Around the world Christmas is celebrated with unique local culture and traditions. Whether you choose to celebrate Pere Noel in France or be part of the Sheng Dan Jieh in China, we invite you to learn more about this worldwide celebration.
Christmas in Australia
It is summer in Australia during the Christmas season and hence many of the country's festivities take place outdoors. The most popular event of the Christmas season is called Carols by Candlelight. People come together at night to light candles and sing Christmas carols outside.
Christmas in China
China may not be primarily a Christian country, but that does does not dampen the Christmas spirit for those who celebrate Sheng Dan Jieh, which means Holy Birth Festival. People decorate their homes with evergreens, posters, and bright paper chains. Families put up a Christmas tree, called a "tree of light," and decorate it with beautiful lanterns, flowers, and red paper chains that symbolize happiness.
Christmas in France
Christmas celebrations in France don't wait till December 25th but actually begin on December 5, known as St. Nicholas Eve. However, the grandest celebration is on Christmas Eve when families go to church and then enjoy an abundant feast of wonderful dishes, ending with the traditional Buche de Noel. Church bells ring and voices sing French carols, called noels. Little children anxiously await the arrival of Pere Noel, rather than Santa Claus!
Christmas in Denmark
In Denmark, Christmas Eve is called Juleaften and is the biggest occasion of the year. Parties go on all night, with traditional prune-stuffed roast goose, red cabbage, fried pastries, and cinnamon-laced rice pudding called Grod, a special rice pudding in which a single almond is hidden. Whoever finds the almond will have good luck for the coming year. Christmas in Denmark is supposed to be when a mischievous elf called Nisse has his fun. The Christmas elves called Julenisse are appeased with rice pudding, and dishes of seeds are placed outdoors for wild birds.
Christmas in Netherlands
For most children in Netherlands, the most important day during the Christmas Celebrations is 5th December, when Sinterklass brings them their presents. St. Nicholas' Day is on the 6th of December, but in Netherlands, the major celebrations are held on the 5th of December. The name Santa Claus comes from the name Sinterklass. Families celebrate St. Nicholas Eve at home with lots of good food, hot chocolate, and a letterbanket, a "letter cake" made in the shape of the first letter of the family's last name.




