Speaker: Carol Anderson and Rushton Hurley
Our own Carol Anderson assembled the information from some online research (a favorite mode of eClubbers, of course) of Christmas celebrations around the world, and I (Rushton) found some more to add for this year. Perhaps we can refine this program each year by adding what you provide (in the comments after the meeting) - our own little holiday program tradition!
AndersonCelebrationsofChristmas.pdf
This week comments: 106, this week visitors: 46
Enjoy the meeting content and convenience. Continues success with your club.
In Japan stores celebrate Christmas to sell more. Japanese sometimes exchange gifts, often in groups of friends but do not celebrate Christmas by putting "greens" on their house. That is for the New Year Celebration. Below it says "shinnen omeditou" but that means Happy New Year and is celebrated by going to the local temple or staying home, eating a variety of special foods and watching variety shows on TV. Before the new year strikes they say "yoi otoshi wo omukai kudasai" (hoping you enter a good year). When the New Year strikes that phrase changes to "akemashite omeditougozaimasu" (congratulations on the openingãThen I and every other executive in Japan would spend the next week visiting valued customers giving that greeting and asking them for "extended favors" for this next year.
In Thailand what you see below as "Sawadee Pee Mai" means Happy New Year. They do not celebrate Christmas. And the new year really comes in April (around the 13th) at the birth of who we call "Buddha" (Shakyamuni). But the nice thing about Thailand is that Thai people are so fun loving that they will celebrate anything and anyone's holiday. So, in tourist towns and for fun in big Cities you will see a lot of people celebrating the Western new Year. They will also celebrate their new year. In addition to that most Thai will also celebrate the Lunar (Chinese) New Year, often in February but changes depending on the moon cycle.
Bill Smale
This was FUN...learning about how all the different countries celebrate Christmas! Just loved it! Thank you!
After spending Christmas week in San Felipe, Baja, Mexico a few years ago, we started a new tradition in our family of having tamales at Christmas. (This is a tradition in many parts of Mexico). A friend from Mexico City taught us how to make them from scratch - we made more than 100 tamales that day; it took us 12 hours! Since then I have found a local tamale chef who makes really good ones. They're well worth the price.
I think this is so interesting.
Another program that showcases the diversity of this e-club! In Congo, Christmas is recognized but the big celebration is New Year's. The children usually get a new set of clothes, which gets them pretty excited. The kids from my church (where I was a missionary) would come by my house en masse around 10:00 a.m. on 1 January to be admired. I would tormet them by pretending not to know who they were, until one of them identified the church. Then they would line up and come by one-by-one for inspection and compliments. One salutation on that day would be "Meilleurs voeux pour la bonne annee" (Best wishes for New Year).
Very festive program! A minor translation correction for the Hebrew. "Shanah Tovah" means wishing someone a "A good year."
Great joke!!
I am suprised at how many other Countries celebrate the birth of Christ.
Very interesting on how the festivity is carried on all over the world during Christmas time.
Indian Festivals like Holi and Diwali are very colorful and maybe Vimal can shed some light on them as and when they come.
In our family, we are not religious. But we always have a tree and exchange our gifts on Christmas morning and hang stockings. There are four dogs in our family (my two goldens and my daughter's two) and two cats, and we actually buy gifts for all the animals, too.
How interesting to learn about the Christmas season in other countries. I did cringe a bit, however, at Sweden's custom of having the youngest daughter wear a wreath with lighted candles!
Well done Carol & Rushton on all the research on themany ways Christmas is celebrated around the world.
I found it very informative about the relationship with your fellow e-members locally and around the world.
It was really interesting to read of the many different ways Christmas is celebrated around the world. I noted that in some of the European countries, Santa Clause, by whatever name, arrives on 6 December. In Colorado Springs, the NORAD missile tracking center has been "tracking" Santa's journey every Chrismas eve, displaying the trail on their Internet site. I'm not sure they knew of his arrival in Europe on 6 December.
Here in Brazil, the city of Gramado has such an elaborate celebration, with light shows, musical shows, and many others, that they draw visitors from all over Brazil and neighboring countries. Nova Petropolis, where I live, has had 2 or 3 Christmas shows every week since the middle of November, with traditional carols sung in German, English, and Portuguese. Except for the temperature, I seems almost like back in the USA.
Feliz Natal e Próspero Ano Novo
Interesting to read about the customs and celebrations of Xhristmas throughout the world.
A lot of wonderful information. Truly appreciate all of your effort in putting this together.
A good blend of humuor
Not a widespread thing, but my family has breakfast tacos Christmas morning. Seriously yummy stuff.
I loved the Great Truths About Growing Old and particularly loved the story about the Bagpiper and the funeral.
very informative, enjoyed the video and humor
This was great. I even watched the video. Rotary is an awesome way to meet new friends and work together on service projects. Thanks for your e-club!
It is interesting to read about the tradition as practiced throughout the world.
Last Friday I could not attend my La Quinta, CA Rotary meeting as my wife and I went to Disneyland wiith our grandchildren to celebrate our daugher, Chris. She died Nov. 13 at age 48 and she had 2 favorite places to go on earth. Church and Disneyland. Thanks for being available.
I enjoyed it Very Much. It makes it very easy to keep up when on the road traveling
Really enjoyed the experience...THANK YOU...It will become a make-up situation for me as I am still working and do not have a lot of spare time to get out to other local clubs! This is just perfect and has opened a whole new 'internet world' of ROTARY for me! / Thanks again / Wayne McCune
Great program and will share some of the thoughts with friends at Christmas. Thanks again
Wow! Ya'll really did some research. I got so hungry with your description of all the foods. Thanks for all your hard workl
thsi is my first eclub meeting. I think it went well. I will be back
thanks
blaine
Gledileg Jol to all!
Great meeting, very informative about Christmas and how many countries celebrate and how they celebrate
Excellent- I've never seen all these tradidtions in once place before!
Very interesting! I love finding out about different Christmas traditions around the world. In the spirit of Rotary's diverse religious backgrounds, I might suggest including information on other winter holidays celebrated as well, such as Hannukah, Rammadan, Kwanzaa, and the Winter Solstice. The picture of the kitties with santa hats is adorable!
The story about the bag piper was outstanding.
What is interesting for me about this time of year is that it is the time "that it is better to give than receive" and the older that I get (with less tomorrows than yesterdays) I find that I give my grandchildren and my children what I have learned about living and enjoying each moment of that life. It can be given in stories of the past (with a 'head fake' where the story is just the cover for some underlying lesson), or written journals passed on, or small gestures of love. Rotary is a time for giving all year long, and just maybe we take the end of the year to sum up our giving and pass it on to others. That is the real lesson for this time of year, a time of giving. That is what I will carry as my unwrapped presents to hold close and give extensively. Merry Giving Time and a Happy New Year where we pile up more GIVING.
Christmas is the beginning of planning a new year, a year where creativity and innovation are the gifts that are cherished. For the next seven days, some of us will work with our children and grandchildren on making something new and personal. The first few days of the new year will be spent at the beach, enjoying the company of those we love, our extended family. For Chrismas' feast, we plan to not eat too much but to enjoy the company of those we love.
