December is here and many people are starting to think about Christmas. In some places preparations for Christmas such as displays in shops and lights in the streets start as early as October! I am living in Spain at the moment, last year I spent Christmas in Finland and this year I will be spending Christmas with my family in the UK. It is very interesting to experience the different traditions in different countries during Christmas time.
In my family, we usually get up very early on Christmas day and open our presents. My mother likes French food, so we have a French style breakfast with bread, croissants and lots of different cheeses. Then we have fun with our new presents whilst preparing the roast dinner for the evening, which includes meat, roast vegetables and gravy. For dessert we have mince pies, Christmas pudding or a yule log. After dinner we finish Christmas day by playing fun games together.
Some people go to church at Christmas and I go on my own because I am the only Christian in my family. At church I celebrate with my friends and sing carols. Christingles are an old Christian tradition that children can make in some churches in England and Germany during Christmas. It starts with an orange which represents the world; then a red ribbon for the blood of Jesus, 4 cocktails sticks as the 4 seasons, sweets as God's gift to the world and finally a candle for Jesus as the light of the world.
Sometimes it can be difficult to remember the meaning of Christmas. Many of us think about how many presents we will get and if they will be better than last year. Some people think that if they have lots of expensive things then people will think they are very important and this makes them happy. However, not everybody can have lots of things, especially people in poor countries. A very important part of Christmas is giving presents and it can feel very good to give a special present to someone who really appreciates it. One nice thing to do is to send a small box of presents to children in poor countries who don’t normally get many presents. Find more information on this website: http://www.operationchristmaschild.org.uk/landing.asp. What is most important at Christmas is that your life is full of love and happiness shared with your family and friends.
Do you celebrate Christmas? If so, tell us how you spend your Christmas Day.
