The Christmas festivities are just around the corner The whole world, There are various interpretations, meanings and ways of celebrating this date. It is natural that a question comes to your mind: How is Christmas celebrated around the world?
To answer this question, we spoke to people Canadafrom that Colombia and from Nigeria. See what we discovered.
How is Christmas celebrated in Nigeria?
First we wanted to understand how Christmas works for our Nigerian brothers. We spoke to about this Victor I. Okoh, student of neuropharmacology at the Federal University of Goiás (UFG). Victor was born in Nigeria and completed postgraduate studies here in Brazil.
Victor Okoh. Personal collection / Victor
We wanted to know how Christmas is celebrated in Nigeria and whether there are any differences to the Brazilian way. Victor said that The celebrations are similar in both countries. This is because it is a Christian tradition and Nigeria also has a large Christian population.
Victor also told us that people who celebrate Christmas but live in an area where it is not celebrated, can travel to meet relatives in other parts of the country and take the opportunity to make plans for the coming year.
He also comments on the decorations that are spreading throughout the cities and the soaring prices. mainly transportation. He also said that children are taken to parks for fun and many chicken and other poultry recipes are prepared.
Poinsettia in Abeokuta, Ogun State Shutterstock
Dinner Recipes in Nigeria
Victor Okoh tells us that the Main recipes they are:
Rice (could be jollof), tomato sauce (stew), meat (including chicken, beef) and/or fish (including croaker, catfish, tilapia). Some houses also make traditional Eba (cassava flour), pounded yam, wheat and soups such as Egusi (melon), Ogbònò (soup made from dried seeds of Ogbònò, a plant native to southern Nigeria) and Ewedu (a typical Yoruba dish made from jute leaves) and vegetable soups. Children are very fond of carbonated drinks during this period. But it all depends on family tradition
(translated from English)
Egusi Plate Shutterstock
See more: Tips for teaching English to children at Christmas.
Christmas decorations and traditions in Nigeria
Nigeria is also very similar to Brazil when it comes to Christmas traditions and decorations. Lights are distributed in the cities, people dress in their best clothes, Christmas trees are decorated and Santa Clauses are everywhere, there they are called “Santa Claus”.
Victor says that Christmas is a tradition imported from the British and European culture manifests itself at this time of year. Just like in Brazil, the parties last all night, houses and streets are decorated and people distribute gifts, mainly culinary items, to each other.
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How is Christmas celebrated in Colombia?
To find out more about Christmas in our Colombian neighbors, we spoke to Andres MezaEscalon, Colombian systems engineer and resident of the Valle del Cauca region. He said Christmas traditions begin on this day September 1when radio stations start broadcasting news and playing Christmas songs.
Andres MezaEscalon
He even comments on a jingle called “Desde Septiembre se siente que viene diciembre,” which means “Since September it has felt like December is approaching.” supermarkets start midOctober, Sales of Christmas decorations, including Christmas trees, Santa Claus, angels and wise men.
When December comes, people decorate their houses and streets, play Christmas music on loudspeakers, and nine days before Christmas, families gather to pray Aguinaldo's Novenawhich consists of a series of specific prayers for each day they sing Christmas carols and Christmas dinner will be distributed.
Christmas recipes in Colombia
We asked for the recipes most consumed during Colombian Christmas and Andres said:
In the Aguinaldos Novenas, all dishes typical of the region are shared, but the most common are leche cream (a sweet dessert made from corn and milk), buñuelos (fried flour dough balls with cheese) and hojaldras (another fried food). ), Arequipe (in Argentina it is called dulce de leche) and manjarblanco (similar to dulce de leche, originally from the Valle del Cauca) with brevas (figs).
(translated from Spanish)
Manjar Balnco Shutterstock
The typical dish on Christmas Eve is potato salad, cold cuts such as turkey, pork, ham and liqueur, particularly an anise distillate called aguardiente. This is in addition to what is normally eaten during the Aguinaldo novenas, as the final session of the novenas is prayed on Christmas Eve.
(translated from Spanish)
See more: Christmas recipes
Christmas symbols and traditions in Colombia
Andres highlights these songs from over the years This time of year the 50s and 60s resurface. According to Andrés, nativity scenes are also made to scale, a tradition inherited from the Franciscan monks.
A typical Colombian tradition is the Aguinaldos Novena begins nine days before Christmas and it is also produced in Ecuador and in some cities in Venezuela.
Drawing in memory of the Novena of Aguinaldos Shutterstock
Andrés describes in detail how the nativity scene is set up in Colombia:
We put up the nativity scene and the Christmas tree. Since the “God child” cannot be born until midnight on January 24th, it is only then placed in the manger. The wise men also move closer to the stable every day and finally arrive on January 6th.
They buy toys and other gifts for children, but now adults also exchange gifts with each other. Even in offices, colleagues often pray the novena a few days earlier than at home and we play Secret Santa.
(translated from Spanish)
One difference between the Brazilian and Colombian secret boyfriends is that they specify several small gifts in the days before the last gift, delivered on the day of the party.
What is Christmas like in Canada?
To find out more about Canadian Christmas, we spoke to Carol Carrijo, a Brazilian who lives in the region Montreal and with Larissa Barbosa, resident Woodstock, Ont. See what they told us.
Larissa with husband and children Personal Collection / Larissa
Christmas traditions and decorations in Canada
Carol began by highlighting Montreal's decorations “March of Noël”, She explains that they are street markets with various shops, some with Christmas themes such as home decorations or various items such as local artists, drinks, hot chocolate and marshmallows that are heated in the electric fireplaces they install at events.
She also points out that there are Christmas trees there real pine trees and that examples come in all sizes. Larissa says that the main decorations are the same as in Brazil precisely because they come from North American culture.
Street Decorations Woodstock, Ontario Personal Collection / Larissa
As for the traditions, Larissa says they consist of family gatherings, gift exchanges and Santa Claus. She also emphasizes that she sees a departure from the original idea of Christmas, the birth of Jesus Christ.
A typical North American tradition is “Elf on the Shelf”. Families put elf dolls on the shelves of children's rooms and every day “the elf” does something unusual in the house and The child has to find out what “the elf” did. In addition to playing along with the elf's antics, the mothers also create scenarios and stories to make the game more entertaining.
See more: Christmas activities for learning
Christmas recipes in Canada
Larissa tells us about Canadian Christmas recipes:
The traditional turkey, mashed potatoes, sometimes includes some vegetables and cranberry cream and stuffing. The stuffing is like breadcrumbs, it's really tasty, that's what the turkey is stuffed with.
But everything is very unseasoned, for example the turkey is in butter, period. Basically it's cranberries, mashed potatoes, turkey and vegetables. Sometimes this ham is made that we call Canadian fillet. It's a ham that you put cloves and molasses on, it's also part of dinner, it's very tasty
Canadian Sirloin Shutterstock
By Tiago Vechi
journalist