Happy Holidays, Tigers! In this article I, James Flores, will be talking about how Christmas is celebrated in the biggest countries in each continent (with an exception made for Europe as another one of our reporters for the Tiger was already doing an article on the traditions of the largest country in this part of the world). We’ll go over their traditions, how they are celebrated and for how long, and what those celebrating call the holiday itself. For this article I’d like to give special thanks to the website “WhyChristmas.com” – an excellent source of information on Christmas traditions all around the world – and this article would not have been possible without it!

Christmas in Brazil:

In Brazil, the main language spoken is Portuguese, and “Christmas” is called “Natal”! In Brazil, a special type of play called “Os Pastores” is performed, which is similar to an American nativity scene and story; however, with one special detail, there is usually a woman called a “Shepherdess” who will try to steal the newborn Jesus! Another tradition in Brazil is for children to leave their sock on the window sill, and it’s said if Santa, or in Portuguese, “Papai Noel”, finds it, he will take it and leave a gift for the child in its place. Unlike America, Brazil is very hot and dry during the Christmas season, so it is also a tradition for people to go to the beach to celebrate. Christmas in Brazil is certainly different than anything Americans would recognize, but it seems like a lot of fun and the decorations, especially in Ibirapuera Park, are absolutely gorgeous!

Christmas in Nigeria:

Nigeria is a very diverse country with a lot of different languages, however, the most commonly spoken language is Hausa. “Christmas” in Hausa is “Kirsimeti” and is celebrated by the people of Nigeria in many festive ways. In Nigeria, Christmas is a very energetic occasion: festivals are thrown, parades march through the streets, and fireworks are set off all day! Another big part of Christmas in Nigeria is dressing your best and designing your hair to be as vibrant as possible! It is very common for Nigerian parents to put money aside specifically for them to style and design their children’s hair for the special day. What seems to be one of the most significant traditions in Nigeria is church choir. Members of the congregations will gather together to sing Christmas songs. Going from house to house to Christmas carol is a nationwide tradition! Christmas in Nigeria may be a bit more familiar to Americans than Christmas in other countries, but Nigeria certainly has its fair sure of unique and special traditions!

Christmas in India:

The most spoken language in India is Hindi. In Hindi, “Christmas” is “Badda Din”. The Christmas celebrating population in India is mainly Roman Catholic, so midnight mass is incredibly important to their culture. It is tradition for families to gather together and walk to the church where mass is held, and after mass, it is tradition for the family to have a massive feast to usher in the holiday. In India, the Christmas decorations are very different from America. Rather than a pine tree, which is traditional in America, Indians will decorate a banana or mango tree, and some even take the leaves from the mango trees to decorate their home itself! Another Christmas tradition, especially in South India, is for celebrators of the holiday to put oil lamps on their roofs. This is to symbolize the Christian belief that on this day the light of the world was born. Because of the fact that India is such a massive country with such a great diversity of traditions, it would be impossible to list every tradition that is carried out in the country in this article.

Christmas in Germany:

In Germany, the most spoken language is German, and in German, “Christmas” is said as “Weihnachten” (Pronounced Vai-na-ten). Germany places a lot of emphasis on the Christmas tree as part of their holiday tradition. Unlike other countries, the tree is not kept up for all of the holiday season but rather bought and secretly decorated on Christmas Eve. Additionally, Christmas Eve is typically the day where presents are given and received (rather than on Christmas Day). Christmas Day is considered the “First celebration” and the day after is considered the “Second celebration”; both days are taken off nationally to celebrate with family and enjoy togetherness. One of Germany’s most vibrant traditions is that of the “Da Christkind”, which in English means “The Christ Child”, who German children write letters to (rather than Santa) asking for gifts. Now the name “Christ Child” may lead you to believe that the child is baby Jesus, but this is not accurate. The Christ Child in German is a young girl who is believed to embody the nature of Christ. In parades, the child is played by a girl with long, blonde hair, a gold crown, and a flowing white dress.

Christmas in Australia:

English is the most spoken language in Australia, so of course, “Christmas” is said the same as it is in the States! Like Brazil, Australia is on the southern hemisphere of the world, and this means during Christmas time Australia it is very hot and humid, so many families will spend their Christmas at the beach or doing other activities that beat the heat. Because of Australia’s very unique ecosystem, they use many types of plant to decorate for Christmas that may be very unfamiliar to Westerners. Some of these plants are the Bursaria Spinosa, a beautiful shrub with vibrant red flowers; Poinsettia plants, a leafy flower with either bright red or white leaves; or even the Jacaranda Tree, which has incredibly unique purple leaves. In cities across Australia, it is tradition for carols to be sung by famous Australian singers who volunteer for the occasion. In 2023, the annual carol was sung by Sarah Abo, an Australian news anchor, and David Cambell, a famous Australian actor.

This article was a lot of fun to write and I really enjoyed researching the different cultures and traditions across the continents. It really helped broaden my knowledge on how the holiday of Christmas is seen and thought of by people all around the world. Thanks for reading, Tigers, and I’ll see you again come the next issue of The Tiger!

Works Cited:

• (James Cooper, WhyChristmas.com, 2001): https://www.whychristmas.com/cultures/india 
• (Bruna, How Christmas is celebrated in Brazil, 2020): https://www.iheartbrazil.com/christmas-in-brazil/
• (James Cooper,WhyChristmas.com, 2001): http://www.celebratingchristmas.co.uk/indexd0ea.html?id=christmas-in-nigeria 
• (Memphistours.com, India Christmas): https://www.memphistours.com/India/india-travel-guide/festivals-in-india/wiki/christmas-in-india 
• (James Cooper, WhyChristmas.com, 2001): https://www.whychristmas.com/cultures/germany 
• (How Christmas is Celebrated in Germany, 2024): https://www.deutschland.de/en/topic/life/how-germany-celebrates-christmas 
• (Kai Schultz & Sushani Raj, ‘We Are Afraid of Christmas’: Tensions Dampen Holiday in India, 2017): https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/24/world/asia/india-christmas.html