polenta

It would be nice to hear TDers from all over to say how people in their countries celebrate Christmas eve, Christmas and new year.

polenta

It's summer here but it's not very hot, maybe 20 or 22ª Celsius( maybe around 70ªF). It's raining right now.
People get together on Christmas eve at about 9 or 10 PM and wait for midnight when they toast with champagne or cider. There are traditional foods coming from Spain and Italy: pan dulce ( panettone), budin inglés (similar to fruitcake) lots of nuts, almonds , raisins, etc and also turron.
All these foods are CRAZY because they give lots of calories in a summer weather. ... but traditions come from frozen weather in Europe.
The dinner varies.... There could be a barbecue with beef, pork, chicken etc and different salads or pasta and salads. Many people eat ice-cream for dessert because it's summer. The menu also depends on people's tastes but people eat a lot and hospitals are full the next day with indigestion.
At 12 midnight we have fireworks and again lots of fun but also lots of burned people who don't follow the authorities' warnings.
Many people have trees at home and they exchange gifts but not everybody because the day for presents is also the 6th of January or the Day of the Magic Kings or Wise Men (Reyes Magos).
We mostly call Santa with the name Papá Noel although people know the word Santa Claus too.

pollyesther

That sounds like a lot of fun! I especially like the idea of fireworks, summer weather and BBQ. Thanks for shareing=)

GOLDIEGIRL8

In Hawaii, we celebrate Xmas by having Luaus(Hawaiian party), and putting up sustainable Xmas trees. Other then that, just the usual.

Dragon

I think every family kind of has their own tradition here in Canada but generally we get the family together and eat a hearty, calorie laden meal and visit. We usually do the big meal on Christmas Day which is often turkey dinner with stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy etc etc...
For myself, my fella and I are getting together with my mom and stepdad tonight. We're having lots of appetizers instead of a meal and opening our presents to each other.

Baldur

Here at Primrose we hang our thongs by the fireplace for Santa to fill with treats. However when hanging them one needs to take care as the synthetic fabric could melt from the heat.

Here it's a bit of a tradition to serve a meal of fish on Christmas eve, some households, especially eastern Europeans will serve 12 different fish courses. Baldur, being a vegetarian serves baked macaroni and cheese.

Robindcr8l

Baldur, I thought you only ate Krafft macaroni and cheese?!

Robindcr8l

Robin and her son were invited to a Basque Christmas Eve party tonight. My personal Christmas tradition is to work, and accept any and all invitations to join others for the holidays! This party has about 50 immediate family members and My son and I, the token Gringos! I'll have to let you know about their particular traditions tomorrow.

This forum subject was a great idea, by the way, Polenta. Very interesting and fun to hear about other cultures and households. People are so fascinating, aren't they?

Qsilv

Neat topic, Polenta! Fireworks for Xmas? wow! Luau sounds delicious too!

In my area a lot of homes decorate their house outlines and trees and fences with tiny sparkly lights.

Some people use all bright rainbow-y colors (too gaudy for me, but hey, they do show such joy!), some use all white, like icicles hanging down from the eaves (lately they've started including lacier patterns and swoopy shapes like pearl necklaces)... and the Jewish homes do it too, but they tend to use a mix of blue and white.

Not many homes are doing "scenes", altho there's one neighborhood near me that does... it's sort of a competition each year to see who can do the most creative arrangements, not necessarily the biggest... a bit like ThinkDraw!

And one street has 3 unusually long blocks planted along both sides with century old Deodar Cedars.... the fire department uses its hook and ladder trucks to help decorate those each year, and people drive the length of it to experience the feeling of being in a dark tunnel with magical lights all around and overhead... it's considered poor manners not to turn out your headlights along that stretch.

There's also a mansion that has an outrageously rich collection of lit-up scenes and music... it sits at a sort of intersection of 3 curved streets, so people drive by very slowly, or park and walk around with their children, eyes all lit up too.

Qsilv

Polenta, what is "turron"??

Panettone I'm familiar with... ok, addicted to! ;>
Also stollen...
and lebkuchen... springerle...
and I'm one who does love fruitcake but it should be almost solid fruit, dark and moist, with hardly enough cake to hold it together...

and this is a time of year for the most decadent chocolate truffles!

In my family, we always did turkey for Thanksgiving and a glazed ham for Xmas. We still hold to tradition for T-day, but the family is so gi-normous (gigantic/enormous) that's it's started to break up into smaller groups and those seem to be starting their own traditions for Xmas.

The one I hang with includes people who have lived all over the world, and we tend to do different themes each year. Last year was enchiladas and home-made tamales (tamale making parties are fun!!!). There was some discussion of Q's spiced cherry duckling this year or Chinese crispy duck (much trickier)... but luckily it has somehow morphed into Ethiopian curries all served on a huge tray and picked up with large pinches of a sponge-y flat bread called injera.

We definitely make gingerbread cookies with the little ones, and sometimes gingerbread houses. This year's included shapes with holes cut into them and then filled with broken up bits of clear bright color candies that melt together like stained glass. Even the toddlers get to help with this.

So for us, the season starts with Halloween costumes & crafts, picks up food-intensity at Thanksgiving, rises on a huge wave of materialism and shared secret preparations at Christmas, and culminates at New Years with the Rose Bowl Parade, hot stew in the morning (especially if you were actually outside at that parade vs watching it on tv!), an afternoon of various other spectator sports... more munchies... and then several days to weeks of tidying up the house and garden, paying off the bills we ran up, and down from the calorie loads we also ran up!

I hope yours is as full of fun and family and friends as ours...
and the coming year brings you all much love and just enough adventure to help you appreciate it!

;>

Baldur

Turron (in the US I've only seen it as 'Turrone') is an Italian candy always seen at Christmas time,
It is a rather pale cream colored nugate studded with almonds, also sometimes bits of candied cherries.
The top and bottom is covered at times by a very thin crisp, almost brittle layer.
It can be sold in small precut, individually wrapped pieces but is often bought in a large flat rectanngular sheet sold in a decorative box, then you cut it up yourself.

Qsilv

(smiles) Thanks, Baldur! ...trust you to always know!

polenta

Turrone is probably the Italian word but I'm almost sure it's also Spanish. I personally don't like it very much (too sweet). Yes, probably lots of almonds or almond esence. What Baldur is right about is the incredibly thin and brittle layer on both tops. I think it's the same kind of dough that is given to the believers for Communion. Could it be the HOST?
It seems fireworks are not common in other areas. I wonder if you also wait for midnight to toast.

polenta

The tradition I'm going to tell you could be very well known and followed by many here but some Uruguayans don't even know it. I wonder if this comes from Europe or it is only regional.
Many people (I know women and not myself) buy something PINK for Christmas ,mostly underwear ,and put it on that day. Maybe it is a superstition.
Also, nobody has mentioned how important religion is in these traditions. Uruguay is a very secular country and most people don't think about Christmas as something religious but rather a family holiday. I wonder if other societies are more religious since after all, Christmas IS IN ITS ORIGINS AT LEAST a holy day.

Dragon

In Canada (and most of the US too I believe) we do stay up till midnight and toast and have fireworks on New Years Eve but I've never known anyone to have fireworks on Christmas Eve.

Having grown up in a non-religious family and not following any particular religion myself (I do believe in a higher power I simply don't follow an organized religion) Christmas has never been a religious hoilday for me but there are lots of people here who it is very sacred to. I suppose it comes down to your upbringing and personal beliefs.

polenta

thanks Dragon because nobody had written about the toast. We DO have fireworks for Christmas and New Year too. I was thinking about it and maybe it's because fireworks work better in summer than in winter but maybe it's only a tradition.
Any regional tradition or superstition?
I've heard that in some regions they eat twelve grapes for example. (we don't)

Login

Only twelve ... I eat the whole bunch!
Seriously though, Britain is a secular country and some celebrate it more religously than others. Personally, it has always been a time for getting together with the family and for exchanging gifts and communications with family and friends. Since most of us are better of than our parents ever were, the gifts have become larger and more expensive over the years. However, this year there was a trend towards the more modestly priced gifts ... less exotic and mainly consumables, all beautifully wrapped and equally appreciated.

Login

Oops! ... religiously ...

matthew

I spent Christmas eve in church... Being a lover of Christ, it baffles me that others celebrate Christmas without Christ... Wouldn't that be "Mas"???

New Years Eve = Sleep like every other day... I was never a big party person...

polenta

Matthew, I respect your religiousness. I was just depicting what I think is objective. I don't think even 5% of the Uruguayan population goes to church.
Login, your comment reminds me I have to buy grapes... but just to eat them. They are delicious, aren't they?