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Show morning, the young group go about the town singing and telling everyone "it is Christmas!" Christ-mas!" This is followed by church, more celebrating and lota of eating. Akpan said he has a friend, a native of the U.S., who is attending the U of U. "He's trying to go to Nigeria again for Christmas, he likes it so much." Akpun said there are no Christmas trees in Nigeria. If there is any tradition similar to trees, he added, it would be the displaying of palm leaves on the porch area of the house. Presents are aiso hid until Christmas day t The most popular gilts among friends and family in the Netherlands, she explained, are the gifts that make fun of something about the person receiving the gift. She said poetry is often composed to go along with the gift, "which involves in-volves a bit more work," She said Dutch youth still look forward to Christmas very much and it is still their most favorite holiday. She said a delicate pastry treat called almond paste is the special Christmas food. Church bells ringing from every block on Christmas morning is something Ms. Van Groningen said she remembers about Christmas in Holland. Ms. Van Groningen said one special Christmas ahe rcmcmbers""maybc not a fond memory, but one I won't forget"-was forget"-was the Christmas of 1914 when her home country was occupied by Nazi Germany. She said her family attended a short ceremony in their favorite church, short because of the bitter cold in the unheated church. "We wore our wooden shoes stuffed with a bit of hay to keep warm," she remembered, "It was very sacred, We were brought closer because of the occupation. "There were no gifts, but the religious part was very important." "I ' U r ' ' The shafts represent strength and unity and the pine bows, life, Charlie explained. Woven rope over doorways is also a traditional good luck decoration at New Year's. Charlie said although only about 10 percent of the population of Japan are Christian, nearly all families in Japan have Christmas cake on Christmas Day. The cake he said, is similar to a birthday cake with Merry Christmas written on it. As it is not a national holiday, schools continue in session and work is not ceased on Christmas Day. A Christian, however, can generally get the day off to celebrate, the Garfields said. Christmas around the world: Differences, yet still the same rather than displayed out in the home. He said families try to eat a special food--"Not food that they would eat every day"--such as killing a cow. He also said yams and candy are plentiful at Christmastime. Children generally decorate themselves in native costumes. "Everyone sits at home here," Akpan explained. "In Nigeria, everybody's outside, like Independence In-dependence pay here. You can hardly rest. I really miss Nigerian Christmasses." Mexico A common thread that runs through all countrys' celebration of Crhistmas is the gathering of families. This is particularly evident in Mexico, Fernando Del Toro, a student at Evans Cosmetology College, said. "You always get together as a family," Del Toro said. "Cousins, grandparents, grand-parents, uncles and maybe some really close friends. It's a big party with lots to eat and drink." Del Toro said Christmas celebrations change in Mexico, depending on the family. Some celebrate by giving gifts on-December on-December 25th--"they teach their children that Santa. Claus brought them"--while other families exchange gifts on January 6th. Wise Wen Day-"they Day-"they teach their children that the wise men h6ught the gifts." Other families concentrate on the religious aspect of Christmas and use December 25th as day to remember that Jesus was born, Wealthy families might give gifts on both December 25 and January 6, Del Toro said. Del Toro also said Christmas traditions change within the country, the more northern north-ern villages being more Americanized. "It's just about the same, with trees and everything. But from Dec. 25 to 30 is one big party, they really go, not like here. There are dances and they drink a lot and really get excited." A tradition that is still prevelant in Mexico, Del Toro said is the displaying of the nativity scene in a prominent place in the home. Samoa, Saipan The family-get-together is an important part of Pacific Christmases, even though it is very Americanized, Doreen Jennings and PunipuaoLagai, 18 year old freshman SUSC students from Samoa reported. Juan Babauta, from Saipan, agrees. "On Christmas Eve at midnight, mid-night, everyone goes to church," Babauta said. "After that they start eating and the families gather at the grandparent's home. Everyone meets at a house and eats. There are parties all over." At 10:00 a.m. Christmas morning, Babauta said, children carry a manger scene from house to house singing carols. Christmas is a day that is really looked forward to in Saipan, he added, and all are fond of the celebration. "It is a day to forgive, a month of friendship, love and kindness. A day to make up and become friends again." A traditional Saipanese Christmas food is yam fried like a doughnut and dipped in honey. Christmas trees in Samoa are hard to come by, Doreen and Punipuao said. One of the first things they noticed about Christmas in Cedar City was the availability of trees for cutting. Most in Samoa have arti.fical trees, they said. Older people don't exchange gifts much in Samoa," they said, "mostly kids. Christmas is mostly a party time, a time for the whole family to eat a lot of food." Doreen said a memorable Christmas Eve for her was this past Christmas when she was singing in a choir. While holding a candle and singing carols, she accidently caught another girl's hair on fire. "Everyone thought I was hitting her with the book when I was tryi ig to put it out." England An English Christmas, although somewhat Americanized, still retains some of its own little homespun traditions and peculiarities, Margaret Edwards, Cedar City , said. She said some of her best memories of Christmas in her hometown of St. Helens, Lancashire, Lan-cashire, are those of food. "When I think of Christmas in England, I think of the smell of my mum's plum pudding. These were made weeks in advance and are stirred and stirred to perfection," per-fection," Mrs. Edwards said. "And just before the mixture is put into the oven, sixpenses are added. They bring good luck the coming year if you find one while eating." She also said goose, trifle, and tiny mince pies are also traditional holiday foods. Christmas crackers, a small gift, are also present around the Christmas table. Stockings are hung by the fireplace or on the bedpost by English children but Father Christmas fills them not Santa Claus, Mrs. Edwards said. At 2:00 p.m. on Christmas Day, the Queen's Annual Christmas Message is broadcast and all Britains worth their salt tune in their telly's, she added. All through the holidays, carolers go from house to house, singing for pennies. Mrs. Edwards said that both the 25th and the 26th are holidays in England, the latter being called Boxing Day, coming from past days when the wealthy would box up leftovers and give them to the poor. ' '-Wh ' t '-fc -j " V ill ,tiJ WANT SAMOA? Doreen Jennings and Punipuao Lagai, both from Samoa, say a Samoan Christmas is very much like local holidays, only minus the trees. Holland Similar to Christmas in Germany, Ger-many, Christmas in Holland "is not just a present-giving deal, it is a religious holiday," Alida Van Groningen, home management instructor at SUSC, said. "It's more of a religious-type day commemorating Jesus and I miss that part of it." She said both the 25th and 26th are holidays with the former being a day for church and the latter a day for family get togethers. Ms. Groningen said city streets in Holland are not decorative like they are in the United States, an aspect of Christmas she enjoys. Trees and decorating of the home are becoming more popular, she added. . "dependent on gifts" as it is in the U.S. He also said there is nothing to do here for Christmas, as compared to his native African country's celebration. "In Nigeria, everything goes on at Christmas," Akpan said. "On Christmas Eve, there is singing all night long. Everyone enjoys just visiting and eating. It is just different." Children and teenagers, Akpan said, often camp out at a central location on Christmas Eve. There is not much sleeping, Akpan Ak-pan said, and at about 5:30 in the Japan Christmas is only a small celebration, not even a national holiday in Japan, Charlie and Yoshiko Garfield reported. Yoshiko is a native of the Bud-dhist-domianted country and Charlie served an LDS mission and a military tour in Japan. "The stores do run Christmas specials, and there are some Crhstmas trees and Santa Clauses," the Garfields said, "But most of these things have come as a result of international trade, rather than tradition." The biggest celebrations in Japan, they added, are the Obon, a memorial day held in August and New Year's. The majority of parties held around Christmastime Christ-mastime are year-end or preparation for New Year parties the Garfields said. Yoshiko said she found the custom of decorating the outside of homes and streets different than her home country. She also said families with trees generally don't have a lot of presents under them, as they are reserved for New Year's. A traditional decoration in Japan, she added, is a good luck omen consisting of three bamboo shafts with pine bows at the bottom. MOKE RELIGIOUS. Alida Van Groningen, a native of Holland said she misses the strong religious emphasis put on Christmas in the Netherlands. . . MORE FUN. A Nigerian Christmas, according to Bassey Akpan, a native of the African country, is more exciting and has more activity than the average United States Christmas. Ry Jay Wanisley Christmas in other parts of the world is the same as in the United States, only different. Those with roots outside the United States agree that Christmas around the world carries with it common denominators, but certain aspects and feelings toward the holiday are different. Take Germany, for example. Ronald and Monica Early, Cedar City, said that Christmas is more "put on or made up" in the United States than it is in Germany, Ger-many, southern Germany, at least. Early lived in Germany for about six years while his wife is a native of Bavaria. "It's almost like a carnival heretoo commercialized-not like Christmas should be," Mrs. Early said. "Christmas is still very traditional in Germany." The Early's said the Christmas , tree is not put in the home until the day before Christmas in Bavaria and Christmas eve is often spent decorating the tree--? with homemade ornaments. Both the 25th and the 26th of December are holidays for the Germans. Gifts and presents are i opened on Christmas Eve, rather than the 25th, they said. Tradition dictates that the gifts on Christmas are brought by the Christkind, Mrs. Early said, rather than Santa Claus or St. Nick. "Three Kings Day is on the 6th of January," the Early's explained. ex-plained. "This day, the children dress as the three kings and go from door to door singing. The next day, the tree is taken down." Goose, duck and lebkuchen (a traditional German Christmas cookie) are favorite foods for the Christmas season, the Early's added.. Korea Christmas in Korea is very Western, Sung Young Hong, a student' at SUSC said. "It's almost identical with the West, with very little modification," he said. Sung said a campaign has been conducted in Korea for several years to bring Christmas back as a family-oriented holiday. He said for several years, the Koreans were too liberal in their treatment of Christmas and the holiday was more for self-gratification. self-gratification. The "Christmas Pf 1; V I; 1 v ' h MORE TRADITIONAL. Ronald and Monica Early, say Christmases in Germany are more traditional and not so "put on" as American I Christmases. i "Christkind (Christ child) was born on the 24th. That's the way it should be," Mrs. Early said. j "Why wait until mor-ning?" mor-ning?" The Christmas season starts in Germany with Advent, four Sundays before, the Early's said. The 6th of December is also a special day, called Nicolas Day. On this day, the children clean their best pair of shoes and put them by the front door for St. N'icholas to fill. If the children have been good, they may find some nuts or some fruit, if bad, a stick. , with the Family" campaign has had a good, positive effect, Sung said. The Koreans do have a traditional holiday food, a rice dish, he added. People often gather in a minister's home for carol singing, too. Nigeria A Nigerian Christmas, according to Bassey Akpan, former student at Cedar High and presently enrolled at SUSC, is not as 1 |
