Show Holiday Celebrations Reflect Customs from Far and Near Celebrating the happy holiday of Christmas Is an almost universal and many of the traditions belonging to the day are Gift gaily decorated trees and brightly glowing lights are holiday habits that have found their way to almost every corner of the Along with the similarities in the way people observe Christmas go just as many From country to from city to from family to holiday customs sometimes just enough to show the touch of individual and sometimes so greatly that it seems hard to believe the same day is being Gift Giving I It's traditional to receive gifts during the Yuletide but the time is not always December and the gift-giver is not always One of the earliest Christmas giving times takes place in the according to the Book of the children receive their gifts from St. Nicholas on December The appropriately is called St. Nicholas in honor of the real St. a fourth century Christmas gift giving in Italy romes on January which is known as Epiphany The traditional gift giver is Legend says that misdirected the wise and now she seeks to atone by ing about the world doing good In Scandinavian gifts are given on St. Lucy's December The time for gift giving in Puerto Rico and Spain is January the day the wise men came to In Germany From Christmas trees to Christmas many Christmas customs now universally observed came first from In the medieval town of the highlight of the Christmas season is the or Christ Child's The or Christ Is the gift and the culmination of the on Christmas is a visit by the Christ Kind to the balcony of the historic the Days of group caroling by the children precede this Continued On Next Pago Fun and Feasting A hearty feast is traditional at but the ingredients are not always the Norwegians might instead of turkey and codfish and pickled while baked carp is a favored Christmas delicacy in Christmas dining customs change with History describes a Christmas feast of seventeenth century a feast that would be considered somewhat unusual Before each diner at the feast was placed a bowl of or polished bass-wood and a spoon of The diners supplied their own and there were no Into the bowl went first the appetizers cornbread and a boiled mixture of salmon and The soup course was a rich meat thickened with Vegetables included peas and baked The main course featured roast venison and squirrel with baked wild owls all served Dessert consisted of cakes of maple sugar or sunflower seeds and topped with a sauce of boiled dried |