It’s finally that time of the year where we all start putting out our Christmas tree, and start taking out our decorations, ornaments, pillows, stockings, candles, Elf on the Shelves, Santa hats, and the best part: the gifts!
The time where the weather starts getting colder and the streets are filled with lights put up from the roots of a tree to its tallest branch.
The time where the stores are filled with people to buy gifts for their families and friends to show them love. The ice rinks are filled with people. The time where people send letters to Santa and take pictures with him.
There are so many more things to do during this holiday, and what’s better than experiencing these nice memories with family and friends?
Here are some great ideas for the holiday…
Movies to watch
Movies are always great during Christmas time. Although they are mostly made romantically, they express a great message for people to learn about. Here are some Christmas movies created through the years…
Activities to do
There are so many nice and fun activities to do around the holidays, such as:
Putting up Christmas decorations with your friends and family, going ice skating, building gingerbread houses, baking cookies or cakes, watching Christmas movies, traveling around the world, and so much more.
Songs to listen to
There is no Christmas without songs to sing and to keep up the mood. Here are some examples of Christmas songs that have come out through the years…
Christmas is not only about the activities and its fun, there are also some important aspects of Christmas such as traditions. Everywhere around the world contains a tradition for a specific person, family, state, or even race. All of these traditions are beautiful and lovely to learn about. Here are a few…
What is Hanukkah?
Hanukkah is a Jewish festival celebrated from December 7th until December 15. Hanukkah is known as the “Festival of Lights.” During this holiday, people light up a candle each day with their friends and families and receive gifts.
This holiday is very important and religious for the Jewish. It represents their past and their accomplishments, through war and life.
Hispanic Tradition
Hispanic people have their different ways of celebrating Christmas here in America. Christmas is on the 25th of December and Christmas Eve is on the 24th of December. Hispanic people celebrate Christmas on the 24th; they meet up with friends and family members and have a party where they make food, listen to music, and pretty much just hang around.
Americans then go to sleep, and open their gifts in the morning the next day. Hispanic people stay up till 12 a.m. to open their gifts. 5-10 minutes before 12 a.m., they go outside their houses to give Santa some time to put the kids’ gifts underneath the tree. Then once it hits 12 a.m., everyone goes back to their house and opens the Christmas gifts. For religious people, they sing songs to honor Jesus’ birth as they open their gifts.
Hispanic people also celebrate a Catholic celebration called, “aguinaldos,” where they gather together with friends and family from December 15 until December 25 to sing their Christmas carols as they wait for the birth of Jesus. They jump from house to house each day to sing, pray, and eat foods together, as a representation that their house doors are open for Jesus.
Other Traditions
Learning about other traditions is a nice experience, especially if you are going to visit somewhere for Christmas.
In England, frigid polar bears plunge in cold waters on Christmas morning. In Ukraine, people hang up spiders on their Christmas tree made out of straws, beads, and wire. In Norway, people hide their brooms in the house on Christmas Eve to scare off evil spirits.
In Canada, people send letters to Santa, since his mailbox is over there. In Ukraine and Poland, they open their gift by guiding with the stars, where the youngest child has to watch the evening sky and wait for the first star to appear; that’s the signal to open their gift.
An important Swedish tradition is the Christmas “Donald Duck Special,” a TV show. In Venezuela, the people roller skate around the closed streets to go to church.
(All info from, “12 awesome Christmas traditions from around the world”)
Christmas is such a nice and gorgeous holiday to celebrate and to learn about. Make sure to enjoy this year’s Christmas with your loved one. Merry Christmas everyone!