It may happen that this type of weird thought has never drive you mad before. We all know what Christmas is all about but we hardly take note of the thing that Christmas is not same for all. One can try to spell out "Merry Christmas" in various languages and even he succeeds he will rarely keep in mind that the spirit changes from one language to another.
If we say "Fröhliche Weihnachten", we should then think about evergreen wreaths with four red candles hung in the home, cookies on the Christmas tree, lights, ornaments and tinkles... Cookies are in the shapes of people, animals, hearts or stars. Children write to St.Nicholas telling what they want to get as gifts. They believe gifts are brought by Christ child called "Christkindl". The Christmas treat includes roast goose or duck and also "marzipan" candy, cookies or gingerbread with tiny decorations on it. Children love to play with dice and the rule of the game is highly peculiar. One who throws a double puts on a hat, scarf, and gloves and then tries to open a chocolate bar out of the wrapper. It's the German's Christmas! They light up candles on every Sunday before Christmas.
One can taste a different flavor of Christmas when it comes to celebrate the occasion in France. One has to say "Joyeux Noel" instead of "Merry Christmas. It's a fun time for children as they get holidays and New Year is for the adults. The family sets up crèches with Mary, Joseph, shepherds, angels, and the farm animals. Three Wise men are added to the crèche on 6th January, the Epiphany. Children in this case get the gifts from "Pere Noel". Their favorite Christmas dish is stuffed goose with special French dessert in the shape of a Yule log.
Just wish the Italians "Buon Natale" with a smile on your face. It's a religious time for them. They love to sing and dance and generally set up "Presipio" in their homes. The fun goes for three weeks .It is not Christmas but "Novena" for them. The Italian children go from house to house reciting Christmas poems and singing. But one thing is common in every Christmas celebrations. Children wait for their gifts till Epiphany.
On Christmas Eve as the stars come out they light up tiny oil lamps in their houses. They shake their bodies in the tunes of music on the streets and dance with the merrymakers and onlookers after the Midnight Mass and Christmas Dinner. The special Christian dance is "Jota". The most striking part of the celebration is to honor the cow which breathed on Jesus in the stable at his birth time to keep him warm. Officially the Christmas celebration begins on 8th December. They have given a special name to Christmas Eve, "Nochebuena". The traditional Christmas treat is "turron", the almond candy. People exchange presents in the church and they take part in the swing game. They believe that swinging at this auspicious moment evokes an ancient desire to encourage the sun to "swing" ever higher in the sky. This is a short account of "Feliz Navidad" of Spain.
Customs change with the change in the cultural scenario. So, Christmas has many colors and shades as it is celebrated by muti lingual and multi cultural people around the world. But on the whole the spirit remains the same though the customs may differ.
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