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Diwali, or Dipawali, is India's biggest and most important holiday of the year. The festival gets its name from the row (avali) of clay lamps (deepa) that Indians light outside their homes to symbolize the inner light that protects from spiritual darkness. This festival is as important to Hindus as the Christmas holiday is to Christians.

Over the centuries, Diwali has become a national festival that's also enjoyed by non-Hindu communities. For instance, in Jainism, Diwali marks the nirvana, or spiritual awakening, of Lord Mahavira on October 15, 527 B.C.; in Sikhism, it honors the day that Guru Hargobind Ji, the Sixth Sikh Guru, was freed from imprisonment. Buddhists in India celebrate Diwali as well.

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Yule (meaning 'Feast') is a winter pagan festival that was originally celebrated by Germanic people. The exact date of Yule depends on the lunar cycle but it falls from late December to early January. In some Northern Europe countries, the local word for Christmas has a closer linguistic tie to 'Yule' than 'Christmas', and it is still a term that may be used for Christmas in some English-speaking countries. Several Yule traditions are familiar to the modern celebration of Christmas, such as Yule Log, the custom of burning a large wooden log on the fire at Christmas; or indeed carol singing, which is surprisingly a very ancient tradition.

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espite the same underlying spirit, the celebration of Christmas vary in the vast expanse of India. These variations are largely because India is a country of diversity. Christian community in India celebrate Christmas with pomp, gaiety and devotion. Celebrations of Christmas festival begin on the eve of Christmas on 24th of December and continue till New Year’s Day. Christians across the country mark the birth of Lord Jesus Christ on Christmas Day by participating in special masses organized in churches. Celebrations of Christmas are marked by carols, cakes, candles and decoration of Christmas Tree. Each area of India has a distinctly different way of celebrating Christmas. If in the North East it is celebrated in one way, in the South West it is done in a different way. In northwest India, the tribal Christians of the Bhil tribe go out night after night for a week during Christmas to sing their special carols the whole night through and tell the story of Christmas to everybody.

In South India, Christians light clay lamps on the rooftops and walls of their houses, the same way as Hindus decorate their homes during the Diwali Festival. People also prepare mouthwatering recipes, such as cakes, cookies, pudding etc.

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The most important day is December 24, Christmas Eve. The Zambians go to church during the day and many people stay until midnight to celebrate together the birth of Jesus. From 00:00h, it is also very common to hear fireworks, firecrackers, cars honking and, above all, music

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New Zealanders have their own special Christmas trees

In December the pohutukawa tree marks the festive season with an explosion of bright crimson red flowers. While New Zealanders still erect a classic real or fake pine Christmas tree inside their homes, the pohutukawa tree found in parks, by beaches and in forests around the country often feature on festive cards and in poems and songs.

The most famous pohutukawa is an ancient gnarly and twisted tree that sits alone on the windy clifftop of Cape Reinga. The indigenous Maori people believe that from here the spirits of the dead start their journey to Hawaiki, their traditional homeland.

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The Yule Lads
The eve before December 12, everyone who believes in the Yule Lads will put a shoe on the window sill and keep it there for 13 days. This very specific number has to do with the number of Icelandic Jólasveinar (Santa Clauses, if you aren’t keeping up).

Every night until Christmas, a new Yule Lad will visit the window and place a small gift in the shoe. This is not at all as creepy as it sounds! For many, the Yule Lads are the best part of the days leading up to Christmas Day.

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Christmas in Australia and New Zealand

As with South Africa, Christmas occurs in the height of the summer season in both Australia and New Zealand. Despite this, much of the iconography surrounding Christmas is taken directly from the United Kingdom and North America, meaning that snow-themed imagery is used on Christmas cards and Santa Claus is still depicted as riding in a sleigh while wearing a fur coat.

Like in other English-speaking countries, the Christmas tree is central to household Christmas decorations. Once again, the traditional Christmas meal consists of turkey, although it is not uncommon for it to be accompanied by cold meats and salad, making it more appropriate for the time of year. Unlike in the United Kingdom and the United States, watching television does not form a major part of Australian traditions, due to the warm weather.

Christmas in New Zealand is usually similar to that in Australia, although there are some key differences. For example, an indigenous tree known as the PÅhutukawa, which produces large red flowers, is an important symbol of Christmas in the country, and is sometimes referred to as a New Zealand Christmas tree. Both Australia and New Zealand recognise Boxing Day and workers in both countries usually get both Christmas Day and Boxing Day off.

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Christmas in South Africa

Christmas celebrations in South Africa are quite distinct from those seen in other English-speaking countries, and this is because the Christmas holiday takes place in the summer, meaning sunshine and warm weather is the norm. As a result, many South Africans eat their traditional Christmas meal outside, while others choose to go a step further and enjoy a camping trip over the Christmas period.

Often, on the afternoon of Christmas Day, families will spend time outside, playing games or swimming. Nevertheless, due to their shared history, a lot of South African customs are similar to those seen in Britain. For instance, gifts are exchanged on Christmas Day itself, Christmas trees are put up in households, children believe in Santa Claus, Christmas pudding is a popular dessert and Boxing Day is celebrated as a national holiday.

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Christmas in Ireland

Generally, Christmas celebrations in Ireland are close to those seen in the UK, although for Catholic families the Christmas period is said to last from 8th December up until 6th January, which marks the feast of Epiphany, sometimes known as ‘Little Christmas’. Santa Claus is known as Saint Nicholas and Christmas meals are very similar to in other countries, although some families include spiced beef as a main part of their meal.

In Ireland, Boxing Day is known as St. Stephen’s Day and many treat it in much the same way as in the UK and US, eating leftover food and spending the day with family. One old Irish tradition, which also takes place on this day, sees people dress up and go from house to house, singing songs and playing musical instruments. This is known as the Wren Boys Procession. Traditionally, horse racing meetings and football matches also take place.

Overall, Christmas has a stronger religious component in Ireland than it does in the UK and church services are usually extremely busy at this time of year, especially on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. In many Irish homes, a traditional crib is used as a decoration, along with a Christmas tree.

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Pantomime

During the festive season, theatres large and small throughout the UK, and to a lesser extent in other countries, put on pantomime shows. These plays, based loosely on classic children’s stories such as Jack and the Beanstalk and Cinderella, are intended primarily as entertainment for families with young children. They feature lots of singing, dancing, slapstick comedy and audience participation, plus a host of stock characters, such as the young male hero (always played a young woman) the Pantomime Dame, who is often the hero’s mother (typically played by a middle-aged man in drag), a villain, a pantomime animal (often a horse, donkey or cow), and a comic lead who gets audience to sing along and repeat traditional catchphrases such as “He’s behind you!” and “Oh, yes he is!” or “Oh, no he isn’t!”.

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Boxing Day (St. Stephen’s Day)

In the UK and in many current and former Commonwealth countries, such as Kenya or Jamaica, December 26th is a national holiday. Its unusual name derives from an old tradition whereby servants and tradespeople would receive a ‘Christmas Box’ – a gift of money or presents – on the first weekday after Christmas as a thank you for their services throughout the year. In the homes of the rich, the servants would have to wait on their masters on Christmas Day itself, which meant that they had to hold off until their work was done before they could celebrate themselves. These days, Boxing Day, like Black Friday in the USA, is primarily known as the day the post-Christmas sales begin.

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Mistletoe and tinsel
For many people, one of the most popular Christmas traditions is decorating the house. This includes dressing the famous fir tree, a tradition brought over from Germany in 1841 when Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert, put one up in Windsor Castle. The Royal couple were illustrated in the newspapers standing next to their tree with their children, after which Christmas trees were all the rage.

Another beloved decoration is mistletoe, a plant that grows on apple trees, which is hung in the house over Christmas and under which a man was traditionally allowed to kiss a woman – bad luck was said to befall any woman who refused. One version of the tradition also has it that one berry had to be plucked for each kiss, and that the kissing had to stop when there were no more berries.

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Carolling

In the days leading up to Christmas, it’s traditional for groups of singers – usually amateur choirs, but often just a group of friends – to go from house to house in the evening singing such well-loved carols as Silent Night, Once in Royal David’s City and We Wish You a Merry Christmas. If a group of carollers shows up at your door, be kind to them and hear them out; it’s often the case that they’re collecting money for charity as they go.