Celebrations, color and good wishes this Christmas 2022 throughout the world

Beyond the culture of each country or region of the planet, there are two inescapable facts that all nations share: the celebration of Christmas Eve and Christmas. The other is the welcome of the New Year, although there are religions and communities such as the Jewish one that celebrate it at another time of the year and its calendar also does not coincide with the Gregorian one.

Here the celebrations throughout the planet.

In Sweden, the Christmas festivities are brought forward a few days. The girls are the main protagonists: on December 13, the Night of Santa Lucía is celebrated, in which towns, schools and families choose one of them, who wears a white tunic and a crown of candles.

The girls, in honor of Saint Lucia, participate in a festive procession in which popular Christmas carols are sung.

In Finland, they also celebrate Christmas Eve with the family and exchange gifts, with the difference that on the 25th they spend a day of peace and tranquility and on the 26th they celebrate the holidays with friends.

The Scandinavian countries are the home of Santa Claus and, therefore, he can be visited all year round in his gift shop in Rovaniemi, in the Lapland region in the Arctic Circle. After dinner, Finnish children eagerly await the arrival of Santa Claus whom they call Joulupukki.

Despite the rain, in Frankfurt there was room for celebrations.

German children look forward to the arrival of Saint Nicholas on December 6. The night before, they leave their shoes or boots in front of the door of the house.

If they have been kind, Saint Nicholas will fill them with chocolate, sweets and other surprises. If, on the contrary, they have done a lot of mischief, the Krampus -between a demon and a satyr- will leave dry branches for them, although German children make a lot of effort so that this does not happen. On the 24th, many houses also receive a visit from Der Weihnachtsmann (Santa Claus), who arrives with more gifts.

In some parts of Germany, Austria and Switzerland, children do not wait for Santa Claus but for Christkind, the messenger of the Child Jesus. The vast majority of times she is a young girl, very elegantly dressed as an angel, and leaves them a small present at the sound of a bell.

The same old lady who arrives in Italy also visits Russian houses, where she is called Babouschka (grandmother, in her language). However, Christmas is not celebrated on December 25, but thirteen days later, on January 7, the date of Jesus' birth according to the calendar followed by the Orthodox Church, the country's religion.

That day, the children eat a twelve-course menu and enjoy beetroot soup like never before. Instead of Santa Claus, Russian children also welcome Ded Moroz (Ice Grandfather), who arrives on New Year's Day with gifts.

Unlike many countries, Christmas Eve in Japan is not spent with the family, but December 24 is officially Valentine's Day and is celebrated as a couple. It is New Year's Day when the children receive their presents. Tradition dictates that the first meal of the year ensures good luck.

Christmas in all its splendor in Bulgaria.

The popular legend tells that the three Wise Men, on their way to the portal of Bethlehem, became disoriented and asked an old lady how to continue until they reached the baby Jesus. The lady missed her address and, unfortunately, their Majesties from the East got lost.

The Kings arrived a few days later at their destination, something that the old lady regretted very much. For this reason, every January 5th, the Befana arrives with a broom to Italian houses, with gifts to offer the Child Jesus if she happens to find him in a home and, incidentally, leave everything very clean.

In Italy, on Christmas Eve the Vigilia di Natale is celebrated in style with a cenone (the great dinner) based on fish and, for dessert, an assortment of sweets, in which the king is the exquisite panettone.

While, during Christmas, the cold reigns in the northern hemisphere, in the south the festivities are celebrated in the middle of summer, also, in the case of Australia, coinciding with the beginning of the school holidays. Australian families often celebrate Christmas Day away from home, eating something fresh on the beach.

Christmas tree on the beach

On December 25, more than 40,000 people gather at Bondi Beach in Sydney, and at nightfall watch the fireworks display over the Harbor Bridge.

In this part of the world, Santa's sleigh is not driven by reindeer but by six white kangaroos (the Six White Boomers). Some houses also receive a visit from an alternative Santa Claus called the Swag Man, a man in a T-shirt and hat who distributes gifts in an outfit more adapted to the high temperatures.

Two Christmas trees on a bridge in Budapest.

The beaches of Ipanema and Copacabana shine on Christmas Eve with fireworks. Also in Brazil, Santa Claus distributes gifts in the middle of summer and, therefore, wears lighter silk clothes. He visits the carioca children after dinner, which they call Ceia de Natal, and in which the family gathers to eat turkey.

During the nine days before Christmas, Mexicans celebrate Las Posadas, of religious origin and of a very solemn nature for families, which end with a piñata, something that is great fun for children.

Blindly, the children hit the piñata to break it and knock out the fruit and Christmas candies inside. The older ones receive the Christmas bonus: walnuts, pine nuts, peanuts and cookies. The party and the music continue without ceasing throughout Christmas Eve.

For Andalusian children, the eve of December 25 is a great party. On Christmas Eve, the family gathers around the table with delicacies, and the little ones sing Christmas carols with their parents, grandparents and cousins, while having fun playing the zambomba.

In the Basque Country, the Olentzero, a friendly charcoal burner who brings gifts to the local kids, is eagerly awaited. The Apalpador is also highly anticipated, another bearded tit who lives in the mountains of eastern Galicia and who feels the bellies of the little Galicians, to check if they have eaten well and leave them chestnuts and a little gift; as well as the Pai Natal, which on Christmas day comes down the chimney of the homes of the Portuguese.

Eastern Europe celebrates Christmas and preserves the imprint of time immemorial.

The Apalpador is also highly anticipated, another bearded tit who lives in the mountains of eastern Galicia and who feels the bellies of the little Galicians, to check if they have eaten well and leave them chestnuts and a little gift; as well as the Pai Natal, which on Christmas day comes down the chimney of the homes of the Portuguese.