United Kingdom

While Protestantism is still a relatively young outgrowth of the Catholic faith (if you consider 500 years “young”), many Protestant holiday customs were adapted from older Catholic traditions.

Take, for instance, the holly wreath, celebrated since the very earliest days of Christianity. With its deep green leaves and blazing red berries, it is the U.K.’s most familiar native evergreen. Its colors represent Moses and the burning bush, as well as symbolizing God’s blazing love for the Virgin Mary. The leaves’ sharp tip and the berries’ red blood recall that Christ’s head bled from the crown of thorns. 

During the Christmas season, the holly bough reminds us of our need for a savior, and often adorns the homes of British Catholics.

In Ireland, families place candles in their homes’ windows, which is meant to show Our Lady and St. Joseph that there is room for them within. These candles also offer a sign of welcome and hospitality for anyone passing by.

And in Scotland, the tide of Protestant reformation ensured Christmas celebrations were banned altogether for around four centuries. In fact, Christmas didn’t become a legal holiday until 1958. But the old Catholic traditions are still with us, as the 11th-century tradition of “daft days” or “the 12 days of Yule,” the celebration of which began on Christmas Day, is still known as a festive time of merriment that we still refer to as “the 12 days of Christmas.”

Poland

In Poland, the seasonal festivities start on Christmas Eve, which the Poles call wigilia. 

There is a tradition that as wigilia goes, so goes the rest of the coming year. Therefore, people try to make the day as festive and inviting as possible. The house is cleaned, and people fast the entire day while a feast made of 12 traditional dishes gets prepared. The table is set with an extra seat for someone who might be alone, and many houses still festoon the table with hay to recall the manger, where the Christ Child lay. 

Children excitedly search the sky to see who can spot the first star of the night, which must appear before the meal can be eaten. After dinner, they dash to the tree to open their presents and, following this, the family and guests join in singing Christmas carols. Then it’s off to midnight Mass.

Christmas day — which the Poles call the “first holiday” — is spent with family at home. Just as Sunday is supposed to be, it is a day of complete, rejuvenating rest. No visiting, cleaning, or cooking are allowed on that day. Only leftovers from the previous night’s feast are served. As one blog put it, “This is a day of enjoyment, for Jesus was born.” 

Poles call St. Stephen’s Day — Dec. 26—the “second holiday.” This is the day when people visit others and exchange Christmas greetings. As night encroaches upon day, the crunch of footsteps in the snow and Christmas carolers singing are heard around the town.

Germany

For Germans, after mother decorates the tree “with apples, candy, nuts, cookies, cars, trains, angels, tinsel, family treasures, and candles or lights,” she lays out “brilliantly decorated plates for each family member, loaded with fruits, nuts, marzipan, chocolate, and biscuits. When all is ready a bell is rung as a signal for the children to enter this Christmas fantasy room. Carols are sung, sometimes sparklers are lit, the Christmas story is read, and gifts are opened.”

The Germans also have a folk saying: “If Christmas is bright and clear, one hopes for an abundant year. If the crow is standing at Christmas in clover, she’ll be sitting in snow at Easter.”

Mexico

One Christmas tradition from Mexico that has become widely accepted here in the United States is the poinsettia. Brought to the U.S. by a Mexican ambassador around 1851, the red flower is displayed in countless homes and churches. Mexican tradition holds that “a poor child once wept outside a church and prayed for forgiveness as he didn’t have a gift for the Christ Child. When he stood up, he found a green plant with magnificent red blooms that resembled a star.”

During Advent, Mexicans hold parties called posadas, which commemorate Mary and Joseph’s search for an inn in which to celebrate the birth of Jesus. There are two groups for these festivities. The first stands outside holding candles and singing songs asking for entry into the inn. The second, also through songs, rejects the first group’s request. Eventually, however, the outside revelers are allowed in. 

Mexican Christmases are also filled with treats such as a sweet, hot Christmas punch, tamales, and other Mexican favorites.

Vietnam

In Vietnam, Christmas is celebrated much as we do in the West. There are some variations, however. For instance, after the Vietnamese attend midnight Mass, they come home to a marvelous feast featuring chicken. 

In the largest cities with a cathedral, people gather and throw confetti, enjoy the street decorations, and frequent the local cafes and restaurants, which stay open late for the occasion. 

Because Vietnam was formerly a French colony, many churches are festooned with popular Western traditions such as the nativity scene. As in France, the Christmas Eve meal is called the reveillon, and dessert is a French chocolate cake in the shape of a log, called a Bûche de Noël, or Yule Log.

Spain

In Spain, they have many customs that are similar to our own: Christmas trees, the crèche, and so on. But it seems like every town, whether humble or huge, has markets selling fruits, nuts, marzipan, homemade gifts, candles, and decorations. 

Worldholidaytraditions.com tells us, “as the Christmas Eve stars appear in the [Spanish] heavens, tiny oil lamps are lighted, warming village windows.” The crowds thin at the Christmas market as shoppers return to prepare for the coming meal. The Christmas Eve gaiety is interrupted at midnight by the ringing of bells calling the families to La Misa del Gallo (The Mass of the Rooster, or midnight Mass).

Whereas the Poles eat their big Christmas meal on wigilia, the Spaniards never eat theirs until after midnight. This large family dinner features pavo trufado de Navidad (Christmas turkey with truffles). For dessert, families might serve the traditional Christmas treat turron, basically an almond candy. Afterward, the family members sing carols and hymns. 

The rejoicing continues through the wee hours of the morning. An old Spanish verse says, ‘Esta noche es Noche-Buena, y no es noche de dormir’ (This is the good night; therefore, it is not meant for sleep).” There is fellowship and joy in the streets, accompanied by a special Christmas dance called the jota. The words and music that accompany the dance have been handed down for hundreds of years.

“Christmas Day is spent at church, at feasts, and in more merry-making. A custom peculiar to Spain is that of ‘swinging.’ Swings are set up throughout the courtyards and young people swing to the accompaniment of songs and laughter.”

On Dec. 28, the Feast of the Holy Innocents, young boys light bonfires, and one of them acts as the town’s mayor. He orders townspeople to perform civic chores such as sweeping the streets. Refusal to comply results in fines, which are used to pay for the celebration. 

It is Santa not who gives out gifts in Spain, but the Three Magi. Furthermore, they put small gifts or treats in children’s shoes every night between Christmas and Epiphany Eve. Epiphany, Jan. 6, “is heralded with parades in various cities where candy and cakes are distributed to throngs of children.”

Portugal

Portugal observes many of these same traditions. For their after-midnight Mass meal, they serve codfish, boiled potatoes, and cabbage. Afterward, a variety of traditional fried desserts are served, including filhoses made of fried pumpkin dough, rabanadas (think: French toast), little round pastries called azevias (invented by nuns at a Portuguese convent), and the fruitcake-like bolo rei (king cake).

In this journey around the globe, we’ve encountered a dazzling array of Christmas traditions, each with its unique charm and significance. Yet beneath the surface, we find a universal message of the birth of Christ with its love, unity, and the joy of giving. 

This holiday season, let us embrace the beauty of these Christ-centered traditions, for they remind us of the common faith that unites all Catholics.

Bring international Catholic cuisine into your home this Christmas season

While we’ve seen some amazing traditional food on these pages, there is one that makes a particularly delicious and unique treat for your family and guests. Portuguese azevias are thin fried pastries that add both spice and richness to your holiday table. Just take a look!