Christmas in cultures around the world

Despite our often aggressive insistence on sticking to the Christmas traditions we grew up with, there are many ways to celebrate the holiday. Here are some of the customs found around the world.

Christmas in Ukraine

The Julian calendar was proposed by Julius Caesar in 46 B.C. and adopted a year later. It uses a year which has 365 and one quarter days. This is just a touch longer than the actual solar year, which means that every 128 years, the Julian calendar gains a day. At this point, it is 13 days behind the modern (Gregorian) calendar.

Because the Eastern Orthodox Church still uses the Julian calendar, traditional Christmas in Ukraine starts on Jan. 6.

The traditional “Christmas tree” of a Ukrainian Christmas (it actually predates the decorated evergreen) is called a didukh. It is a sheaf of bound wheat symbolizing, among other things, the presence of a family’s ancestors with them during the holidays.

Ukrainian Christmas ends on Jan. 19 with Epiphany, the day that Jesus was baptized. True-blue dedicated celebrants must find a suitable place to cut a cross-shaped hole in the ice over a river or pond – then jump in. At that point, they really will go blue.

Christmas in Japan

Christmas is not a national holiday in Japan. Nor are many Japanese people Christian, making Japan one of the countries where Christmas is celebrated as a secular (non-religious) event.

Christmas in Japan is not seen as a time for family gathering; rather, it is a romantic holiday, to be spent with one’s significant other. Gifts should be for a partner, not for parents or children.

Decorating with lights and trees is still a thing, although it is seen as having more to do with winter than with Christmas.

Two foods stand out: Strawberry shortcake, commonly known as Christmas Cake; and KFC. After a highly successful marketing campaign in the ‘70s, KFC is a must-have for Christmas in Japan. Best practice is to place an order several weeks in advance – or Santa Sanders will have nothing for you.

Christmas in Australia

Christmas in Australia is quite similar to that of other Western countries such as the United States and Canada. However, the season is opposite, making Christmas a summer holiday.

Because of this difference, Christmas in Australia often involves many more flowers in its decorations. Christmas desserts are often lighter, such as pavlova and trifle.

It might also be necessary to change the words of some Christmas carols referring to snow or the weather outside being frightful (it’s usually very warm and very sunny).

Christmas barbeques on the beach are common, making barbeque foods such as shrimp and steak more Christmassy than a turkey dinner. Another notable change is to sometimes swap out reindeer for kangaroos.