Christmas
The Global Citizen
Thanksgiving is over which means that basically Christmas is here. If you don’t believe me, look literally everywhere around you. On campus, we have things like lights wrapped around trees and the Christmas tree decorating competition between divisions. Whether or not you celebrate Christmas, you can’t deny how it seems to take over all around. But what about the world? How do they celebrate and how is it different from some of the things we do here?
In Serbia the predominant religion is the Orthodox church meaning they still use the ‘Julian’ calendar. For them, Christmas Eve is January 6 and Christmas is on the 7th. On Christmas morning, they greet the sunrise with singing, shouting and firing guns into the air.
In Bangladesh only 0.3% of the population is Christian, yet Christmas is still regarded as a public holiday. This comes as a surprise since 85% of country is actually Muslim. Most of the Christians celebrate as typical Catholics by attending Mass and other events, but many western Christmas traditions are becoming mainstream all throughout the country.
In Croatia they create a Christmas wreath with four candles symbolizing hope, peace, love and joy. Young men give their girlfriends decorated apples. Other saints days are also celebrated such as St. Nicholas, in which children clean and shine their shoes in hopes that St. Nicholas would see they’ve been good and fill them with presents. But if they’d been bad, then Krampus would get them instead.
Palestine is another interesting case such as Bangladesh. Although the majority of the population isn’t Christian, the people are proud at the fact that Jesus was born in Bethleham which is in Palestinian territory. There are parades with bagpipes and other kinds of Christmas celebrations including Mass in the church that was built over where Jesus is believed to have been born.
Christmas around the world has inspired celebration, unity, and peace. Many cultural differences have arisen and shaped the celebrations which show the diversity in mankind. There is no single right way to celebrate Christmas and that is one of the things that make it beautiful because everyone can enjoy it in a way that makes them happy. Keep in mind this holiday season that there is so much to be celebrated and enjoyed with family and friends. Make the most of it and maybe challenge yourself to learn a thing or two about somewhere else. Who knows? Maybe you’ll end up liking it so much you’ll practice that tradition yourself!
Wesley Rodriguez-Diep is a senior studying international relations