15-12-2017 xmas

A Creepy ! s a m t s i r h C

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here’s more to Christmas day celebrations around the world than just Santa and elves. And it’s all fun and games until you get a visit from the Christmas demon, or witch, while a log poops on your floor – but, at least you get some chicken.

La Befana While Santa Claus rides a sleigh, shimmies down chimneys and delivers gifts all around the world, La Bafana does almost the same thing in Italy. La Bafana, a soot covered, haggard, old, but well-intentioned witch, chooses to ride around the country on a broomstick to deliver her gifts. The character was recreated in the 13th century and inspired by an ancient year-end pagan custom. As legend has it, she turned down an offer from the three wise men to visit baby Jesus in his manger and now delivers gifts every year to make up for her regretful mistake.

Spider Webs Christmas trees in the Ukraine feature much more than just tinsel and ornaments – they include spider webs for good luck.

The custom dates back to a Ukrainian legend where a poor mother had no decorations for her family’s Christmas tree. After the children cried themselves to sleep, friendly spiders got to work and spun lightreflective webs to decorate the tree. On Christmas morning, the children awoke to find the beautifully decorated tree and the family became prosperous and lucky from that day on.

Catalonian Poop Log If you ever find yourself in the Catalonia region of Spain it will be helpful to know that they have a log that poops out presents for Christmas. The tradition of the “Caga Tio”, which literally means “poop uncle”, begins on December 8 during the Feast of Immaculate Conception. Every night until Christmas, children “feed” the log, which is covered by a blanket, fruits and nuts to make it “bigger”. On Christmas Day, families gather around the log and sing songs to make it “poop” presents – usually candy, coins and small toys.

Finger-licking Christmas Thanks to a successful 1970s marketing campaign, fried chicken has become synonymous with Christmas in Japan. The 1974 “Kurisumasu ni wa ketakii!” (Kentucky for Christmas) campaign was so well done, that a bucket of “Christmas chicken” is now the go-to meal of the holiday. The meal, which also includes cake and champagne, is sold for about US$40 (B1,300) at any KFC outlet anywhere in Japan.

Krampus Otherwise known as the Christmas demon, the Krampus is a beast-like creature from folklore of Alpine countries.

Since Santa Claus gives presents to good children, Krampus visits the naughty kids and drags them into the black forest. The Krampus dates back to pagan traditions and the story has adapted to fit with the holiday. Every December 5 men in several countries, including Slovenia, Hungary and Croatia, dress up as the creature and roam the streets frightening children with rusty chains and bells.

“The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree is the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other.”

– Burton Hills

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Just who is Santa Claus?

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irst, a word of caution.

Do not let your children read this. It’ll ruin Christmas for them.

Ready? Then I’ll begin.

Santa Claus, the jolly, fat fellow with the white whiskers, red suit and pointy hat with white fur trim, has not always looked that way.

In fact, he has appeared in many different guises, not least because he is an amalgam of various real (or supposedly real people) and mythical characters.

The name is a corruption of the Dutch “Sinterklaas”, which in turn is a corrupt version of the Latin “Sanctus Nicolaus”, from the Greek “Hagios Nikolaos”. The original Greek version was the Bishop of Myra (then in Greece, now in Turkey), who lived from the years 270 to 343 AD. For convenience, let’s call him St Nicholas.

He is the patron saint of merchants, archers, sailors and thieves who repent, pawnbrokers, students – and children.

He is credited with restoring to life three children who had been chopped up by an evil butcher who planned to sell them as ham, and with helping to feed the people of Myra in time of famine by diverting part of a cargo of grain that belonged to the Emperor of Constantinople.

But the story that links him most closely to the current image concerns three girls from a poor family whose father could not afford a dowry for them, meaning they could not marry and would end up on the street.

Reluctant to embarrass them by helping them publicly, the saint climbed onto the roof of their house and dropped three bags

of gold coins, one for each girl, down the chimney.

St Nicholas was buried in Myra, but some 700 years later much of his skeleton was stolen by sailors, who brought the bones back to their hometown of Bari in Italy where they remain to this day.

The red suit appears to come from a different character, the English “Father Christmas”, who was never a real person, but a 15th Century invention (with a variety of names) who was symbolic of the traditions of Christmas. By the 17th Century the character had been refined into a merry old chap whose main purpose appears to have been to encourage people to eat and drink a lot to celebrate the anniversary of Christ’s birth.

He doesn’t seem to have been associated with children or the giving of gifts. That link came somewhere in the mid-Victorian era when Father Christmas and St Nicholas were merged, though the emphasis was still on eating and drinking.

The red suit was added at least 130 years ago. American cartoonist Thomas Nast depicted

him in 1881 in a way that is recognisably linked to the modern version, festooned with toys. The elves? In Germanic mythology elves were diminutive woodland dwellers and frankly, rather a nasty lot, given to threats, seduction and causing people to do harm to themselves. But the Elizabethans somehow managed to mix them up with fairies, making them much more benevolent.

An almost interminable 1823 American poem called “A Visit From Santa Claus” describes Santa himself as “a right jolly old elf” – rather odd for the fat old chap in the red suit. That description didn’t stick but, within a decade or so, the American version of Santa Claus was equipped with an entourage of green-suited chappies about a foot tall who made all the toys the Santa would distribute.

The reindeer and sleigh in which Santa flits around delivering gifts appear to be an invention of author L. Frank Baum in his 1902 children’s novel, The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus. But that’s a tale for another time.

Christmas Feasting Around the World hristmas dinner is not a tradition exclusive to the likes of North America, Australia and the UK – it’s a meal enjoyed meal by Christian families all over the globe. From India to Peru and Honduras to Iceland, in fact, dozens of countries indulge in a grand feast on this holiday occasion.

The following are a few examples of what you might find on the Christmas table throughout the world.

Roasted Turkey is the most popularised Christmas main course, as enjoyed in the UK, Canada, America, Mexico, New Zealand and even Australia (though being that December is the height of summer down under, the turkey is often served cold there). In such places, turkey is commonly served up alongside some stuffing, cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes with gravy, and often with

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other steamed vegetables.

In lieu or as a complement to turkey, chicken and other types of poultry are also commonly cooked up. Goose is a favourite item in countries such as Germany, Austria, Denmark and Ireland, while duck is a popular choice in Lebanon, Iceland and the Netherlands, among other places. And if the fancy birds are out of stock (or budget), you can certainly find a few chickens baking or roasting over an open fire in kitchens across this vast planet.

If it’s not a big bird at the centre of the table, then it may well be a fish. Fish is a preferred Christmas course in numerous countries – Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Brazil and Finland, for example. Likewise, many countries, particularly those with a coastline, enjoy a wide variety of seafood on the holiday – shrimp, crawfish or lobster.

Aside from poultry, another one of the most popular Christ-

mas dinner items is ham. In some households in North America and the UK, for example, the Christmas ham replaces the turkey altogether, while other households serve up both. Like the turkey, the ham can be prepared in multiple ways, but usually is baked, steamed or slow-cooked.

It’s not all just meat for Xmas though.

Some countries with a strong Catholic tradition, such as Poland, tend to avoid red meat for Christmas dinner, keeping in line with ancient tradition. But let’s not get too caught up with what there is to eat or not eat. The real spirit of Christmas dinner is not about the what, but about the who – your family and loved ones, that is. That’s what Christmas dinner is really all about the world over: getting together for a warm, intimate and fun family occasion.

Merry Christmas and fantastic feasting!