Many countries have their own unique ways of celebrating at Christmas, check out the A to Z list of Christmas traditions across the world!
A is for AUSTRALIA! In Australia, families decorate their homes with ferns, palm leaves, evergreens and a flower known as the Christmas Bush.
B is for BRAZIL! In Brazil, people view their traditional play, Los Pastores, in which shepherdesses and a gypsy attempt to kidnap the baby Jesus.
C is for CHINA! In China, Christmas is celebrated with acrobats, fireworks and jugglers who entertain crowds.
D is for DENMARK! In Denmark, Christmas Eve dinner begins with a traditional rice pudding dish that has a secret almond. You find the almond – you win a prize!
E is for ENGLAND! In England, the Queen delivers a traditional afternoon speech, which is broadcast over the radio and the television at three o’clock in the afternoon.
F is for FRANCE! In some parts of France, thirteen desserts are eaten. They are made with fruits, nuts and pastry.
G is for GERMANY! In Germany, children leave their shoes outside and fill them with carrots, which St. Nicholas’ reindeer will eat.
H is for HOLLAND! In Holland, families eat a letter-blanket on Christmas Eve. A letter-blanket is a cake shaped in the first letter of the family’s last name.
I is for ITALY! In Italy, when the first star appears on Christmas Eve, families light candles to help the Christ Child find his way.
J is for JAPAN! In Japan, many families eat a special KFC Christmas Chicken Dinner. Many people order their meals months in advance and queue for hours to collect them.
K is for KOREA! In Korea, presents are exchanged on Christmas Eve, when one customary present (usually monetary) is given.
L is for LAPLAND! In Lapland, families will visit the cemetery, after Christmas Eve dinner, to light candles to remember the dead.
M is for MEXICO! In Mexico, they have their own version of Christmas dinner. It begins with an oxtail soup with beans, and hot chili. Roasted turkey follows, with salads of varying fresh fruit and vegetables.
N is for NORWAY! In Norway, families dance around their Christmas tree, singing traditional carols before presents are exchanged.
O is for OMAN! In Oman, the family elders distribute sweets and cookies to the entire family.
P is for POLAND! In Poland, straw is placed on the floor to remind people of Jesus’ birth.
Q is for QATAR! In Qatar, cards read ‘Seasons Greetings’ to not disrespect the Muslim faith.
R is for ROMANIA! In Romania, pigs are bred and slaughtered on the 20th of December, in line with the Ignatius Christmas tradition.
S is for SPAIN! In Spain, families put their names in hats. Two names will be drawn out, and those people will be nice to each other for the year.
T is for THAILAND! In Thailand, the younger generation buy and give gifts as signs of respect for their elders. It is not traditional to give children gifts.
U is for UGANDA! In Uganda, Christmas is a time for sharing love, food, family and clothes. Not gifts.
V is for VENEZUELA! In Venezuela, Christmas is celebrated on the 24th of December.
W is for WALES! In Wales, many families would spend Christmas Eve making toffee in order to stay awake for the morning’s church service.
X is for… There are no countries of the world beginning with X!
Y is for YUGOSLAVIA! In Yugoslavia, it is believed that if the Yule Log flame goes out, it is a symbol of bad luck. A member of the family is elected to stand guard over it during the night.
Z is for ZAMBIA! In Zambia, children take a present to the church on Christmas Day. These gifts are then presented to children who are spending the holiday in hospital.
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