As Christmas nears, six expats living in Shanghai share their yuletide memories from the Netherlands, Germany, the United States, Australia, Lebanon and Russia.

 

In the words of Charles Dickens, "Happy, happy Christmas, that can win us back to the delusions of our childhood days, recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth, and transport the traveler back to his own fireside and quiet home."

 

Christmas is upon us. And with an increasing number of expats living in Shanghai, six people from different countries share their holiday traditions.

 

The Netherlands

 

Christmas has a similar iconic old man who represents it in most countries. For Holland, there is a lean old man whose noble steed is a white horse and who also travels the canals on a grand boat.

 

Sinter (from cinder as in fireplace and chimney) Klaas usually arrives early in Holland for the holiday, sometimes as early as mid-November.

 

Welcomed by a festive procession, his arrival signals the start of the holiday.

 

Sinter Klaas visits individual homes on December 5 and that's the most important day for children, says Anouk Res who studies Chinese in Shanghai.

 

Res, who grew up in the Netherlands, says that on December 4, "We put a shoe in front of the chimney as people in the United Kingdom leave stockings, before we go to sleep and Sinter Klaas comes and leaves a gift in the shoe."

 

The next day Sinter Klaas reads from his book telling children what they have done right and wrong, obviously having consulted the parents.

 

There are two days for Christmas and every family does it a little differently. They play games together and sometimes read from the Bible. "Some parents give more gifts, but most on December 5," says Res.

 

Christmas is most important for the family as a whole.

 

"My dad built a manger in front of the window, a traditional nativity scene but with figures from other religions, for example, a Buddha, a Chinese figure and something Jewish. My dad says all people should be together at least at Christmas."

 

Schoolchildren give food to a classmate as a secret gift, "like a secret Santa," says Res.

 

The last celebrations are on the two days of Christmas, "with one big meal for my mother's family and on the next day one big meal for my father's family."

 

Germany

 

In Germany, the lead up to Christmas starts on December 1. There are advent calendars on which a window is opened each day, counting down until Christmas Day.

 

Sometimes there are chocolates behind the window or part of a beautiful picture. There are also Christmas wreaths, with four candles. On each Sunday of December, a candle is lighted.

 

Then on December 6, St Nicholas arrives in town. "We have a tradition to clean our boots and put them by the door. If you had been a good child you would be rewarded by finding sweets in your boots. If you had been bad, you would find a broom and St Nicholas helper would spank you," says Jutta Friedrichs, a product designer in Shanghai.

 

Originally from Cologne, Friedrichs says most people celebrate Christmas Eve. "This is when Christkind (a helper to St Nicholas, like an angel) delivers gifts."

 

"Everyone has a real Christmas tree. When I was little, we went to a forest and cut our own tree" at a Christmas tree farm.

 

On December 24, the room where the tree stands is locked so Christkind can come and decorate it.

 

"When I was really little I went downstairs and saw my parents decorating the tree. I was really upset and doubted he was real. My parents told me they were just helping him because he was so busy."

 

Families would go to Christmas Eve services or mass at 6:30 PM. "Afterward we went home, sat upstairs and waited for a little bell to ring. That was the signal that Christkind was leaving and we could go downstairs. Before we could open the gifts, we had to sing or maybe play some music; I played the piano or recited a Christmas poem.

 

"Finally the whole family would have Christmas dinner," says Friedrichs.

 

Goose and roast ham are traditional, and some families serve Weihnachts Kapfen, a river fish.

 

December 25 and 26 are holidays and people usually stay home with their families.

 

Australia

 

Something you don't often link with Christmas is sun, sea, sand and a surfing Santa, but for Steve Pratley this is the norm.

 

The Australian Christmas Day revolves around the beach, mangoes and lunch.

 

"The morning is usually spent down at the beach, surfing in the sea and being with my friends," says Pratley, from Sydney.

 

December is the start of the Australian summer and is when the season begins to get really warm. "After a good few hours surf, we have a hearty breakfast of bacon and eggs. And there is always a box of big juicy Australian mangoes in the fridge if anyone wants them," recalls Pratley.

 

"When breakfast is finished, it's back to the beach to sunbathe and hang about whilst mum is preparing the Christmas lunch. It is always packed with British or Swiss tourists who are not used to the heat and are turning a festive red under the harsh rays."

 

Running his own organic company in Shanghai called Eco-fabrics, Pratley says Christmas is always summery and he always thinks of cherries, mangoes, coconut tanning lotion and the sound of kids running around with the new water pistols that Santa brought them.

 

"I remember when I was younger seeing pictures of snow and snowmen, they looked so odd; I have never had a white Christmas and it is hard to imagine," Pratley says.

 

The traditional lunch is the highlight of the day and his mum says no one can open presents until after lunch.

 

"Last year Dad cooked a whole turkey in a little barbecue; it took up every inch of space and looked hilarious but tasted delicious."

 

Pratley says most Australian families follow an English tradition.

 

"Even today now that I am all grown up, I still get gifts saying 'To Steve, Merry Christmas, Love from Santa'."

 

Christmas Day usually ends with a dinner of seafood or leftovers from the lunch and a lot of Australian beer and wine. "Last year we had a big bonfire on the beach, ate leftover turkey and had a party."

 

The United States

 

The US, often described as a melting pot, adopts Christmas traditions from many countries, though the shopping frenzy and commercialism is uniquely American.

 

The caroling tradition comes from England and Australia, the Christmas tree from Germany, the red-suited Santa Claus from Scandinavia, and his arrival through the chimney to fill stockings is reminiscent of Scandinavia.

 

Santa's sleigh drawn by reindeer began in Switzerland, and the Christmas parades can be traced to Latin processions.

 

All these Christmas traditions have an international flavor but have become very American. And America has added its own influences.

 

From the Appalachian Mountains came one of today's most popular Christmas songs, "The Twelve Days of Christmas," and American festive characters such as Rudolph, Frosty, the Chipmunks and the Coca-Cola Polar Bears are now almost as well-recognized as old St Nick himself.

 

"Since the United States is such a big place, we have people celebrating in the snow and others exchanging gifts on sunny beaches," explains James Feng, a Chinese-American actor.

 

"Before Christmas parents take their kids to the mall where they can meet Santa Claus and tell him what they want for Christmas. Then he comes on Christmas Eve, sneaks down the chimney and leaves gifts under the tree.

 

"But for me Christmas is a really cool day spent with your family. In America we always exchange gifts on Christmas Eve," says Feng.

 

For Feng, who was born in Shanghai but moved to California as an infant, the best part is decorating the tree.

 

Up to a month before Christmas, Feng's family would choose a tree and then begin to decorate. "Children make things to put on it and we hang fairy lights and little pictures of the family. It's a collaborative effort. We spend the whole month decorating.

 

"If we find something significant or special it goes on the tree, even little things like clay sculptures made in school. So by Christmas the tree is full of really cool stuff and just needs the final touch of a star at the top."

 

The star signifies what the Bible calls the light the three kings followed to the stable where it says the baby Jesus was born.

 

Every Christmas Day the Feng family goes to church.

 

"Christmas is a time for the whole family to be together and bond. We tell stories, play cards, watch the Christmas parades on the TV and basically have fun with each other. By night time we are all exhausted and usually all fall asleep on the sofa."

 

Lebanon

 

"As you can imagine, for the Lebanese, Christmas is mostly about doing what Lebanese love most, eating, eating more and wearing expensive stuff to make neighbors and friends jealous," says Peter Awad.

 

The Christmas and Adha holidays are the most popular times of the year in Lebanon. Christmas Eve is the night children receive their Christmas presents.

 

Special, festive outdoor markets in large cities are open only during this holiday season, and buildings and homes are decorated with white lights.

 

"Going back to Lebanon is important if you do not live there any more, to engage in the national sport, which is of course eating," says Awad from Toula, north Lebanon.

 

"Christmas is the only unifying event in Lebanon," Awad explains. "Muslims celebrate Christmas, call Mary Our Good Lady Mary and consider her a holy woman. They also buy gifts and expensive clothes to compete with their Christian friends," he says.

 

All over the Middle East including Lebanon, people plant seeds of chickpeas, wheat grains, beans and lentils in cotton wool two weeks before Christmas. Seeds are watered every day and by Christmas, they usually have shoots that are as high as 15 centimeters. These shoots are then used to surround the manger in nativity scenes. A star is hung over the scene and figures are made from brown paper.

 

More quirky traditions include "hanging the Lebanese flag on your car, after all, it is red and white and there is a tree on it," jokes Awad. "And they also tell all foreigners that it snows in Lebanon in Christmas, which of course is a lie."

 

As a Christmas tradition in the Middle East, people visit friends on Christmas morning. Coffee, liqueurs and sugared almonds are served to guests.

 

Festive Christmas lunch is the highlight of the celebrations and usually held at the home of grandparents or the eldest son.

 

Traditional Christmas dishes include chicken, rice and kubbeh, a delicacy prepared by mixing crushed boiled wheat known as burghul with meat, onions, salt and pepper.

 

"I can't emphasize it enough," says Awad. "The Lebanese really do love to eat, so Christmas is another great excuse for this."

 

"Then when the holiday draws to a close, the nation unites in a promise never to ever eat that much again as a New Year resolution. A resolution that lasts until Boxing Day."

 

Russia

 

For Russia, the New Year is celebrated more than Christmas. Everything from what you drink, eat, who and where you meet the New Year and how you dress is important. There is a belief that how you see in the New Year is how the whole year will be spent.

 

Christmas, however, which falls on January 7, is more a family holiday, says Olga Masalkova, a model in Shanghai.

 

It's traditional to try and predict your future on Christmas. From January 7 to 19, which in Russia is considered the time for baptizing Christ, telling fortunes is not considered a sin.

 

"Many people go to church at night for a service. Others, mostly young girls, try to read their fortunes by doing things like going to a dark room, lighting a candle in front of a mirror and saying 'the man who is destined to be with me, come.' They repeat that until an image of their future husband appears in the mirror."

 

"It's very scary, I've never done it, but my friends told me that they really saw their future husbands this way."

 

Traditional Russian Christmas involves special prayers and a daytime fast of 39 days until the first star appears in the sky on Christmas.

 

The star heralds the beginning of a 12-course supper, one course each for the 12 apostles. Traditional Russian Christmas dishes include fish, beetroot soup known as borsch, cabbage stuffed with millet and cooked dried fruit. Hay is spread on the floors and tables so that horse feed grows abundantly in the next year.

 

The babushka, meaning "grandmother," distributes presents to children. According to folklore, she is very old and when the Three Wise Men asked her to accompany them to visit Jesus, she declined because it was so cold. She regretted the decision and later set off with presents for the baby in her basket.

 

The story says she never found Jesus, and in the hope of finding him one day, she visits all the houses with children and leaves toys for the good ones.

 

"We also have Father Frost, who is similar to Santa Claus but he wears a blue suit and has a longer beard," says Masalkova.

 

(Shanghai Daily December 20, 2006)