CHRISTMAS IN BRAZIL CHRISTMAS IN FINLAND"NORUZ" IN IRAN

1st Questionnaire            
CHRISTMAS 1999
2nd Questionnaire

María Jesús, Isabel, Ana Mari,María José and Marta

CHRISTMAS IN BRAzil By Marlla

To me Christmas is the celebration of Christ's birthday. I celebrate a
traditional Christmas with my family, the weather is usually warm.

I'm Catholic, it's why I have a religious celebration. My family meets in
one house and stays all together on Christmas Eve. We pray before the
meal, it's kind of like thanks giving here. "Papai Noel" comes and gives
gifts for everybody at home, but the truth is that I usually buy all the
gifts with my father, two weeks before Christmas eve. I always ask my
father for clothes but I don't know what I'll receive until midnight on
Christmas eve.

My father decorates my house with Christmas' lights. We don't set up a
tree but others do. Sometimes we listen to some Christmas' songs but we
always watch mass on t.v. on Christmas eve.

We eat turkey, rice, vegetables, farofe (it's a grain that is cooked with
butter, salt, and meat) fruits, salad, panetone (bread with dried fruit)
and chocotone (bread with pieces of chocolate inside).

We celebrate the new year more than Christmas day, but Christmas is so
special for us because it's religious and we exchange gifts.

CHRISTMAS IN FINLAND By ANITTA

To me Christmas is having a good time with my family. ...............
In Finland we
usually celebrate Christmas with our family so it is a family celebration
for me. And now it's going to be a little different Christmas because I'm
here (in Iowa)...

We do have traditional Christmas. When we wake up on 24th of December, we
just stay at home and prepare to have fun in the evening. Before we eat
Christmas dinner we usually have a sauna and go outside to have a "snow
shower" and then back to sauna. So the weather in Finland is cold, snowy,
and very dark.

After sauna we eat our traditional Christmas dinner together with our
family. This dinner contains boiled potatoes, potato casserole, swedepie,
carrot casserole, rainbow trout, ham, brown sauce, rye bread, salad, and
rice pudding with almond and "plum jam" and we drink mulled wine. My
favorite food is carrot casserole, I love it!!! :)

After that delicious Christmas dinner Santa Claus arrives and he brings
our presents and then we open them. Did you know that Santa Claus lives
in Finland?!

Usually I buy presents a couple weeks before ...................................

I live in a little village so there is nothing much there. Some Christmas
lights and little paper elves and of course with Christmas tree. We don't
have belen and I don't even know what it is. But the predominant colours
are read and green and we have some Christmas music in Finland too.

I love Christmas time, especially Christmas songs, decorating the house,
candles, and snow!! Christmas songs get me into a good mood and they
usually aren't very religious. They are telling some story about elves
and Santa Claus and Christmas spirit.

The main Christmas days are 24th when the celebration takes place and 25th
when we just are having a leisure time.

Because my family isn't very religious, we usually just spend our Lutheran
Christmas in our home. But after all our Christmas is usually very funny!!

"NORUZ" IN IRAN bY SAHAR

We don't have Christmas in Iran but we have a celebration in spring that
we call "Noruz". It lasts thirteen days.

I like this celebration so much. It is a family celebration for me. The
weather is mild in my country at Noruz, because it is in spring........

I am a religious person. I am Muslim.
................................ My religion
celebrates Noruz.

We celebrate Noruz in a special way. My family and I go to my uncles'
houses and my aunts' houses. We give gifts to each other and we hug each
other. We talk all day and we eat special food for Noruz.

................................ The first day
of Noruz is the main celebration in my country. It is when new year is
coming.

The "Sizdah-Bedar" is the thirteenth day.
Everybody goes on a picnic.
They are the main Noruz days in my country.

We have other special traditions in our native culture like
"Chahar-Shanbeh-Suri" is last day of the year and we have fireworks on
that day.

During the thirteen days of Noruz, families visit each other and they give
gifts or money to each other...........................

I buy gifts
two weeks before Noruz. I usually buy things that they want to buy for
themselves, like T-shirt, bracelets, perfumes, etc. I usually get money
from my uncles and my aunts and my dad and my mom, ... but sometimes I get
my favorite pants, T-shirt, or bracelet, etc. I give the presents when I
see them. When I get my gifts, I open the presents.

Our town gets decorate at Noruz
but not very much. They decorate trees in
streets. We usually don't decorate our homes. We just clean our houses
one or two months before Noruz. We have a custom for cleaning our houses
but not about decoration. We put seven things that start with the letter
"S" (in Persian). We do it one or two days before Noruz. We put cookies,
dried nuts,... on the tablecloth. That is how we decorate our houses.

We don't put up a tree or a "Belen". ...............
Green and white are the predominant colours in traditional
decoration in my country.

There isn't any special music or songs for Noruz in my culture. We don't
use a lot of instruments in my culture.

...................Our traditional Noruz meal is usually lunch.
We don't have turkey, we have fish and rice but the rice is mixed with
vegetables and we call it "Sabzy-Polo-Mahi". It's my favorite Noruz food.
I have lunch with my family at 1:00 pm. We don't drink any special
drinks at Noruz.

.................. Everybody, young people and old
people, buy new clothes for Noruz and everybody will be ready for Noruz
(New Year). On the thirteen days of Noruz, everybody visits each other in
their houses. On the first days, young people visit old people and on
last days of Noruz old people visit young people in their houses.

CHRISTMAS IN KOREa By Kim

In Korea Christmas is a popular holiday, most people celebrate Christmas
on December 25th. Even if Koreans believe in different religions, almost
all people use Christmas as an excuse to give a gift to other people.
Some Christian people celebrate Christmas at church with singing Christmas
carols, giving gift and eating. The carols are the same as in America but
the words are Korean..........................................

People of other religions don't go to church or singing the carols but
they send a Christmas card to their friends and give gifts to their
friends. My family is Buddhist but we send Christmas cards to everybody
and buy a decorated tree on Christmas. We celebrate Buddha's birthday but
it is not as big as Christmas.

The week before Christmas, in the downtown of every city, people decorate
the buildings with many lights. The choirs from church sing the carols
and bell ringers collecting money to help poor people. On TV, many
Christmas movies and cartoons are the same as America like Rudolph and
others.

Koreans don't do any special tradition for Christmas. We celebrate the
same as America, with presents, carols, trees, and lights. Most children
are waiting for Santa the night before Christmas.

The week before Christmas, most people are starting their Christmas
shopping. ..........................

Just like America, people don't go to school or work on Christmas day.
Koreans got the ideas of Christmas from America after the cold war. Many
things are the same with America. Carols, Santa, stories of Christmas and
religious beliefs are similar with America. But on the table, there are
more Korean foods than American foods. Only the food is different.
Korean cooks the rice cake, rice, and some American foods like bread and
candies.

CHRISTMAS IN VIETNAM By AHN

1. What is Xmas to you? Do you like this celebration?
It's fun, a lot more than here.
.........................
4. What is the weather like in your country at Christmas?
Nice and warm, but some places are cold.

5. Do you celebrate Christmas in your native town?
Yes
.........................
7. What religion do you have? Does your religion celebrate Christmas?
Catholic Yes
.........................
10. Do you celebrate Xmas eve, Xmas lunch or Xmas dinner?
Yes - Eve.
.........................
13. What is Christmas like in your country?
There are people everywhere. There are a lot of street vendors around
Christmas time.
.........................
16. Tell us about any other special traditions you have in your native
culture.
Tet - Vietnamese New Year

17. What do families do?
Give each other presents

18. Are there any special customs for children, young people, or adults?
Kids get money
.........................
20. Who do you buy presents to?
You give them money in a red envelope
.........................
26. Do your town get decorated at Christmas?
Yes everywhere

27. How is it decorated?
much more than here
.........................
30. When do you start decorating your home?
week before Christmas
.........................
32. Do you put a tree up or a “Belén”?
there is a tree but it's a different one
.........................
35. What are the predominant colours in your traditional decoration in
your country? yellow and red
.........................
45. Tell us about anything special or different that you did not mention
before.
People everywhere celebrate my New Year more.

....... my hometown is decorated by us and it is pretty at
Xmas. People are happy. In my country, everybody is better.............

At New year’s eve we eat twelve
grapes to be lucky. Families have lunch together at home. There are some
costumes. –For example: presents for the family. .............

I decorate my home the first week of
December. I put a Xmas tree lights and a big star. I put a Bethlehem. I
usually eat a special cake of Xmas, and I have turkey for dinner and I
drink champagne.

Hi, this is MARÍA JOSE

To me Xmas is the time of the happiness and it is fantastic. I have a
traditional Xmas in my native town with my family and my friends.

I like the Xmas in my country very much because we celebrate many days
and nights with happiness and we sing carols with a tambourine, we drink
champagne and we eat special cakes.
In my house we put a BETHLEHEM town with Jose and Marie , sheep , the
Three Wise Men, Herod and a star, too.
I have the catholic religion. I celebrate Christmas dinner, I eat turkey
with my grandparents, father, mother, cousin, and brother. We eat 12
grapes in New Year’s eve to celebrate the New Year.
The Xmas is the time, I like most in the year I don’t like the people
who are only united at Xmas we have to be united all the year. On 7th
January the Wise men come with a lot of gifts for the children and
adults.
Also, at Xmas I go every night to the discotheque with my friends and we
spent a very nice Xmas.
I would like you to have a happy Xmas with your family and friends and
wish you a happy new year 2000.

This is MARÍA JESÚS

Xmas is for me to be with my family, I like this celebration I do
celebrations with my family and we are very traditional, we sing carols,
too. My religion is Christian, but I’m not a religious person.

We do not celebrate Xmas in a special way, but in my family it is very
good, because everybody is together, we don’t have a religious
celebration and we are together at dinner..............

December 24th, 25th, 31st and January 1st and 7th   are
the main Christmas days. These days are very special for children.
I buy the  toys for my nieces and nephews and the
presents are under the tree, we open the presents on 7th January.

My town is decorated...............
we put a tree with red and green bobbles.

..............we don’t put the Bethlehem
(the Wise men, Saint Jose (carpenter), Marie,  Jesus child
and the shepherds with their sheep and a stable) because my niece
is very small and the figures are
very fragile .............

The dinner is very big, we have turkey, and many sandwiches, and drinks.
This dinner is on 24th and on 31st December food is less
important. The Menu is very assorted: sandwiches, seafood, turkey, many
drinks and assorted cakes and the best thing is that we are be happy.

The special cakes are "turrones" made
with almonds and honey or sugar and Wise men ring-shaped roll, the best
are the ones with chocolate. The special drinks are  liqueurs and my
favourite food is chocolate cakes that are very good.

For me Christmas is a time to be with my family. I don’t like a lot this
celebration, last year I had a traditional Christmas but this year I am
not very interested ..................

Sometimes I attend a special religious ceremony at church, that fact is
called ‘la misa del gallo’ in Spain. (The Cock’s Mass) because it is
hold after midnight.

In my country all people celebrate Christmas time, they buy presents and
food for Christmas dinner. In my country every body celebrates a
traditional Christmas.......................

In my native culture the presents are brought by The
Three Wise Men on 6th January. This day there is a parade ‘Cabalgata de
los Reyes’ for children. The wise men give a lot of sweets.........

In Spain there are a lot of customs for children, they
decorate their class and their home. On 6 th of January and they dress
up in this day like shepherds .Young people and adults celebrate new
year’s eve with their friends in a party. ...................

All last Christmas my mother bought presents to me and my family, I
don’t buy any thing because I’m very lazy and it is very cold at
Christmas.
I always expect to get a lot of presents. I open them the same day that
my mother buy them.

Last year I decorated my home with a
big Pine tree. I usually decorate indoors, I put 2 Bethlehems one of
plaster and another with smaller figures with mistletoe...................

There
are special songs, they’re called "Villancicos" and they are heard everywhere
in the shops. The instruments that are typical is “pandereta”
tambourine.

...........................................................
In my country there are traditional cakes for
Xmas. We eat “mantecados” (made with flour,sugar,almonds and oil) and
“turron” ( made of almonds and sugar) I don’t have a favourite food at
Xmas ,but my favourite drink is “Aguardiente” a special liquor (clear
brandy). .........................