Christmas abroad is tradition rich
December 16, 1996
Special to the Daily
Bah humbug!
Ebenezer Scrooge would have loved it in Latvia where, for 40 years, Christmas was forbidden. But now Latvians like Ilze Matise are beginning to celebrate Christmas and other religious holidays once again.
Most other international citizens say their countries’ festivities are seeped in religious and folklore traditions and are less commercialized than United States holidays.
Matise, a veterinary medicine graduate student from Riga, Latvia, comes from a country where, for 40 years, religious holiday celebrations were forbidden because of the Russian Communist regime.
In Latvian summer, Janis Day, is celebrated, she said.
“It was forbidden during Russian times; however, [there] was no way that holiday would be wiped out,” Matise said.
She continued to say that traditionally Janis Day was connected with the end of summer field work and people came together to sing folk songs.
“Neighbors go and visit. Beer is the main thing you drink and homemade cheese is served,” Matise said. “Everything is fixed up, and Janis Day is an agricultural tradition.”
A bonfire would be built, and if people wanted they could jump over the fire.
“It is believed that jumping over the fire will get rid of all dirty things or nasty thoughts,” she said.
Latvian nights are very short. The sun goes down at 11:30 p.m. and rises in the morning at 4 a.m., so the party lasts all night, she said.
International Holidays
Bulgarians don’t celebrate St. Valentine’s Day on Feb. 14, instead they celebrate an agricultural and Christian holiday called St. Trifon Zarizan (saint of vine cutting or protector of vines).
Milena Karagyozova, a journalism graduate student from Bourgas, Bulgaria, said this religious celebration is usually held in the rural areas with everyone going to the fields where the priest will bless the vines for a more prosperous year.
“In spite of this ritual, they pour some wine on the vines. I don’t know what the meaning is, but I guess they are trying to give the incentive of giving them more grapes,” she said. “People then drink wine which is the way to pay tribute to the saint.”
People from Barcelona, Spain, pay tribute to St. Stephen on the day after Christmas.
According to Lorena Corbin, a graduate student in journalism and citizen of Sitges, Spain, the big difference between Americans’ Christmas festivities and her country’s celebration, called the Three Kings, is the day.
Many Americans hang stockings on the mantel for Santa Claus, but Corbin said, “On Jan. 6, we put out slippers for the Three Kings to fill with presents.
“Another thing that is quite typical in Spanish homes is that they always do nativity scenes some place in the house,” Corbin said. “They do that more than buying a Christmas tree.”
Karagyozova and Matise have also experienced not celebrating Christmas because of Communist governments.
“I didn’t see Christmas until 1990, however some people would still celebrate Christmas in a quiet place (in hiding),” Matise said. “My family didn’t celebrate Christmas because we didn’t want to get into trouble.”
Karagyozova said, “Dec. 25 is the first day after a long fast and that vegetarian dishes are served on Dec. 24. Many people also believe in Koleda Dado (Father Frost) rather than Santa Claus.”
Matise said in normal times that Christmas “came very naturally, it just felt that it should be there” and is a silent time for her family and for most of the Latvians.
“A time when you gather your best thoughts and wish the best for everyone,” Matise said. “So that is not very different from Americans except that we are not that commercialized.”
Matise had a dried Christmas decoration hanging in her kitchen that she had made consisting of milkweed pods, leaves and sticks with galls, she said, “We make more creative gifts — come from the heart.
“So many things in America are connected with shopping.”
Corbin agreed with Matise saying, “Our shopping starts much later than Americans. Barcelona’s stores start decorating in December, not like the United States.”
While Americans usually get one or two days off for Christmas, the whole Malaysian nation celebrates the Chinese New Year’s for 10 days with shops closing during the entire period, said Yong-Kang Lim, a senior in journalism from Penang, Malaysia.
“This gives everyone an opportunity to celebrate in our traditional way of visiting friends and family gatherings,” Lim said.
“This is also a time for married adults to present ang pows to children.”
“Ang pows” are red packets filled with money, according to Ardith Nehrt, author of “International What’s When and Where.”
Lim said red symbolizes good health and wealth for the new year.
The color red also plays an important part in Bulgarian festivities called the “First of March Day” or “Martenitsa.”
“The wearing and giving of the red and white broach is a tradition that dates back to the 10th century,” Karagyozova said.
Although Karagyozova and Nehrt disagree on the legend of the woven red and white threads, they agreed that the legend is based on a young girl and coincides with the spring weather and the celebration of spring.
Nehrt said, “The legend is about a young girl who had 11 brothers, their lives were always happy and the sun was always shining except when the brothers drank wine, at which time much unhappiness would descend along with a great deal of rainy weather.”
Bulgaria’s weather in March is always changeable, and when it rains the Bulgarians say the brothers are drinking again, Nehrt said.
As she showed her woven threads that her sister gave her, Karagyozova said, “The red threads in the broach represent the face’s coloring of the cheeks and the white threads symbolize the skin and the combination of the two colors represent good health to the person wearing the jewelry piece.”
Red is also associated with a new charity, fund-raising festivity in the United Kingdom.
Barbara Hurrell, school librarian at Ravenswood School for Boys in Kent, England said Red Nose Day was devised by Lenny Henry, comedian, to raise donations for the third world countries, such as South America.
“Each year a different red nose is sold.
“This year it was one that changed color when you put in hot water,” Hurrell said.
Trevor Nelson, a native of Manchester, England and coordinator of Iowa State University’s Study Abroad Center, said he had never heard of Red Nose Day but a well-known English festivity was just celebrated on Nov. 5, Guy Fawkes Day.
After Roman Catholic priests had been banished, a small group of Catholic Englishmen conspired to blow up King James I and the English Parliament. Guy Fawkes Day rose out of this religious conflict in 1605 said Ruth Gregory, author of “Anniversaries and Holidays.”
“The gunpowder plot was discovered and Guy Fawkes was caught and tortured for some days; then confessed.
“Guy Fawkes was not the brains behind the plot, he was only a functionary player. Eventually, the ring leaders were rounded-up,” Nelson said.
KIDLINK, an Internet source, said Guy Fawkes was chosen to light the 36 barrels of gunpowder they had hidden in the House of Parliament’s basement.
“Now in order to celebrate that particular event, which is the 5th of November every year. Children would build bonfires well before that day,” Nelson said.
“I remember when I was a kid some of these bonfires were quite large. I recall there was always competition between groups of kids to build the biggest bonfire, as it was in my hometown.”
Nelson said each bonfire had an “effigy of Guy Fawkes.”
The Guy Fawkes mannequins, sometimes stuffed with firecrackers as well as straw, newspapers, or old clothes, were burned in the bonfires, Nelson said.
Lim said a similarity between Malaysian and American festivities is that “we both have to clean house, or sweep away the bad things before a big celebration.”
Latvians don’t stress the family part of the holidays as much as Americans.
Matise said it is a positive concept in the United States that Christmas was family based.
No matter what your ethnic celebration is — holidays will only last as long as people want them to last.