Joy Around the World!
Posted by Nautical Wood Maps on 23rd Dec 2019
From family to family the traditions and celebrations of the holiday season are as diverse as they are exciting. While we all have our own unique quirks to make the holidays perfect, we wanted to take a look at what makes the season special around the world - so we did!
To help you get in the spirit, here’s a few of the places that really take the festive season to another level. ‘Tis the season to be jolly, after all!
England has a lot of pretty unique Christmas traditions. From mince pies to Christmas cake, a rich, boozy fruit cake that is soaked in brandy for a month or more. There’s Yorkshire pudding and Christmas pudding - people often hear brandy and set the pud alight! Christmas crackers that look like large paper candies that you pull with a snap they reveal mini prizes, a joke, and a paper crown which you are then expected to wear for the entirety of your meal. It is customary for the Queen to give a speech on Christmas Day and many Brits gather together to watch her yearly wrap-up. Finally, the day after Christmas is known as Boxing Day. Traditionally it is a day when servants would receive gifts from their bosses, it is now a national holiday celebrated mostly by watching a lot of football (soccer) and eating leftovers from Christmas dinner!
Despite having a mostly Buddhist or Shinto population, Japan (and Tokyo in particular) is an amazing place to be for the holidays. The real excitement is around romance (Christmas Eve is Japan’s Valentine’s Day) and most importantly, illuminations! The most famous illuminations are in the Roppongi Hills neighborhood - this year it features over 700,000 LED lights strong on a 400-meter tree-lined street called Keyakizaka (pictured above). Roppongi Hills is also home to a giant Christmas market and Christmas tree!
Christmas in Mexico City (all of Mexico, in fact) starts on the 12th of December and lasts until January 6th. With a population that is 91% Catholic, they really go all out! Christmas posadas last from December 16th through Christmas Eve and are the processional re-enactments of Mary and Joseph‘s search for shelter. Children are given a candle and a small nativity and they go to each of their neighbors homes, sing a song asking for room at the inn, and this continues until they are invited inside! Pastorelas are another popular re-enactment, this time of the shepherds on their way to visit the baby Jesus. There are also numerous concerts for carol singing, or villancicos. On Christmas Eve they celebrate the Mass of the Rooster, after which there is a large feast at midnight and gifts are exchanged, thus Christmas Day itself is generally a quiet affair spent with family without much fanfare.
Frankfurt is host to one of Germany’s oldest, most visited, largest, and most beautiful Christmas markets in the country. It actually traces its roots all the way back to 1393! One of the main features of the market is a giant Christmas tree, proudly decorated and beautifully lit, as are each of the markets numerous independent stalls. There is, of course, a spread of utterly delicious German foods, including “bethmaennchen,” a famous marzipan stuffed candy. On Christmas Eve people gather at the market for the Chiming of the Bells. It features 10 churches and a combined chorus of their 50 bells!
Toronto kicks off the holiday season with the Cavalcade of Lights, a huge celebration illuminating the famous Christmas tree in Nathan Phillips Square and more than half a million other decorations. Be sure to lace up your skates while you’re there! They have a massive Christmas market in the historic district that is inspired by European markets - there are warm beverages, delicious food, and artisan gifts all available under beautiful light displays. North America’s only castle, Casa Loma, dresses to the nines for the holidays, and the Allan Gardens Conservatory and Centennial Park Conservatory decorate with lit candles at sundown for a truly magical experience.
Rovaniemi, Lapland, Finland
No roundup of festive locales could be complete without including Rovaniemi in Lapland, home to Santa Claus Village where you can literally cross the Arctic Circle! The most picturesque snow-covered scenery gives way to log and stone houses and workshops with warm light emanating from their windows. There are reindeer farms, Christmas House and snow safaris, and opportunities to go dog sledding to take in the beauty of the frozen landscape. Meet Santa and Mrs. Claus, drink hot cocoa, eat Lappish food, and visit the Northern Lights - it’s a real life winter wonderland!
Holiday Destination 3D Wood Chart - England, Japan, Mexico | Nautical Wood Maps