Neat.  Yeah, there's certain ones that are well known depending on the country/culture you grow up in… a Yule log, advent calendars, leaving cookies for Santa, candle/menorah lighting, those british holiday 'crackers' (which I always thought were kinda cool), certain foods/plants/lights/music/decorations…  neat how many variations there are with such similar things, and kind of curious about variations or ways your guy's families personalized those… I must admit I can't think of too many we started of our own! 

Oh, except for how our Christmas Eve usually goes.  Instead of, as when we were kids, trying to sleep and excitedly waking up early in the morning of Christmas Day to see what 'Santa' left under the tree, we changed that around when we were teenagers.  After our big holiday Eve dinner, we were having a great time just hanging around, games, and holiday movies on tv, didn't want to go to bed.  Brother and I cajoled dad that technically, midnight was 'Christmas Day', so could we just wait a bit longer and do the gift-sharing then?  He relented, and the next year we brought it up again, and it stuck ever since, everyone getting to relax after dinner and share all the treats and goodies (although usually earlier than right at 'midnight', now), then just sleep in and have the morning for sharing breakfast.    Although it sounds like the time gifts are shared is similar over there, Phantom?

I'm fairly certain it wasn't snowing when Jesus was born.

Quite.

Oh, Phantom, you're Danish? Now I felt like writing Norwegian to you, but I guess that would be a bit exluding. ;)  (And love your Christmas story!)

In Norway the traditions are similar to Denmark. We decorate a pine tree (although with electrical lights), and put star-shaped lights and hanukkah-like lights in the windows, lights on trees outside, light-decorations on the walls of the houses... It is kind of like a light festival in the darkest of times.

24th is the biggest day in Norway. Tradition vary somewhat, but we visit the graveyard to put a light on the grave of our dear ones during the day, then we eat rice pudding with our closest family. The rice pudding contain one single almond. The one who gets the almond, gets a present, usually some kind of Christmas candy.

Later in the afternoon it's Christmas dinner, usually pork or lamb rib, served in  traditional way. After dinner and dessert it's opening of presents. 25th and 26th are also usually family days, with either a really big Christmas breakfast or another traditional Christmas dinner. 

Last edited by Vhanja (December 23, 2014 11:40 pm)

LOL, the Christmas work party is the same in Norway! There will always be one who get too drunk, and there are always fun made out of who shag who at those parties.

Never been to Oslo at Christmas time, so you've seen more than me there. 
 

Here the big da is tomorrow. We have a had a pine tree in the house for a couple of weeks now and it is decorated with electric lights and other decorations. It has an angel on top (some people have a star on top). Tomorrow is the day for opening presents: from  Santa, or Father Christmas (although that name is much less used than it used to be), plus presents from relatives etc.

There will be a big Christmas dinner with (for meat eaters) turkey, or maybe goose, ham, stuffing, bread sauce, cranberry sauce (again a relatively recent arrival), gravy, pigs in blankets (which are small sausages wrapped in bacon and cooked), brussel sprouts, parsnips, potatoes etc. Years ago we also always had a cooked tongue and something called brawn (made from a pig's head) but these are not common nowadays.

There is usually a starter before that (varies what that is) and for pudding/desert traditionally a Christmas pudding. This is a rich, dark pudding with lots of dried fruit and spices. Years ago we always had a silver sixpence cooked inside the pudding and if you were lucky enough to find it in your helping (and didn't choke on it) you got to keep it. The pudding is often brought into the room flaming, having had alcohol (brandy) poured on it and then set alight. This is eaten with custard, or cream and sometimes with brandy butter (which is butter with brandy mixed into it). We also have mince pies. These are made of pastry with dried fruit, spices and beef suet (vegetarian varieties available). This year I made some with a German friend of mine, who lives locally, and we added some chopped up tangerines. We put pastry stars on top. I believe the average calories for Christmas Day here is 6,000! Plus often plenty of alcohol is drunk.

After that people tend to fall asleep! The next day many people eat cold meats (left overs) with mashed potato and pickles. Bubble and squeak is also popular which is patties made from the left over brussel sprouts and mashed potato which are fried. They get their name from the sound they make while cooking in the frying pan.

Tomorrow we are visiting my brother- and sister-in-law for a brief while and then we are going to good friends for the feast!

Anyway, that is just to give you an idea of what Christmas is like here, for us.

The Christmas tree adorned with decorations is a tradition in my homeland also. At Christmas dinner we usually wash our faces with water into which coins were submerged - it brings monetary luck to you in the year that follows. The luck in your money affairs is also brough fort by having money and lentils hidden under your festive tablecloth  - fails on me, but is probably effective when other people are doing it. 

Christmas dinner consist of:

Mead and garlic and a light Christmas "cracker" to bring health to the people consuming it.

Sweet bread lupms richly sprinkled with poppy seed and sugar (in ancient times, people still fasted during Christmas Eve and this meatless food was the main course - now it´s a kind of entree).



The next course is a very good soup made from sauerkraut, meat, sausages (mostly quite sharp and peppery), mushrooms and sometimes even sour cream. It´s incredibly good, so of course, I can´t have even a lick of it - my gallbladder would explode immediately.



The last course is a fried fish fillette and potato salat made from cubed potatoes, carrots, peas, pickled gherkins, shredded onions and mayonnaise. Once again - good and unedible for me in my current state. But at least the pictures look delicious. 



After eating all this, you are supposed to stuff youself with cakes until you faint, but people mostly realise by themselves that they are so full they are almost bursting, so they move next to a Christmas tree where presents magically appeared during dinner. Then they observe the children of their family going through presents like small bulldosers and tearing the wraps with abandon. 

Quite funny holidays, all in all.

 

Last edited by nakahara (December 25, 2014 8:18 pm)

Well we know Benedict celebrated Christmas in the most traditional way possible...
He was photographed in Church with Sophie in Edinburgh.

Last edited by besleybean (December 26, 2014 8:38 am)

What's your homeland again Nakahara? In Eastern Europe somewhere? Those dishes look lovely. 

Christmas tradition here: 
24th Dec. Christmas eve with presents under the tree.
25th and 26th: visiting family. The 25th is the biggest day, we usually prepare a lovely dinner. I don't think there are specific traditional foods, but we do make something elaborate. Deer was really popular in our family for a while, but now we had a lovely fish platter. 

nakahara wrote:

besleybean wrote:

Well we know Benedict celebrated Christmas in the most traditional way possible...
He was photographed in Church with Sophie in Edinburgh.

Wow, that´s nice. It seems he really respects traditions.
...
 

It could also mean that Sophie or/and he enjoy going to church.