International Customs

Philippines

In our country when Christmas is fast approaching, we hang a Christmas lantern, called a “*parol”. In my house, we hung it on the top of the door.
We attend the dawn Mass at 4am (*Misa de Gallo). This Mass is a novena that starts nine days before Christmas. The children are quite busy caroling on the streets during this time. On Christmas Eve, there are plenty of foods and desserts that we have prepared for *Noche Buena. We see a lot of fireworks and we attend Mass on Christmas day. Our hearts are full of joy!

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Marilyn Langley 
Parishioner


Spain & Latin America

Día de Los Santos Inocentes (Day of the Holy Innocents), although a grave event in the gospel of Matthew, is a day of joking in Spain and many Latin American countries, similar to April Fool’s Day in the United States. Depending on the country, the connection to the Feast Day can be to trick an “innocent” person – or that the “joke” was on King Herod because Baby Jesus was no longer in Bethlehem.


France

To celebrate Epiphany, the French enjoy a *Galette des Rois, or a king’s cake. A special sweet cake is baked with a fève, which is an edible bean that serves as a charm or prize, in the mix.  The round cake is cut into equal parts and the person who gets the slice containing the fève is crowned the king or queen for the day. What started as a religious tradition to commemorate the arrival of the Magi has become a custom that is celebrated nationwide.

Czechoslovakia

My Grandmother, Mary, immigrated to America from Czechoslovakia when she was four years old, along with my Great-Grandmother. They were from what is now the country of Slovakia and were Eastern Catholic. Grandma Mary and my Grandfather belonged to the Slovak Catholic Church, one of many Eastern rites that make up our one Catholic Church. Many of the traditions she brought with her from the old country were present each Christmas Eve when our entire family gathered at her house to celebrate. This included more than anything, the food: fried fish (the scent of which clung to our clothes for Christmas Eve Mass); a sour mushroom soup; baked yams with brown sugar; and Russian tea cookies.

But what I remember most of all is the oblatky (pronounced O-blaht-kee). It is a Christmas wafer very similar to the host we receive in Mass, though it is rectangular in shape. The tradition of the *oblatky is specific to Christmas Eve. Each person is given a wafer at the beginning of the meal and breaks it into several pieces, after which a piece is given to every other person at the table. What is given away to each person returns to you, when every other person gives you a piece. When the breaking and giving of the oblatky was complete, I could look at my plate and know with certainty that each person at that table loved me, and likewise they knew that I loved them. Any wrongs committed and any unkind words spoken in the year were gone and forgiven. My Grandmother always gave us the oblatky with a little bit of honey, which made this loving tradition even sweeter. I am sad to say that my Grandmother and so many others from those Christmas Eve meals are now gone.

But this beautiful tradition that began in the old world and arrived here, I have now introduced recently to our Christmas Eve celebrations. I pray and hope you will adopt this beautiful tradition as well. Merry Christmas!

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Mike Gadzus
Parishioner


Ireland

The ancient Irish tradition of placing a candle in the window on Christmas Eve recalls when Joseph and Mary could find no shelter. The candle was lit as a symbol of hospitality and as a way to welcome them.  Later when it was illegal and dangerous to practice Catholicism in Ireland, the candles became a signal to let traveling priests know that they were welcome and safe in those homes.
(See also the *Candles section in this book)

India

Christmas is the season of love, joy, hope, and happiness. It is also the time of celebration, which brings extreme happiness to everyone. Christians and non-Christians alike enjoy being part of this festive season around the world.
Christmas celebrations vary in different parts of the world. Not only is it a time to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, it is also a time to better connect with families, friends, and local communities. This is where I have noticed differences. Regardless of our individual faith and beliefs, many other Christians denominations and even non-Christians around the world join Catholics in our Christmas celebrations and traditions.

In India, each state in the country celebrates Christmas differently, but the message would be the same: “Peace on Earth”. In South India, in the state of Kerala, Christmas is an important festival. Traditional Catholics fast from December 1 to December 24. Every house will be decorated with a Christmas star (sometimes even more). Almost all the shops would be filled with a variety of new Christmas stars. The streets and shopping malls decorate their places with Christmas trees light bulbs, LED lights, and colored paper. This happens as much as one month before the Christmas celebrations. People make cribs in their homes and churches. Churches and teams organize carol singing nights, with carol groups roaming around the locality and visiting local houses to sing songs of the birth of Jesus.

Christmas Mass has been at the heart of the celebration of Christmas. All the prominent churches across Kerala organize Midnight Mass, a depiction of Jesus Christ’s birth scene, and Christmas carol singing, as well as among many other things. The whole family will walk to Mass, and this will be followed by a massive feast of different delicacies and the giving and receiving of presents. However, the house celebrations are more private, and celebrations start from Christmas Eve and continue until Midnight Mass. The traditional Christmas dinner of Kerala is a grand feast. The most important thing is the Christmas cake. It is a delectable *plum cake which is made of dry fruits soaked in wine for over 40 days. Most of the households prepare this special cake loaded with dry fruits and the sweetness of this festive season. Many households also prepare homemade wine. The tradition is to cut the plum cake after Midnight Mass and drink the homemade wine. Keralites also distribute dishes and best wishes among neighbors and friends.

Christmas Friend is a secret gift exchange activity that is a part of holiday and Christmas office parties in India. A few days or a week before the holiday party, employees are assigned a name to buy a gift for. All participants come to the party holding their Christmas friend gift. Gifts are handed out one-by-one in front of the group. The gift exchange continues until everyone has their gift. Sometime later, the gifts are opened in informal settings.

Truly a festival of happiness and unity, Christmas is one time of the year that we all look forward to celebrating with our loved ones. As the festival blends both religious fervor and spirit of community living, people love to immerse themselves in prayers which are followed by feast.

*Click the link for more info

Seema Paul
Parishioner


Germany

Sternsingers, or star singers, take Christmas caroling in Germany to a whole new level. The annual event in its current form dates to 1959 and is a major fundraising event sponsored by the Catholic Church and Catholic youth groups. On the feast of Epiphany, thousands of children, dressed as the magi and carrying stars on a rod, will go door-to-door singing Christmas carols, chalking houses with an Epiphany blessing (see the Epiphany section in this book), and collecting donations for children’s charities. In 2016, Sternsingers collected approximately $50 million USD for children in Bolivia, the poorest country in South America.


Lebanon

Lebanon, that beautiful country on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, holds within so many Christmas joys and happiness, and family gatherings. It is the Land of Saints, where all what we do is adore our beloved Jesus Christ in any way we can – and you can see that when you land in Lebanon – in all Christian Cities, you will see huge monuments that express our love to Jesus Christ and His Mother, The Virgin Mary.

In Lebanon, 35% of the population are Christian Maronite Catholic. We build manger scenes in our homes called a Nativity Crib. The crib is more popular than the Christmas Tree! It is traditional for the scene to be based around a cave rather than a stable. It is often decorated with sprouted seeds such as chickpeas, broad-beans, lentils, oats, and wheat that have been grown on damp cotton wool on December 4, which is Saint Barbara Day. The crib scene then becomes a focus for the prayer of people in the house. Another common tradition is going to the midnight Mass service. You will find so many people attending that Mass, and neighbors meet each other and celebrate Christmas by saying “Christ is Born, Hallelujah!”

In the capital city, Beirut, big and glamorous Christmas parties are held in major hotels and lots of people like going to them, even if they are not Christian. Western-style commercial displays of poinsettias, Christmas lights, holly, and community Christmas trees are also becoming more popular, although some people do not like them as they think they are too commercial.

Some feast with dinner on December 24 and some feast with lunch on December 25, gathered with their beloved family members. There is the preparation for Christmas, which all comes ahead by attending Mass services and by Adoration. Most churches build the Nativity crèche and express joy and happiness in welcoming Baby Jesus.

In recent years,  Lebanon was competing worldwide in building the biggest and best design of Giant Christmas Trees. The 97-foot-high Christmas tree at the entrance to Byblos, Lebanon (north of Beirut) is covered with 2,500 gold-colored iron leaves!

Romeo El Chaer
Parishioner