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Christmas Celebrations in the
Europe and Africa
In France, children put their shoes in front of the
fireplace so
Pere Noel (Father Christmas) can fill them with
gifts. Many families attend midnight Mass and then
have a festive supper called Le reveillon. Large
numbers of French families also decorate their homes
with small creche,
Nativity scenes. In these scenes, clay
figures called santons (little saints) portray the
story of Jesus's birth. Some people put additional
santons in their Nativity scenes every year. They
buy these figures at special holiday fairs that are
held before Christmas.
In Spain, people dance and sing in the streets after
midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. Most Spanish homes
and churches display a miniature Nativity scene
called a Nacimiento. During the evening of January
5, children put their shoes on a balcony or near a
window. According to the legend, at this night
before Epiphany, the Wise Men arrive and fill the
children's shoes with small gifts.
In the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg,
according to legend, Saint Nicholas, wearing a red
robe, arrives on a boat from Spain and rides down
the streets on a white horse, accompanied by his
servant Black Peter.
Saint Nicholas goes down the
chimney of each house and leaves gifts in shoes that
the children have put by the fireplace.
In Italy, most homes and churches have a presepio
(Nativity scene). On Christmas Eve, the family prays
while the mother places a figure of the Christ child
in the manger. Many Italians serve eels for dinner
on Christmas Eve, they also bake a Christmas bread
called panettone, which contains raisins and candied
fruit. Italian children receive gifts from La Befana,
a kindly old witch, on the eve of Epiphany.
According to legend, the Wise Men asked the kindly
old witch to accompany them to see the infant Jesus.
She refused, saying she was too busy and had to
clean her house, and so she missed the wondrous
sight. Each year, La Befana goes from house to
house, leaving gifts and looking for the Christ
child.
In
many Catholic homes (especially Italian ones), it's
not Christmas Day that is for giving presents to
children, but the Feast of Epiphany, when the gifts
are given in a way related to the Magi. So today
will have a "feel" of Christmas Eve, and because of
the Epiphany's association with the Magis'
gift-giving, tomorrow is often referred to
colloquially as the "Little Christmas."
In Poland, people attend Pasterka (Shepherd's Mass)
at midnight on Christmas Eve. Many Polish families
follow the same Christmas tradition as Lithuanians –
they break an oplatek., a thin wafer made of wheat
flour and water.
In Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, Christmas dinner
includes rice pudding, called julgrot, which has an
almond in it. According to tradition, whoever gets
the almond will have good luck throughout the new
year.
In Scandinavia many children believe that a
lively elf brings them gifts from
Santa on Christmas
Eve. The Danes and Norwegians call this elf Julenissen, and the Swedes refer to him as Jultomten.
The Christmas season in Sweden begins on St. Lucia
Day, December 13. In the morning of this day, the
oldest daughter in the home dresses in white and
wears a wreath with seven lighted candles on her
head. She serves the other members of the family
breakfast in bed. A popular Christmas custom in
Norway is ringe in Julen (ringing in Christmas):
throughout the country, people ring church bells at
5 p.m. on Christmas Eve.
In Africa, as in Asia, the celebration of Christmas
is not widespread because most of the countries have
a small Christian population. Missionaries brought
Christmas customs to Africa and so people in the
Christian communities generally follow Western
traditions. However, Africans sing carols and hymns
in their own languages. In Ethiopia, members of the
Ethiopian Orthodox Church hold religious services on
Christmas, January 7. The major celebration takes
place nearly two weeks later at Epiphany.
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