Christmas Traditions Around the World

Christmas in NYC, Rockefeller Center.

In the US, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer usually heralds in the Christmas season with his omnipotent presence in the media – from TV to radio to print. He even has several songs dedicated to him, songs that most schoolchildren know how to sing by heart. With this superstar status, Rudolph is probably one of the more prominent symbols of the festivities which dictate the holiday season. But Rudolph may not have as strong a cult following in other countries around the world. Here are a few ways in which different countries around the world celebrate Christmas:

In the US, for example, the typical American family would celebrate Christmas by putting up a Christmas tree, decorating their house with Christmas lights and wreaths, and exchanging gifts on Christmas Day. Families also come together for a Christmas dinner.

In Argentina, Christmas falls in the summer, when temperatures are warm and skies are blue. So when the typical Argentinean family puts up their Christmas decorations, they might put cotton balls on the branches of their Christmas tree to simulate snow. When Christmas Eve rolls around, families light fireworks and “globos,” paper decorations which take off into the sky once they are lighted.

Globos in Argentina.

Bondi Beach, Sydney.

In Australia, another country in the Southern Hemisphere, many Australians spend Christmas outdoors to take advantage of the warm weather. Christmas dinner might be in the form of a barbecue and friends and families might gather for a day at the beach or at the park. Some families might even spend the Christmas holiday at a camping ground.

In England, Christmas preparations and traditions are similar to those of the US’s – people decorate their homes, hang stockings up, have Christmas dinner, and open presents on Christmas Day. One difference, though, is that most families would gather to watch the Queen’s speech to the Nation and Commonwealth at 3 pm on Christmas Day. On the day after Christmas, December 26^th, England observes Boxing Day, which is a day of shopping similar to Black Friday. 

In China, Christmas is celebrated mainly by Christians but the commercial aspect of the holiday has been spreading. So although there are Christmas decorations, the winter season is indicative of another holiday – Chinese New Year – for the majority of Chinese families. Those who do celebrate Christmas would most likely put up plastic Christmas trees decorated with paper chains, paper flowers, and paper lanterns and attend Midnight Mass.

A Chinese Christmas tree

In France, children put their shoes by the fireplace on Christmas Eve in the hopes that "Pere Noel,” or Santa Claus, will bring them toys. Unlike the US rendition of Santa Claus, Pere Noel is tall and thin. On Christmas Eve, there is a feast called "Le Reveillon." After this dinner, many families serve a "Buche de Noel," a sponge cake decorated like a Yule log.

Buche de Noel.

In Ghana, people celebrate Christmas from the 20th of December to the first week in January with lots of different activities. Many people travel to visit their relatives and friends in other parts of the country. But because there are so many ethnic groups in Ghana, there is no single Christmas tradition which the majority of the people who celebrate Christmas participate in.  

In India, it is mostly the Indian Christians who celebrate Christmas. Because of India’s climate, most of them decorate mango or banana trees instead of the traditional pine trees at Christmas time; they might also decorate their houses with mango leaves. Families also place “diyas,” small oil-burning lamps made of clay, on their rooftops, symbolizing their view that Jesus is the light of the world.

Banana tree with decorations.

How does your family or culture celebrate Christmas? If you don't celebrate Christmas, what are some traditions that you have for your holiday?

Holiday Party Re-Cap

On December 9^th, a total of 56 Fulbright students, representing 34 countries, joined One To World staff and supporters in celebrating this holiday season at the Pomegranate Gallery in Soho.

The gallery, owned by Iraqi-born artist Oded Halamy, was buzzing as students, scholars, and One To World staff and supporters mingled in the warm, multi-cultural atmosphere, discussing the impressive collection of American and Middle Eastern art in the gallery and enjoying the wine and selection of international hors d’oeuvres.

Overall, students had a great time mingling and enjoying the holiday festivities at the annual One To World Holiday Party.

            What did you think of the event? Let us know what your thoughts about the Winter Holiday Celebration are!

World Cup Update and Other Cultural Pastimes

Now that the semester is winding down, you may invariably find yourself with some extra time on your hands. So what do you do when you’ve finally recuperated from the sleepless nights spent cramming for finals? Some of you might want to relax with a glass of wine and some cheese. But for those of you who are inclined to be more active, cheese-rolling might be something to look into.

Yes. Cheese-rolling. The sport is pretty simple: all you have to do is find a wheel of cheese, roll it down the side of a hill – preferably, the steeper the better – and chase after it. If you think you’ve got what it takes to be a professional, you can head over to Gloucestershire, England to participate in their annual cheese-rolling competition which takes place in the spring. But if chasing cheese down a hill isn’t your cup of tea – maybe you're extremely lactose intolerant and can't come within 50 feet of cheese or maybe you're not too keen on ending up with a lot of bandages on your knees and some on your face –  chasing a ball on a flat field might be more appealing. 

Although that’s not to say that football (or soccer as the Americans call it) doesn’t have its fair share of injuries. But generally speaking, football is an overall more popular pastime than cheese-rolling. So if you happen to be an avid football fan, you might already be aware of the situation with the several upcoming World Cups: it has been determined that the 2014 tournament will be held in Brazil, 2018 in Russia, and 2022 in Qatar.

And the recent decision to let Qatar host the 2022 World Cup has caused quite the flurry of reactions. For one thing, Qatar will be the first Middle Eastern country to host the tournament so being in the international limelight will help foster cross-cultural understanding between the Middle East and the rest of the world.

Additionally, Qatar is promising to leave a substantial football legacy behind: some of the stadiums that the country is building for the World Cup will feature a design which can be dismantled after the tournament. Once the tournament is over, this special feature will allow Qatar to rebuild up to 22 stadiums in developing countries that looking to develop their football infrastructure. 

But while Qatar is looking to create an impact on the history of football, the country itself doesn’t have a particular outstanding football history. Ranking as 113th in FIFA’s official rankings, Qatar has never actually qualified for the World Cup. This may be a potential problem as the host team traditionally advances past the opening playoffs. In fact, FIFA takes pains to ensure that the host team has a good chance of moving past the opening round by giving the host team a top seed.

However, before it needs to even worry about moving past the opening round, Qatar must first overcome its infrastructure and weather challenges. Since the country currently lacks a complete public transportation system and only has 3 of the 12 stadiums that FIFA requires its host countries to have, Qatar will have to commit to some serious building and infrastructure development to accommodate the players and spectators.

The scorching weather –temperatures can reach up to 50 °C (122 °F) in the summertime – is also challenging Qatar to incorporate innovative design mechanisms into its stadiums’ cooling systems. Which is why the country is looking to utilize solar energy to power the nine new, fully air-conditioned, and carbon-neutral stadiums that the country will be building.

If all goes according to plan, Qatar will finally be able to deliver on it’s promise of “[showcasing] the best traditions of the world’s greatest sporting event, while presenting astonishing innovations aimed at further propelling football’s worldwide growth” when 2022 finally rolls around.

What do you think? What are your opinions on Qatar winning the bid to host the 2022 World Cup?

Education Debate in London

As you may – or may not – know, the cost of higher education in the United States can be exorbitant. Generally speaking, tuition varies greatly depending on the type of institution you are applying to and a number of other factors like whether you are an in-state or out-of-state student. On average though, public four-year colleges charge $7,605 and private colleges charge $27,293 per year for tuition. Add on housing fees and other miscellaneous costs and you could end up paying quite a bit of money (or borrowing quite a bit of money) to attain a higher education.

Britain, however, has a different approach. In fact, higher education was tuition-free until as recently as 1998, the year means-tested tuition fees were introduced. However, those fees were capped at £3,000 ($4,700) in 2003 since the general sentiments in Britain are that a low-cost education is an intrinsic right,. Recently, however, due to budget deficits, the British government has been considering raising tuition and removing some subsidies for university students, causing protests and riots to break out throughout Britain.

On November 10th, for instance, up to 50,000 students marched through the streets of London to protest the tuition hikes, proposed by the Conservative Party, which could triple tuition rates to £9,000 ($14,200). The protest turned violent when students shattered the windows of the Millbank Tower, the Conservative Party’s headquarters, spray-painted anarchy symbols on the walls, and occupied the building.

Just last week, on November 24th, another crowd gathered in London to demonstrate against the tuition increase. A few protesters managed to break into a police van, after smashing the windshield and spray-painting the side; protesters also threw missiles at buses in central London, smashing windows and causing many routes to be diverted away from the Whitehall and Trafalgar Square area. Demonstrations also occurred in: Brighton, Manchester, Leeds, Bristol, Birmingham, Oxford, Liverpool, and Sheffield. And in places like Winchester, Cambridge, Leeds, and London, number of students walked out of class to protest the tuition increases.

What is your opinion about the proposed tuition increases in Britain? How do you think you would react if you were in the same situation? What are your thoughts on tuition in the United States in comparison? Please leave us a comment with your thoughts!

This post was researched and written by One To World intern, Jessica Zhang.

Thanksgiving Wrap-Up

If you happened to go shopping at Macy's on Black Friday, you would have probably noticed a few things that told you Thanksgiving is unequivocally over:

• The animated Christmas display in their store windows. However, the perpetual crowd that stands in front of the display makes it understandable if you bypassed the whole thing altogether.
• The lights adorning Macy’s main entrance. But you are in New York and New Yorkers do walk with a purpose – who has the time to be looking around?
• The Christmas trees scattered every few feet inside the store. But as shopping is such an extreme sport, it is perfectly excusable if you were so engrossed in your shopping that you didn’t notice them.

Even if you were at Macy's and missed all of the above signs, there really is no excuse for not noticing that the Holiday season is upon us: there is holiday music galore on the radio; the Salvation Army is showcasing their latent bell-ringing talents around major landmarks in Manhattan; and the UNICEF snowflake is back up on its perch on 57^th and 5^th! You can’t help but notice these festivities everywhere you look.

            But before we get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, let’s recap our Thanksgiving celebrations. This year, 125 students were able to experience an authentic Thanksgiving with American host families in and around New York - spanning 4 states. Some spent the day celebrating the holiday and some spent the entire 4 day weekend with their hosts. Besides meeting new people, learning about Thanksgiving traditions, and having amazing dinners, some of the students also had the opportunity to travel a bit with their host families. Take a look at what some of the student’s did over their Thanksgiving weekends!

Learning to play Apples to Apples.

“Today was wonderful. The students are great - we want them back, anytime! This has been the very best, and important, Thanksgiving I've ever had.”  ~Host in Westchester County, NY

At the Choo Choo Barn in Strasburg, PA.

“I am so impressed by my host family, they are so generous! They are the best people who I have met in U.S.A. If I didn't attend this program, I am sure I would thanksgiving day without any meaning. It was great chance in my life time!”  ~Song Yang, Student from South Korea

Having Thanksgiving dinner!

“We had a wonderful weekend. Lots of fun and special memories. One Chinese student shared that this was her first time out of NYC in the year she has lived there.  She had been depressed and lonely-  ready to go back home to China. She said that she experienced love here during the weekend that she hadn't seen since arrival in the US.  She was encouraged and able to keep going. I sat in silence with tears in my eyes. That is the reason we do what we do!”  ~Host in Lancaster, PA

  

At Hershey Park in Hershey, PA.

“My dinner and thanksgiving was awesome. Surprisingly there were lots of topics to discuss and the food was great and the hosts were hospitable in every way. They made me feel quite at home and I had a great time.”  

~Naurin Ramay, Pakistan

At the Bird-in-Hand Farmers Market in Lancaster, PA.

“From this, I knew more American customs from the Thanksgiving holiday - not from books.  Their devotion deeply affected me.  Several get-together activities were full of fun.  This program is beneficial to people coexisting peacefully.” ~Jenny Hua Liu, Student from China

Browsing the shops in Amish Country.

If you have any stories of your Thanksgiving experience that you’d like to share, we’d love to hear about it!
  
This post was researched and written by One To World intern, Jessica Zhang.