Christmas traditions – funny things, aren’t they? What comes first in your house, presents or the Christmas dinner? Do you have stockings or sacks? And hands up if your whole family wear matching Christmas pyjamas on Christmas Day? Oh – that last one’s just us then…
しかし真面目な話、クリスマスの伝統は家庭によって異なるだけでなく、文化によっても大きく異なる。
Below are a handful of Christmas traditions from around the world – we’re looking at adopting some of these for ourselves!
ポーランドのおしゃべりペット
For the Polish, Christmas Eve is the big day! Known as ‘Wigilia’ – which means to ‘wait’ – the day is spent preparing a twelve course feast (yes, twelve courses!). At the start of supper, a thin type of wafer – called an ‘oplatek’ – is shared by the whole family, starting with the head of the household. Even the pets get a nibble, as legend has it that the wafer’s magical powers allow the animals to speak in human tongues!
祝祭の事実： ウィギリアの祝宴は、最初の星が夜空に現れるまで始まらない！
インドのお菓子配達
Instead of giving presents on the big day, Indians hand-deliver sweet treats! Traditionally called ‘kuswar’, these tasty culinary creations include fruitcakes, cookies and sweet dumplings that are given to friends, family and neighbours on Christmas Day, along with some Christmas cheer. Think Deliveroo – but with delicious Indian Christmas 食品!
祝祭の事実： インドでは雪を降らせるのは少し難しいので、子供たちは綿毛を使って冬の幻想を作り出す！
ルーマニアでブーツを履く
Christmas comes early to little ones in Romania, where they celebrate St Nicholas (‘Sfantul Nicolae’) on the 6th December. The night before, Romanian kids clean their boots, place them at the door or window and wait for St Nicholas to fill them up – which of course, depends on whether you’ve been naughty or nice!
祝祭の事実： ルーマニアのクリスマスキャロルは、単なるお祝いの曲ではなく、特別なお祝いのドレスも含めた演劇全体のパフォーマンスなのだ！
ケンタッキー・フライド・クリスマスを日本で
As IF we needed any more convincing to visit Japan… A relatively new tradition – where Christmas isn’t that widely celebrated – Christmas Day involves gathering around the table with your nearest and dearest and diving into a share-sized bucket of deep-fried chicken.
祝祭の事実： KFC Japan even produce their very own festive menu especially for the Christmas period – うん!
ノルウェーで大掃除
Norwegian Harry Potter fans hoping for a game of Quidditch at Christmas will be rather disappointed – as the whole nation hides their brooms! It’s a centuries-old tradition that dates back to when people believed that evil spirits came out on Christmas Eve and would steal people’s brooms to ride on.
祝祭の事実： 毎年、ノルウェーはイギリスの人々に巨大なクリスマスツリーを贈る。毎年ロンドンのトラファルガー広場で見ることができる！
クリスマスは、遠く離れた友人や家族と過ごすひとときです。そこでLebaraの妖精たちは、クリスマスの無料通話という特別なプレゼントをご用意しました！詳しくはこちら： https://mobile.lebara.com/gb/en/christmas