Walking in a summer wonderland...

It is approaching Christmas and as I write this, I sit here in a tank top and shorts with sweat beads slowly dripping down my back. I never realized how hard it is to get into the Christmas spirit without cold weather, candy canes, stockings, gingerbread houses and endless Christmas music.

Brazilians believe in Santa Claus, or as they call him Papai Noel, but the Santa they believe in lives in Greenland, not the remote, unreachable location we Americans like to describe as the North Pole. It is strange seeing a man with a long beard, fur coat and hat decorating local ice cream shops here in Lins.



After forcing my classes to read and sing-a-long to my all time favorite Christmas songs, we got to discussing Christmas traditions. I learned that Brazilians don't hang stockings, leave cookies and milk out for Santa Claus or stand hopefully waiting for hours under mistletoe. This surprised me and made me curious about what other countries do to celebrate Christmas, so I did some research, and here are my findings...

In some Eastern European countries, there exists Santa's evil twin...a character named Krampus, who dresses in a devil-like costume and is believed to run around the town hitting children who have misbehaved with sticks.

In Spain, Portugal and Italy, it is a tradition to set up a model village of Bethlehem and along with Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus, a Caganer, or "shitter" is placed in the scene. The caganer is a figurine, traditionally of a man, in the act of defecating, pants around his knees, bending over with a pile of poop at his heels. He is usually placed in a corner, perhaps because he needs privacy.

In Germany, it is common to hide a pickle ornament in a hard-to-see spot in the Christmas tree. The child who finds the pickle on Christmas morning gets a special gift and good luck the following year.

For many Japanese, traditional Christmas dinner is Kentucky Fried Chicken. It is so popular and well marketed that reservations may have to be made to eat at a KFC on Christmas in Japan.

On the morning of Christmas day, people in Portugal have a traditional feast called a consoda. What makes this different is the fact that extra places are set and food is offered to relatives that have passed away.

In the Czech Republic, single women go out on Christmas Eve day and toss shoes. With their backs to the door, they throw one of their shoes over their shoulder. If the shoe lands with the heel facing the door, she’ll find herself single for another year. If the shoe lands with the toe facing the door, it means she should start making wedding plans.

In Caracas, Venezuela, people roller-skate to mass on Christmas Eve morning. The streets are blocked off to traffic until 8 am and children, the night before, tie one end of a piece of string to their big toes and hang the other end out the window. As roller skaters go by the next morning, they give a tug to all the strings hanging out the windows.

Interesting...