By Tayhana Taylor, World News Editor
Whether celebrating in the snow or on a warm tropical island, Christmas and New Year’s Day celebrations vary based on cultures.
In Germany, Christmas is celebrated throughout the entire month of December. Germans do several rituals and cultural traditions in preparation for the holiday season.
German Josef Hefele, a junior studying accounting and economics at Saint Leo University, shared that in his home Christmas is about celebrating Christ and enjoying family and friends.
“Everybody is decorating their houses, and each little town has a Christmas market that people typically enjoy going to with their friends,” said Hefele. “Each Sunday leading up to Dec. 24, we usually have a family dinner where we light up a candle of the Advent wreath.”
Photo Source: Josef Hefele
The traditional Advent wreath is a unique aspect of German holiday traditions because the wreath’s circular shape signifies the everlasting love of God, and the evergreen also represents a never-ending love.
“We celebrate Christmas Day by going to church, the cemetery, and then having a family dinner,” said Hefele. “After dinner, we sit together by the Christmas tree and open the presents while Christmas music plays in the background.”
As a way of acknowledging those who have passed away, Germans visit their loved ones’ graves.
“By going to the cemetery, we include and honor our ancestors,” said Hefele. “I value the holidays because I enjoy the quality time with my family, away from all the distractions.”
Off the West Coast of Africa in the Cape Verde Islands, Christmas is also a holiday where Christ is the center of many traditions.
“Christmas is a big deal in my country, and the Catholic religion is integrated into a lot of our holiday traditions,” said Alyssa Campos, a sophomore from the Cape Verde Islands majoring in biomedical health sciences at Saint Leo. “On Christmas Day, my family and I usually go to my grandparent’s house to have dinner and exchange gifts.”
On the Cape Verde Islands, it is very popular for fireworks shows to be held on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.
“On New Year’s, my family has a tradition of going to see the fireworks at the nearby beach. Afterward, the adults would go to parties, but that may be different next year because of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Campos.
Photo Source: Alyssa Campos
Unlike the Cape Verde Islands, in Jamaica, preparing for the Christmas holidays for most people involves purchasing seasonal food. For example, sorrel, which is used to make a traditional Christmas drink, blended fruits to bake black cake/fruit cake, and seasonal fruits like naseberry and June plum.
It is also typical for Jamaicans to buy new Christmas decorations, home decor items, and do a lot of home renovations during the holiday season.
“In preparation for the Christmas holiday, my family loves buying new household items; we typically change our bed linen, buy new curtains, and anything that has to do with improving our family home,” said Nicholae Robinson, a sophomore from Jamaica majoring in cybersecurity and pursuing a minor in mathematics at Saint Leo.
Photo source: Nicholae Robinson
Many of the Christmas traditions in Jamaica are similar to that of the British traditions because the country was once a colony of Britain until 1962.
Thus, for some Jamaicans, the celebration does not end on Christmas Day. On Dec. 26, a day called “Boxing Day” is celebrated nationally. This tradition stems from England during the Middle Ages where people would get rid of their empty boxes from the presents they received on Christmas Day.
Like in other countries, fireworks shows are very trendy in Jamaica as a way of celebrating the New Year. But as a way of thanking Christ for another year, some Jamaicans go to a church “Watch Night” on New Year’s Eve.
“On New Year’s Eve, my family and I normally go to church for the annual Watch Night Service,” said Robinson. “My family is very religious, so we believe that starting the year with God and ending the year with God is the best way to celebrate.”
Seanette Culmer, a junior from The Bahamas pursuing a double major in economics and accounting with a minor in finance, mentioned that in her country that Christmas is about celebrating Christ, good food, and partying.
“We have a lot of different Christmas concerts and plays that are held leading up to Christmas day,” said Culmer. “In my family, we have a tradition of making our own Christmas ornaments and this is one of my favorite ways to bond during the holidays.”
Similar to Jamaica and other Caribbean islands, in The Bahamas, Boxing Day is celebrated.
“After Christmas Day, we celebrate Boxing Day and, on that day, we have a costume festival called Junkanoo,” said Culmer.
Photo Source: Seanette Culmer
Junkanoo is a well-known tradition across many English-speaking Caribbean islands. It involves a street parade with music, dancing, and people dressed in costumes of mixed African origins.
Like Robinson, Culmer also mentioned that a Watch Night service is a Bahamian tradition.
“At our Watch Night service, we usually pray and do a big countdown to the New Year,” said Culmer. “We also eat food, and it is a tradition for johnnycake and chicken souse to be eaten on Watch Night.”
Regardless of how different cultures celebrate the winter holidays, the things that remain constant is that it is a season for celebrating with family and having a spirit of giving and receiving.
