Merry Christmas!
This is that very special time of year when there is something in the air that somehow makes you feel better, happier, stronger. I wish the happiest and best of the Christmas season to all those readers of venividiscripto.com who read the blog in their own countries in their own language.
I also thank you so much for your faith in my writing, your respect for my opinion, whether you agree or not, and your many kind words of support when others do not like, or believe, or think I have the right to address issues of importance to so many.
Joyeux Noel!
It is a special time of year, for at Christians we can look back on that miracle more than 2000 years ago when God truly did come to earth, become one of us, and lead us through trials, tribulations and faith. It’s Pere Noel who brings the gifts to the children Christmas morn, adorned in his red suit and large sack. But the celebrations start the first Sunday of Advent with the lighting of the first candle on the Advent Wreath, special prayers and a season of preparation for the birth of Christ. The bright lights on the Christmas trees symbolize Christ as the light of the world.
Feliz Navidad.
It is a time when we learn about and can participate in the traditions of some many other nationalities and become just a little better because of them. The Spanish tradition of Navidades lasts until January 6 with the arrival of the Three Kings. For many children in Spain and throughout Mexico, the most anticipated day of the year is “El Día de los Reyes”, which begins on Jan. 5 with the “Cabalgata de Reyes,” the arrival of Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthazar. They arrive for the next day’s celebration on big floats and throw candy to the children on the street. They leave gifts behind which the children see and open when they wake up in the morning.
Nollaig shona dhuit!
One old custom in Ireland that many continue to observe is the placing of a candle in the window on Christmas Eve, a symbol to welcome strangers and to remember those who are far away from home. Crowds gather for friendly get togethers in pubs early on Christmas Eve, then all the pubs close and the Irish attend Midnight Mass in their parish churches. The light in the window also shows emigrants who left that they will always be able to see their way back home.
Buon Natale:
Italy is a country full of traditions, and the Feast of the Seven Fishes is one of the most popular on Christmas Eve. That is when the family gathers around a feast of seven different seafood dishes or one or two different types of fish prepared in seven different ways. Or a seven course seafood meal.
All are designed to show the appreciation of the nation to the bounty of the sea and most likely began during the time when the Catholic church forbade the eating of meat on the day before Christmas. Seven goes back to the seven sacraments, the seven days for Creation, or the believe that seven is repeated more than 700 times in the Bible. Regardless of the birth of the tradition, you can expect to see anchovies, sea bass, baked or grilled fish, or similar on every Italian table, along with desserts that include panettone and pandoro filled with prosperity and love.
God Jul
The celebration of Jul in Sweden is centered around family, friends, and spending time with people you love. Celebrations begin four weeks before, since by the first Sunday of Advent, Swedish families have their houses spotless, decorated, and including Advent stars. Children enjoy Advent calendars and receive a small gift each day, a tradition adults have adopted for their own small gift giving or wine gifts every day. A candle on a wreath is lit each Sunday for the four Sundays, with lussebullar, Sweden’s version of Italy’s Santa Lucia buns, a treat when the last candle is lit.
Chúc Mừng Giáng Sinh
is Merry Christmas in Vietnam, one of their four most important festivals of the year, although less than 10 per cent of the population is Christian. The Christian influence came during the time of French rule, and because of the joy and understanding of the people, celebrations blended with Taoism and Confucianism. During Communist rule, Christians had to observe the holy day in privacy. Today, Christmas is celebrated with much fanfare, a strong Western influence, and midnight Mass Christmas Eve, back home for a sumptuous dinner of chicken soup to turkey and Christmas pudding, and Christmas Eve celebrations that include lots of confetti and crowded streets. Children stage nativity plays to celebrate the birth of Christ, known as Kito.
Frohe Weihnachten
The Advent Season, Advent wreaths, and lighting a candle each Sunday for the four week before Christmas are also traditions In Germany, where the tradition of decorating a tree is only about 400 years old and followed the tradition of hanging evergreen branches inside at Christmas. The modern day Tannenbaum usually include bright red apples, gingerbread and silk flowers, along with live candles or light strings, and delicate ornaments handed down from generation to generation. Children often make cookies that add to the ornaments on the tree. But the most common ornament is the Weihnachtsengel, or Christmas Angel, miniature angel figures generally with musical instruments, carved from the woods of the mountains between Saxony and the Czech republic.
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