Christmas Eve, the night before Christmas, is a very special time of year. Every year, around the world, children are "wide-eyed" in anticipation of all the gifts they will receive tomorrow morning. Did you know that Christmas Eve traditions differ in various countries around the world? Well they do. In this article we will be exploring the traditions of Christmas Eve in various countries around the world.
This big night has been a long time in the planning. Santa and his little helpers have been working tirelessly throughout the year to get ready for just this moment. Taking all these gifts around the world to all the good boys and girls can work up quite the appetite. Children to the rescue. They understand that Santa needs nourishment to complete such a huge task, so they leave him a little something to keep him going. Kids from Britain and the United States will leave out a plate of cookies and a glass of milk. British and Australian children prefer to leave mince pies and sherry. Hoping to satisfy Santa's love of chocolate, kids from Sweden will leave brownies.
Santa's reindeer are not to be forgotten on this big night. After all, they need to pull a sleigh filled with Christmas presents around the world. How tough is that? Once again, children to the rescue. Kids from the United States, Canada, Britain, and Australia leave a carrot to give those reindeer that "extra boost of energy" that they are going to need to make that final push. Children who follow the Dutch custom of sinterklass go a bit further in that they leave some hay with a carrot in a shoe. When they wake up the next morning the shoe will be replaced by a gift.
Another tradition that has become popular in the United States is the reading of the book "A Visit from St. Nicholas" by Clement Clark Moore (or similar tale about Santa Claus). Other families watch a Christmas-related video or television show, like: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, A Charlie Brown Christmas or Frosty the Snowman. Singing Santa Claus songs such as Up on the Housetop, Here Comes Santa Claus, or Santa Claus is Coming to Town are also very popular.
On Christmas Eve, children all around the world will put their stockings on the mantel. They are full of anticipation that St. Nick will soon be here, and will fill their stocking with gifts, candy, and "other goodies". Next they will look up the chimney to make sure that the "Big Guy" has not arrived yet. They will take a glance out the window to see if they can see a passing sleigh, and then perhaps unlock the front door (just in case Santa has problems getting down the chimney). With all the prep work done, it's time to go off to bed...
Once the kids have gone off to bed parents have rituals they need to follow as well. There are lots of gifts that need to be placed under the tree. Many of the gifts will be signed "From Santa" or "Love Santa".
Did you enjoy this little tour of "The Night Before Christmas"? Christmas Eve is certainly a magical time of year...but we are not done yet. In future articles we will be exploring more aspects of Christmas, so stay tuned...
Learn more about Christmas Gift Giving. Stop by Emily Latimer's site where you can find out all about completing that Christmas List.
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