Luedtke 1

Ryan Luedtke
Mr. Sabot
English 2
11 December 2015
Christmas In Other Countries
Over 160 countries celebrate Christmas every year (Cooper) and they are all different in
the way that they celebrate the holiday. Australia and Costa Rica have a very mild climate so
Christmas is celebrated differently in those countries but in Lithuania it is closely related to the
United States. Due to the fact that 33.3% of the population is Christian, this holiday is widely
celebrated throughout the world but at different times during the holiday season. The way these
three countries celebrate Christmas reveals how their cultures vary from the United States
culture.
Australias climate is very different than the United States and that difference varies how
each culture celebrates the holiday. Christmas in Australia comes during the middle of summer
and it can reach up to 100 degrees (Christmas Traditions Worldwide), which is why the traditions
practiced there are different than how the United States practices them. The traditional Santa
Claus that we Americans know and love is represented in a different light down under. When he
gets to Australia, Santa gives the reindeer a rest and uses kangaroos. He also changes his clothes
for less hot ones! He wears an Akubra, a blue singlet and long baggy shorts when he goes to
Australia (Cooper). In America our Santa Claus wears very heavy red coating and has big white
beard to keep his face warm. This shows that if people live in a different climate their view on
many holidays/traditions is different from others. It is impossible for two countries in two
different climates to celebrate Christmas in the same way. In America our Santa Claus wears

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very heavy red coating and has big white beard to keep his face warm. In the United States
during the winter we usually have cold temperatures and that is why we view Christmas as a
holiday to stay inside and be with family. On the other hand, Australians see Christmas as a time
to be outside and have as much fun as possible. Without the different climates in the world,
Christmas would be celebrated in one way only and there would not be much variation between
the separate sides of the world. Australia and the United States Christmas meal also vary from
one another. Most Australians have a barbecue with seafood such as prawns and lobsters along
with the 'traditional English' food. On Christmas Eve, fish-markets are often full of people
queuing to buy their fresh seafood for Christmas day (Cooper). In the United States though, there
is usually some form of red meat included in the traditional Christmas Day meal. This shows that
geographical locations can affect what is on the Christmas day dinner table. In the United States
we see other peoples food as weird and disgusting but it is what they grew up around which
makes it normal for them. We should, as a whole society, recognize that our way of doing things
is not the only way to do them. Another tropical place that celebrates this holiday is Costa Rica,
which has few traditions of its own that vary from the United States.
Costa Rica is situated in the middle of Central America where many Spanish-speaking
countries are so their traditions for Christmas are different than most countries. In the United
States when you are driving around at night during the holiday season you see lights on houses
and trees in windows but in Costa Rica there is a mammoth difference. In Costa Rica houses are
decorated with tropical flowers and fruits from around the country (Cooper). This reveals that
people from Costa Rica value their environment because they use their surroundings to make
their house look stunning. Unlike most Americans who just go to the store and buy fake
decorations the people who celebrate Christmas in Costa Rica take advantage of their

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surroundings to make their Christmas experience more personal. When you use your resources
near you it gives more sentimental value because you are decorating yourself and not just letting
people in foreign countries make your decorations for you. One characteristic that lights and
plastic decorations dont have is smell. In Costa Rica you could go look at everybody's
decorations and enjoy the smell that the flowers let off unlike here in America where you just
stare at an arrangement of LED lights. During the Christmas season in Costa Rica apple stands
are popular and show up on just about every block (Cooper). Apples are not only popular due to
the fact that they are in season during Christmas in Costa Rica but the apple holds religious
symbolism to the Christians. In the story of Adam and Eve the forbidden fruits which to most are
apples, signifies an important time period in the religion of Christianity. To celebrate the
Christian tradition of Christmas Costa Ricans sell apples to remind people of why Christmas is
celebrated. This reveals that the Costa Ricans are strongly religious and that they dont just focus
on the aspect of presents during Christmas. In America most kids are just excited for Christmas
because of all the presents not because it marks a major day in the most dominant religion in the
world. With the new technology that surrounds kids these days they do not care much for
religion and they just want the next great thing in order to impress their friends. Costa Rica and
Australia, though they have differences to the United States, dont come close to how different
the next country celebrates Christmas.
Lithuania does Christmas different than most countries in the world but it only reveals
how different we all can be. It reiterates the fact that no two people are the same. In Lithuania
Christmas Eve is more important than Christmas Day. On Christmas Eve Santa gives the boys
and girls presents before bed and they eat a 12-dish meal called Kios (Cooper). The 12 dishes
represent the disciples of Jesus in Lithuanian culture. Another tradition that the Lithuanians do is

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cover the dinner table with straw in order to represent the manger that baby Jesus was in
(Cooper). The Lithuanians way of eating their Christmas meal reveals that they are a religious
culture that likes to relive the religion of Christianity. They are very much like the Costa Ricans
in that both cultures are very religious. Both countries are strongly religious because of what
happened in their past before the gained their independence. The Russians once conquered
Lithuania in the early 17th century and spread the religion of Christianity all throughout the
people (Lambert). Christopher Columbus discovered Costa Rica and many surrounding countries
were conquered by the Spaniards therefore there is a heavy Spanish influence there today (Costa
Rica - History & Culture). All of these empires that once had an influence on Costa Rica and
Lithuania brought over the religion of Christianity. Unlike the Costa Rica, Australia, and the
United States, Lithuanians make their decorations mostly out of straw. Since straw is readily
available in abundance the Lithuanians use it for most of their everyday activities. Knowing this,
Lithuanians are crafty and are good with their hands. It takes great skill to make beautiful
Christmas ornaments from straw but since Lithuanians have been around it so long it has became
easy for them. Most families in the United States buy ornaments from stores and hang them up
on their tree except for when a kid is forced to make them in school. Americans today want every
done NOW and they do not have the time to sit there and make their own decorations. Taking
time to make decorations from hand may be something that seems daunting but it wouldnt hurt
anyone to let their imagination shine instead of just letting other people do that for them. The
people in Lithuania have nativity scenes outside churches (Cooper) like America and other
countries do but the differences in their Christmas reveal what their culture is like.
The way the United States celebrates Christmas is not the only way to do so and by no
means is it better than any other countries because everybody and every culture is different. It

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may seem like traditions can only be done one way but the great thing about this world is that
there is no wrong way in celebrating a holiday that over 33.3% of the population celebrates every
year. Christmas is a joyful time of the year that many Christians look forward to and they all
have their own way of making the most of the holiday season. Merry Christmas!

Work Cited
"Christmas Traditions Worldwide." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 10 Dec.
2015.
Cooper, James. "Christmas around the World on Whychristmas?com."Christmas Around the
World, Christmas Traditions and Celebrations in Different Countries and Cultures. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.
"Costa Rica - History & Culture." Costa Rica - History & Culture. N.p., n.d. Web. 11
Dec. 2015.
Lambert, Tim. "A SHORT HISTORY OF LITHUANIA." A Brief History of Lithuania. N.p.,
2015. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.