Day 16 - Advent Calendar 2024, Win prize everyday! 🎄🎁

In my region we celebrate Xmas after New Year. If to describe shortly before Xmas, believers observe fasting.
Houses are decorated for the holiday. Festive dishes are being prepared. Gifts to relatives and children we are often prepare too.
In churches they also decorate everything. The scenery is specially set up with a scene of the birth of a baby. And they serve in church.
Throughout the country, Christmas and New Year are considered a national holiday and people have a day off.
Also we geather with our relatives and close ones to celebrate Xmas and make this day memorable for all of us!

Well the whole Christmas celebration in my culture is quite a long story, but I have an interesting Pre-Christmas celebration for you.

The habit of celebrating pre-Christmas or little Christmas during the first weeks of December. Pre-Christmas with food and drinks, mostly with mulled wine, is celebrated among colleagues in offices and other places.

This Pre-Christmas tradition basically means you celebrate Christmas before with everyone else besides your family and relatives, so you could have more time and full focus on your close ones on the actual day of Christmas.

Not really the cultural way but I mostly eat a lot of great food, drink too much glögg, watch all of the Christmas movies and my favorite, unintentional drifting🤫

In Search of Glorious Christmas Joy

In a quaint corner of the world where snowflakes never kissed the ground, the spirit of Christmas blossomed in vibrant hues at a charming hotel. As the sun dipped low, the hotel came alive with festive cheer; twinkling lights danced along the walls, and beautiful piles of wrapped gifts adorned the lobby, each promising delightful surprises. Red stockings hung from every wall, a cheerful reminder that Christmas had arrived, filling the air with laughter and joy. Families and friends gathered to share stories, mingling with the joyous sounds of jingling bells that echoed throughout the welcoming space.

On Christmas Eve, the grand hall hosted a special gathering, bringing together guests from all walks of life to celebrate the holiday. Children danced with excitement while adults exchanged heartfelt wishes, enveloped by the comforting scents of cinnamon and pine. As the local choir filled the hall with carols, voices rose in a harmonious chorus of goodwill and cheer. Under the twinkling lights of a beautifully decorated tree, guests shared hopes for the coming year, forging connections that would last long after the decorations were taken down. In that snowless region, the hotel had truly become a home for all, radiating the warmth and joy of the Christmas spirit.

Warm greetings from a snowless wonderland!

Cuban culture is full of beautiful details that I would like that some day you can enjoy holiday season with us. I'm sure you'll have fun all the time. Most of people since the final days of November are decorating their homes putting the tree and the images representing Christ's born, in the doors people put decorations too. Some people even put gigant air dolls representing Santa or Snowmans. They buy them when they go to other countries or family send them as gifts. This is the previous process. Meanwhile the dates arrive, everybody is looking for the ingredients they need to prepare Christmas recipes. Music is everywhere and you can feel the celebration even in the air and the sky. Drinks never miss during this days, and it keeps until January. On 24th people that are religious are preparing the whole day their children, because we always sing together the typical songs and they have a special participation in the activity. At night we all enjoy the meal and afterwards people go to the parks and public places to dance and share with friends. Cuban people is ful of joy and enthusiasm. That's why celebrations are the best ones.

A traditional festival is organized for 4 days starting 24th December to 27th December.
Every evening during this period, the villagers and people from the neighboring villages gather at a village square where they dance and display cultural activities.

Within the Argentine culture it depends on the family and also on the religion they practice. Within my family there is a lot of getting together as a family and accompanying each other during these holidays, which always has some nostalgia, since rereading the question, there is much more of a memory of the holidays as a child at 7 years old and onwards, where opening presents, being with the family... beautiful Christmases.

Well, New Year's is not that big of a difference, opening presents is no longer the norm, but getting together with the family and eating that delicious food that I showed in the previous Advent Calendar is...

THE HOLIDAYS ARE SOON COMING ⭐

In my culture despite Christmas celebration is because of Jesus Christ they still come up with masquerades everywhere, visiting relatives is part of it

I am currently living in South Korea and here people don't celebrate it with a family. It is more like another reason for couples to meet and hang out together :) So, couples or friends go somewhere, have a dinner together, etc :) But we have Christmas vibes all around the country everywhere. And we have Christmas decorations from early October I guess haha

With Each passing Day, this is getting even more interesting,...leego 😄

So apart from the joy and festivity it's such a great time for every family to reunite with All those who have stayed far distance returning to the village to reunite with all family members and have a great time...

So in my culture the way we celebrate Christmas is very special to us, in my village there is a large field almost the size of a standard football pitch just in front of the village primary school, every year to celebrate Christmas and end the year in a high spirit of joy happiness and unity, there is always a football tournament organized and played here in this open field including all the 15 communities in my village each playing against each other till the finals which usually ends on Christmas Day.

It's usually a week long tournament and every day the field is always filled there all those who have spent years in the city come to reunite with every other person, most times other games too are featured and prizes are given at the end of it...

It's always a very glorious moments to us all.....

#ecency #adventcalender #day16

My country has an inheritance of customs from the mother country, Spain. But to this is added the customs of other European countries. But not conforming and perhaps because of the proximity, we are exposed to American customs. This creates a mixture that goes from the religious to the secular.

However, all this mixture begins to unleash in mid-October with music, especially Zulian bagpipes. The stores start to offer Christmas items, make offers, and begin the raffles. We all want to win something through the raffles, from a car to a cell phone or a basket of food.

The atmosphere becomes cheerful and there is some motivation to prepare everything, especially for children and people of low income. It is a time when most think of togetherness, love, and families become much closer.

But most notable is Christmas Day and New Year's Eve. Two days of celebration, eating, drinking, some go to their churches, most get together as a family and everything is love, joy, gifts, and good wishes.

The tastiest thing for me is to eat hallacas, pernil, chicken salad and ham bread. Dancing, singing, laughing.

Happy Holidays!

Mi país tiene una herencia de costumbres de la madre patria, España. Pero a ello se suma costumbres de otros países europeos. Pero no conformes y tal vez por la cercanía, estamos expuestos a las costumbres estadounidenses. Esto crea una mezcla que va desde lo religioso hasta lo secular.
Como sea toda esa mezcla se comienza a desatar a mediados de octubre con música, sobre todo con gaitas zulianas, las tiendas comienzan a ofrecer los artículos navideños, a realizar ofertas, también comienzan las rifas, todo queremos ganar algo a través de las rifas, desde un carro hasta un teléfono móvil o una cesta de comida.
La atmósfera se vuelve alegre y hay cierta motivación para preparar todo, especialmente para los niños y las personas de bajo recurso. Es una época en que la mayoría piensa en la unión, en el amor y las familias se acercan mucho más.
Pero lo más notable es el día de la Navidad y el día de fin de año. Dos días de celebración, de comer, de beber, algunos van a sus iglesias, la mayoría se reúne en familia y todo es amor, alegría, regalos y buenos deseos.
Lo más sabroso para mí es comer hallacas, pernil, ensalada de gallina y pan de jamón. Bailar, cantar, reír.
¡Felices fiestas!

Image edited using CANVA

Here’s my entry for how Christmas is celebrated in the Efik culture:

In the Efik culture, Christmas is a time for celebration, feasting, and merriment. The Efik people are an ethnic group from the southeastern region of Nigeria, and their Christmas traditions are a unique blend of African and Christian customs.

Preparations for Christmas begin early, with families cleaning and decorating their homes with colorful lights, flowers, and traditional Efik decorations. The women of the household spend hours cooking traditional Efik dishes, such as afang soup, ekpang nkukwo, and plantain porridge.

On Christmas Eve, families gather together for a special church service, known as "Watchnight Service". The service typically features traditional Efik music, dancing, and prayers. After the service, families return home to feast and celebrate into the night.

On Christmas Day, families visit each other, exchange gifts, and share food and drinks. The traditional Efik attire, known as " wrappers" and " George", are worn on this day to add to the festive atmosphere.

In the evening, families gather together again for a grand feast, featuring a variety of traditional Efik dishes. The feast is typically accompanied by traditional Efik music and dancing, and the celebration continues late into the night.

Overall, Christmas in the Efik culture is a time for family, friends, food, and celebration. It's a unique and joyous occasion that showcases the rich cultural heritage of the Efik people.

Great

In my culture, Christmas is celebrated with a blend of traditions. Families typically gather to decorate the Christmas tree with ornaments, lights, and tinsel. We often prepare a festive meal that includes dishes like roasted meats, vegetables, and sweet treats.

On Christmas Eve, many attend church services, followed by family gatherings. Gift-giving is a big part of the celebration, with presents exchanged on Christmas morning. Caroling and holiday music also play an important role in creating a joyful atmosphere. It's a time for family, reflection, and celebration.

We sing aguinaldos and gaitas when we decorate our houses and when we cook our special dishes, such as hallacas, pan de jamón, and dulce de choice, just to name a few. We enjoy buying gifts for Baby Jesus. We really are very happy at Christmas.

Christmas in multicultural Malaysia is very unique. As a Non-Christian I usually visit the malls to witness the elaborate Christmas decorations. In the state of Malacca there is place called Portuguese settlement consisting of Malay-Portuguese heritage people. They decorate their houses and street with unique decorations.

Holla🤭
I'm @utymarvel, a Nigerian
I am from Akwa Ibom state, the Southern region of the Country.

Christmas season is always the most anticipated time of the Year. It's just that time of the year where families and friends reunite, share and spread love with you families and the whole community at large.

We started this Christmas on the First Day of December. We have 31 local Governments in Akwa Ibom state and for the 31 days in December, each Local Government take turns to perform every single day at a place we Call Christmas Village.

In my small Village, Christmas is announced by the Different displays of Masquerades, both the adult Masquerades and children Masquerades. These Masquerades will go round the village playing with the children.

Asides Masquerades, children start playing and shooting a lot of Bangers , the streets trees are decorated with Christmas ornaments. Every where you go, Christmas songs will Serenade the entire village.
On the D-day, which is the 25th all the families will be hustling to the market to get food items. Large pots are used to make Delicious meals which will be eaten not only by the Family but with your friends and neighbors. There's always a lots of food and gift exchange on the 25th.
It's always an Interesting Time of the year.