The churches are crowded - standing room only - and those who cannot get in listen to the service from the loudspeakers outside. At midnight, the priest blesses the crib and places the model of the baby Jesus in the manger. The Mass then begins with the choir singing and everyone feels very happy. AHer Mass, people try to visit the crib to say a prayer and remember the humble birth of the Son of God. Christmas day itself is very quiet, rather like a Sunday. con'nued
...ITALY (con'nued) It is not the tradi'on to give presents at Christmas, although some people do nowadays. But - the celebra'ons are not over yet! On Epiphany, on 6th January, we celebrate the coming of the Wise Men. In the days before Epiphany there are special fairs where you can buy all sorts of things - including an aniseed flavoured sweet looking like coal that will be given to naughty children when Befana the witch visits the houses, bringing gihs to good children. On the ahernoon of Epiphany the streets are filled with families going to visit rela'ves or to children's par'es. So you see, for us the Christmas celebra'ons go on much longer than in England.
...INDIA Chris'ans in India decorate banana or mango trees. They also light small oil-burning lamps as Christmas decora'ons and fill their churches with red flowers. They give presents to family members and baksheesh, or charity, to the poor people. In India, the poinseba is in flower and so the churches are decorated with this brilliant bloom for the Christmas Midnight Mass. In South India, Chris'ans put small clay lamps on the roohops and walls of their houses at Christmas, just as the Hindus do during their fes'val called Diwali.
...MEXICO Mexicans share many tradi'ons with the Spanish. Their main Christmas celebra'on is called La Posada, which is a religious procession that reenacts the search for shelter by Joseph and Mary before the birth of Jesus. During the procession, the celebrants go from house to house carrying the images of Mary and Joseph looking for shelter. Santa Claus is not predominant, but the bright red suit is represented in the tradi'onal flower of the season. This flower is the poinse/a, which has a brilliant red star-shaped bloom. It is believed that a young boy walking to the church to see the na'vity scene showing the birth of Jesus had realised on the way that he had no gih to offer the Christ child so he gathered up some plain green branches as he walked in he was laughed at but upon placing the branches near the manger they started to bloom a bright red poinseba flower on each branch. con'nued
...MEXICO (con'nued) The Mexican children receive gihs. On Christmas day they are blindfolded and taken to try and break a decorated clay piñata that dangles and swings at the end of a rope. Once the piñata has been broken, the children clamber to recover the candy that was inside the piñata. Those children who have been good also on January 6th receive a gih from the Three Wise Men. Mexicans awend a midnight mass service which is called la Misa Del Gallo or "the rooster's mass," and at the mass they sing lullabies to Jesus. In the northern states of Mexico Santa Clause "Santo Clos" brings children big presents, while the Reyes Magos (the 3 wise men) bring the small presents in Janurary. In the southern states the gih giving is inverted and "El niño Dios" (Jesus) brings a few presents, while Los Reyes Magos bring the equivalent of Santa Clause's presents. con'nued
...MEXICO (con'nued) All over the country, in every city and in every liwle town, bakeries offer the Rosca de Reyes, an oval sweetbread, decorated with candied fruit. There are Roscas of all sizes, very small ones for two or three people and up to the ones that will delight more that twenty people. The Merienda de Reyes is truly a mul'cultural event. The Spaniards brought the tradi'on of celebra'ng the Epiphany and sharing the Rosca to the New World. The Rosca is served along with Tamales, made of corn which was the pre-hispanic food par excellence, and hot chocolate. Chocolate is also a gih from the na've peoples of the New World. Hidden inside this delicious Rosca, a plas'c figurine of the Baby Jesus. The Baby is hidden because it symbolises the need to find a secure place where Jesus could be born, a place where King Herod would not find Him. Each person cuts a slice of the Rosca. The knife symbolises the danger in which the Baby Jesus was in. con'nued
...MEXICO (con'nued) One by one the guests carefully inspect their slice, hoping they didn't get the figurine. Whoever gets the baby figurine shall be the host, and invite everyone present to a new celebra'on on February 2, Candelaria or Candle mass day, and he also shall get a new Ropón or dress for the Baby Jesus of the Na'vity scene. The Mexican Christmas season is joyously extended up to February 2 - when the na'vity scene is put away, and another family dinner of delicious tamales and hot chocolate is served with great love and happiness."