One of our first two English-language articles in KT* magazine: for the Christmas issue 2019 we asked five students from all over the world how they spend Christmas. You can read their answers here.
by Alex Kreuzer
Studying:
Not studying, but lives in Karlsruhe
Hometown:
Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India
Who is coming on Christmas?
The Christ Child
When do you celebrate Christmas?
25th December
How do you celebrate Christmas in Germany?
I usually visit friends or travel to another city or country during the Christmas holidays. Each year I spend this time differently without having any consistent plan. If I stay in Karlsruhe, I meet my friends and we cook, eat and hang out together. Otherwise Karlsruhe is a lonely place without my family during this time of the year.
What do you eat for Christmas?
We generally prepare some special vegetarian food and desserts on this occasion. Christians in my state prepare the meals differently. They generally eat meat, bake cakes and drink wine. Moreover, we have more time to cook and for example watch a movie together.
How do you remember Christmas from your home country in India? Has anything changed over the time regarding to traditions or customs?
My family follows Hinduism and we generally do not celebrate Christmas. Nevertheless, the largest number of Christians in India live in my state. Therefore, you get to see a lot of interesting aspects of Christmas, for example Christmas tree, church masses and even Christmas decoration competitions (Christmas tree, cribs, etc.), much like their European counterparts.
The other traditions I can also remember are singing carols, hanging a toy star with a light in front of your home (which people do during Christmas regardless of their religion or beliefs) or burning firecrackers. Moreover, India is being a country which produces the most movies in the world. There are generally several new movies that are released on Christmas. So, going to a cinema with the family during this time is nothing unusual.
Studying:
Electrical Engineering, 2nd semester of Master’s
Hometown:
Foshan (佛山), Peoples Republic of China
Who is coming on Christmas?
Santa Claus
When do you celebrate Christmas?
24th December
What does Christmas mean to you personally? How do you celebrate Christmas with your family?
In Germany, it‘s just a public holiday where I don‘t need to learn too much. In China it is not a public holiday, so we do not celebrate it at home.
Is there still some tradition on Christmas?
In fact, when I was a child, I thought Santa Claus would really bring me a present. That‘s why my parents always said to me that I should behave much better than usual and not be cheeky. When I had stayed compliant in those days, my parents played the role of Santa Claus and gave me a gift. This tradition ended when I turned twelve years old.
How do you spend your time during Christmas?
When I was still living in China, my friends and I used to say only „Merry Christmas“ to each other on Christmas Eve. We sometimes met friends and gave each other a little something. But mostly it was just a normal day like any other.
After I arrived in Germany, I spent most of the Christmas holidays with my girlfriend. We usually stay at home or go for a walk outside to recover from our studies. Sometimes we take a short holiday together over Christmas.
Do you have another holiday in China that is similar to Christmas?
We celebrate the spring festival, which is most similar to Christmas. It comes from the lunar calendar and it is celebrated usually between January and February. The first similarity is that the Spring Festival is the most important festival for Chinese people of the year, as well as Christmas for most Germans. Secondly, some traditions are similar. For the spring festival, the whole family comes together to celebrate. In addition, the dinner on this day is an important event. You have to invest 200 percent of all your strength to eat the whole meal. Finally, traditional gifts are given to the children. Parents or relatives give their children presents in a red envelope called „Hong Bao“. This is an important tradition throughout China.
Studying:
Mechanical Engineering, 4th semester of Master’s
Hometown:
Pale, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Who is coming on Christmas?
St. Nicolas is coming on 19th of December
When do you celebrate Christmas?
Christmas is on 7th January*
How do you celebrate Christmas with your family and which traditions/rules do you have at home?
At home we all gather for the huge breakfast on Christmas morning, where we start with a small glass of schnapps as an appetizer. Before the big breakfast, people usually go to church. After the breakfast, it is family visiting time; either we host someone or we go somewhere.
What do you eat for Christmas?
Many different kinds of meat (baked, dried, stuffed), cheese of all kinds, various salads, cabbage rolls with meat inside, different cakes and cookies, dried fruits, etc.
What traditions are there in your home country for Christmas?
There is one interesting tradition on Christmas Eve: Every year there is a huge bonfire in front of the church, where almost the whole city gathers around and enjoys the warmth caused partially from the fire and partially from mulled wine.
* THE JULIAN AND THE GREGORIAN CALENDAR
Since most Christians in Bosnia and Herzegovina are orthodox Christians, they follow the Julian calendar regarding the religious dates. Therefore, Christmas is at a different date compared to Germany, since Catholics and Protestants follow the Gregorian calendar.
Studying:
Industrial Engineering and Management, 2nd semester of Bachelor’s
Hometown:
Mexico City, but her parents live in Montreal, Canada
Who is coming on Christmas?
Santa Claus
When do you celebrate Christmas?
25th December in the morning
What does Christmas mean to you personally?
For me, Christmas is a very important time of the year and one that I enjoy tremendously. It’s my favorite holiday not only because it has a “cozy atmosphere” when you think about the Christmas tree, the warmth created by the fireplace and the smell of freshly baked cookies. More than that, Christmas is a holiday that brings the family together, no matter what the circumstances are, and lets the family and close relatives spend one moment together.
How do you celebrate Christmas in Germany?
Since my family lives in Canada and I can‘t fly back every year, I usually spend it with the family I used to live with when I spent a year in Germany during the 9th grade in High School. They always give me a warm welcome and make me feel like home. Since it’s a German-Colombian family, it’s interesting to be part of a blend of both Christmas traditions. For instance, we read a German Christmas story before opening the presents and then sing a typical Colombian Christmas song while playing with “kitchen instruments” in a big group.
How do you celebrate Christmas with your family in your home country?
At home in Montreal, on 23rd December, each family member prepares one part of the Christmas meal. We usually eat Bacalao (a fish dish that’s very typically eaten for Christmas in Mexico), Mexican apple salad, turkey, or another meat dish to blend in the Canadian Christmas traditions. We drink wine and Atole. On 24th we first celebrate my brother’s birthday and like to spend the day building a snowman, playing board games or going sledding to enjoy the snow. In the evening, we dress up for the dinner. After that, we light up the fireplace, listen to Christmas songs and open the presents. If we are not too tired yet, we sing together or play a board game.
What traditions are there in your home country for Christmas? Has anything changed in the traditions over time?
The time before Christmas we celebrate “Posada”, which means “hostel” in English. This is a representation of how Virgin Mary and Joseph walked from home to home looking for shelter on Christmas Eve. Thus, in Mexico, we go from door to door singing “posada-songs” and when we get back to a friend‘s home, the house where one starts from, we hit the star-shaped piñata. That represents the star of Bethlehem. Sadly, this tradition is dying out, as many people don’t like to go from door to door or are too scared to do so, due to the insecurity in Mexico.
Studying:
Wissenschaft-Medien-Kommunikation (Science Communication),
6th semester of Bachelor’s
Hometown:
Zary, Poland
Who is coming on Christmas?
Santa Claus
When do you celebrate Christmas?
24th December
What does Christmas mean to you personally?
The meaning of Christmas has changed with age and I think it is something natural. I have always perceived Christmas as family time, but as a child also as a present time. Nowadays Christmas has a more spiritual meaning to me and I am of course still happy about presents, but they are not so important. Christmas atmosphere induces to fall into a reverie – so I make an annual examination of conscience and think about needed changes in my life. This is something like to get another chance that you can use to fix your old mistakes.
How do you celebrate Christmas with your Family?
Before Christmas Eve on 24th December we decorate the house and cook traditional dishes. So, you can smell the pine needles of the Christmas trees and the aroma from the kitchen. On Christmas Eve we wait until the first star appears on the sky. This is not easy because we get hungry and the aroma from the kitchen is very appealing. About six p.m. we sit together at the table. The Christmas Eve supper begins with a prayer and we share a special wafer when exchanging Christmas greetings and ends with presents. We also visit our family after supper and we go to church if we are not too tired because the mass is quite late.
What do you eat for Christmas and what are the traditions at home?
We always try to prepare 12 dishes like Pierogi, mushroom or pea soup, beet soup, Krokiety, dishes with fish and some cakes like Makowiec*. So, it is a lot of food… We put an extra plate for a lonely and/or poor person that could suddenly knock at the door. We start dinner with soups and at the end we eat heavy dishes like pierogi. As a tradition, we put a coin in one of pierogi. Also, we sometimes put hay under the table. We share the wafer and sing or listen to Polish Christmas carols. Children that were not polite enough get a „rózga”* instead of a gift.
* PIEROGI, KROKIETY, MAKOWIEC
Three traditional Polish dishes.
Pierogi: dumplings with sauerkraut and mushrooms
Krokiety: fried food rolls containing usually sauerkraut and mushrooms
Makowiec: one of Poland´s most popular cakes. It is a strudel-like, yeast poppy seed cake with honey, raisins and walnuts.
* THE TRADITION OF RÓZGA
Rózga is a bunch of leafless twigs, that is given impolite children instead of Christmas presents.
Herausgeber
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Foto: Anika BayerSpuren der Großmutter aus dem Zweiten Weltkrieg
