The Christmas spirit and all it entails is impossible to miss in the streets of Switzerland. prisma has asked international students about the meaning of Christmas in their countries.
Katharina Sharrow Fletcher from England
Our Christmas commences with window decorations on the 1st of November – some say the shops are ahead of schedule, but the Christmas lights appearing two weeks later would disagree. I commend our Christmas culture for catering to every part of society by infecting the entire nation with advertisements and public Christmas carols. It is inescapable. The month of Christmas passes in a blur of dedicated support to capitalism (but who am I to deny my little sister her third pair of «Uggs»?). Christmas truly is a time of miracles when church attendance reaches its annual peak on the 24th. When questioning my mom on the necessity of this action, she explains it is «to be reminded of the true meaning of Christmas». We traditionally start the Christmas day with opening presents accompanied by Champagne, this is followed by Christmas lunch, which is washed down with wine and, if that weren’t enough, the entire pudding is doused in alcohol and set alight. Naturally, not wishing to forget our patriotic roots, the whole family gathers around the television with mince pies in time for the Queen’s Royal Message. The former colonies, I mean the Commonwealth (pardon my French) is also encouraged to watch. The celebration is concluded with full stomachs and empty bank accounts, but as we all know: happiness is expensive.
Ingrid Ottersland Uhre from Norway
The Norwegian population warms up during the freezing winter months, even though our country experiences winter from October to May. All of a sudden, everyone becomes extremely Christian. Everything revolves around family, whether you like them or not, and bringing life to old X-Mas traditions is the main goal. There is continuous baking, eating, cooking, cleaning and hosting get-togethers from November throughout December (come January, nearly every housewife is exhausted and suicidal). We have adapted a Swedish tradition, Sankt Lucia on Dec 13th, which is a celebration of light during the darkest time of the year – we basically walk around with lit candles on our heads, singing songs and eating «Lussekatter». Everyone becomes very keen on giving to the poor or reaching out to people in need. We splurge massively on Christmas presents, with the government’s contribution – November is «half-tax month». We only consume «pinnekjøtt» or «ribbe» and fish (of course) and tradition requires stuffing ourselves with «Pepperkaker» (dry cookies). While sitting around waiting for enough snow to fall so that we can go skiing, we drink unhealthy amounts of «Akvavitt» – making the Christmas spirit all the merrier! Walking around the Christmas tree is mandatory on Christmas Eve. We’re unable to wait until the morning of the 25th to open presents – this is done on the 24th!
Kerstin Ramirez from Mexico
Christmas in Mexico is a huge celebration. We start days (in my family even months) in advance and it lasts until February. «Pastorelas» are traditional theatre plays where shepherds head off to meet new born Jesus and get distracted by demons and helped by angels on their journey. This can be taken seriously, but my family performs it as a comedy: we use trending topics or insider jokes to make it as fun as possible (the demons can be «El Chapo» or «Donald Trump» and we’ll call an angel «Malala»). A huge family means enough actors but also capacity for a music and lights crew, cooks, viewers with all their friends. We’ll prepare as early as August for the show at the beginning of December – which is also when we’ll get out the tree and decorations. Between the 16th and the 24th families and friends gather at parties (Posadas) to eat, sing while holding candles and break piñatas. On the 24th we’ll gather at my grandma’s, drink «ponche» (hot, fruity beverage), to then sing and pass around the porcelain baby Jesus at midnight. Food follows, after which we’ll have a session of giving each other joke presents (I once got a bag of dog poo from one of my cousins) and finally open the real ones one by one (long process). The next day is called «recalentado», we all gather again to eat the leftovers. Our family, like the majority, has no Santa Claus but the three King Wizards instead – they bring presents on the 6th of January. This calls for yet another reunion, but that’s a whole other story. After mentioning all of this I’m starting to feel very nostalgic. I wish I could go back these holidays!
Adriane Razafindrafito from Madagascar
In Madagascar, Christmas celebrations revolve around religion and family. The majority of the Malagasy population are practicing Christians. Like most of the population with strong ties to their place of origin, we mostly go to church in the rural area where we’re from – it’s common to reunite with all of the family and the local community. This involves major preparations; people dress up and donate to churches. The participation of children during the mass is very important. We have large family reunions for Christmas with hundreds of people, as we take the time to see all our relatives and to give the elderly gifts, often money. Christmas takes place during the rainy season in Madagascar. Nevertheless, we still decorate our Christmas tree and hang up lights, however, there are no other winter decorations. The Western influence has led to a growing emphasis on giving children presents, as well as the establishment of cultural events, gospel concerts and all sorts of games (mostly for children) throughout the cities.
Ana Brito from Portugal
Christmas in Portugal is a really big thing! We are a country that is very appreciative of family – our lunches normally take all day (and sometimes even all weekend). A lot of preparation is put into making Christmas THE family day. Food – a very important part of our culture is crucial to this celebration. Grandmothers take the lead in the kitchen but everyone tries to contribute in some way, by bringing a dish or helping out. Traditional dishes include caldo verde (cabbage soup) or arroz doce (a dessert of sweet rice) amongst countless others. Kids get consumed decorating everything red and green. The giant Christmas tree and presents aren’t missing either. Next to lunches and dinners, a lot of Portuguese families go to church to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and communities get together to celebrate. Every family has its own tradition when it comes to handing out presents – sometimes Santa Claus (alias disguised family member) takes over. All in all, Christmas in Portugal is family.
Bilder: Livia Eichenberger