Holiday celebrations across globe
include food, folks, festivities, fun
By Kelly Romanski
Staff writer
In Scotland, people go to friends’
houses to “first-foot” them.
In Mexico, residents celebrate
“Posadas,” an eight-day recreation of
die Biblical story of Joseph and Mary’s
search for lodging.
And in Australia, people hold
Christmas barbecues outside.
The holidays have come around
again, and many cultures - most of
which are represented by students at the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln - have
special ways of celebrating them.
First-footing in Scotiand is a tradi
' tion that begins each year just after mid
night on New Year’s Day, said junior
management major Mark Ramsay.
People go around to the homes of
friends, and if they are the first across
the threshold, they have “first-footed”
that family.
i he rirst-rooters bring coal or wood
to ensure the family has warmth, short
bread so the family won’t go hungry and
whiskey so they’ll not lack joy and mer
riment for die new year.
In Edinburgh, Scotland’s capital, the
world’s largest New Year’s celebration is
held on Princes Street, and it’s bigger
than the ball dropping in limes Square
in New York.
At midnight, everyone sings “Auld
Lang Syne,” from a poem by Robert
Bums, Scotland’s national poet.
In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s capi
tal, people gather in the city square, the
Dataran Merdekan, to welcome the new
year as well as to celebrate their inde
pendence from Britain in 1957.
“Weyell, ‘Freedom!’” saidKee
Yong Tan, a Chinese and Malaysian stu
dent and senior architecture major at
UNL. “We gather with friends in the
Dataran and count down with big
screen TVs.”
Yong Tan said the way Malaysians
celebrate Christmas is influenced by
American celebrations.
We have a family dinner, we make
a fake Christmas tree, hang lights,” he
said. “We try to create an environment
exactly like American (tradition).”
Part of Mexico’s Christmas tradition
also shows American influences.
Senior Graciela Valenciano, a lec
turer of Spanish from Sabinas, Mexico,
near Monterrey, said children in the
northern half of Mexico believe Santa
Claus will come on Christmas Eve bear
ing gifts. But southern children believe
the infant Jesus delivers the presents
they find on Christmas Day.
“I believe in Santa,” she said, and
pointed out that Monterrey is only an
hour from the Texas border.
A more traditional Mexican tradi
tion is the Posadas celebration.
Held from Dec. 16 to 24, the cele
bration calls for members from each
household in a community to take a day
to play either Mary or Joseph and to
walk from house to house singing vil
lancicos, or Christmas carols.
For the people of Greece, traditions
haven’t changed in nearly 2,000 years,
said Ioannis Misopoulos, a senior envi
ronmental studies major.
“Every Greek is an Orthodox
Christian,” he said. “Christmas is bigger
than Easter.”
Cyprus, an island in the
Mediterranean Sea, also has the coin-in
tho-pie tradition, and Santa has nothing
to do with Christmas, said Akis
Charalamboys, a senior accounting and
economics major.
For Christmas, people fast before
eating a big meal of lamb or chicken
shish kebabs after church.
Charalamboys said the holidays
there are similar to the way they’re cele
brated here, except for one fact:
“You guys give way more presents
than we do.”
Because of different mainstream
religious beliefs, New Year’s Eve is cel
ebrated much more than Christmas in
India, said Ashu Guru, a graduate stu
dent in manufacturing engineering from
New Delhi.
Gifts are exchanged on New Year’s
Eve, and the next morning, the children
of the household bow to their parents to
receive blessings for the new year.
In Poland, gifts are exchanged from
under a tree on Christmas. The
Christmas celebrations there are much
like the Catholic ones here, said Andrzej
Wlodarczyk, a graduate student in edu
cational administration.
“Everyone’s a Catholic,” he said.
“We attend a vigil midnight Mass on
Christmas Eve.”
A big meal is eaten on Christmas,
and then preparations for New Year’s are
made.
“New Year’s Eve is a more fun holi
day and is perceived to be bigger than
Christmas,” Wlodarczyk said.
“The younger people celebrate in
homes and downtowns and market
squares,” he said. “We spread good
wishes and kisses. Wet, deep kisses.”
In Australia, December is the begin
ning of summer, and for the Christmas
meal, families exchange gifts and have
cold turkey and ham, fruit salad and
seafood at a picnic barbecue outside,
said junior broadcasting major Sara
Jowsey.
“Our Christmas is like your
Thanksgiving,” she said, “except for the
presents.”
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