Hello, dear readers. It's Christmas already. This date is propitious for meeting and sharing among families, friends and loved ones. Those who have shared with us sorrows and joys, those who have been far away and today we are close. Surely you already have plans to celebrate the commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ in the city of Bethlehem. You will have planned a dinner, a trip, a meeting in any square, around the tree. Whatever you have planned, you must have thought about sharing with friends and family, because Christmas is about sharing and celebrating.

Today, more than 2,000 million people in more than 160 countries consider Christmas the most important holiday of the year and celebrate it even if they are not Christians. Around the world Christmas is celebrated and although it seems strange, in many countries it is celebrated in the same way as we do: food, ornaments, lights, tree, gifts. However, there are traditions that are characteristic of each region or country.

For example, it is said that in the Philippines it is celebrated every year on the Saturday before Christmas Eve in the city of San Fernando, a festival of lanterns, where eleven towns participate in it to see who builds the best lantern. Also, in Austrian Christmas folklore, Santa Claus rewards children who have behaved well, while a character called Krampus takes children who have behaved badly and carries them in his sack. During the first week of December (especially on the eve of St. Nicholas' Day), young people in Krampus costumes frighten the children by ringing their chains and bells. In the same order, in Iceland, young Yule (jólasveinar in Icelandic) visit children all over the country during the 13 nights prior to Christmas Day. On each of these nights, the children leave their best shoes by the window and the Yule youth bring gifts to those children who have behaved well, and rotten potatoes to those who have behaved badly.

Just as there are normal Christmas traditions, there are also strange ones. Like the one we find in Norway, where people hide their brooms. This tradition originated hundreds of centuries ago, when it was believed that witches and evil spirits appeared on Christmas Eve to look for brooms to fly with. Also in the Czech Republic they have a strange Christmas tradition: on Christmas Eve, single women stand with their backs to the door of their house and throw a shoe over their shoulder; if the shoe falls with the tip facing the door, it means that it will find a partner; but if, on the other hand, it falls with the heel towards the house, it will remain single for another year. Another strange custom is found in Serbia, where children tie up their parents and only release them when they are given gifts.

I don't know about you, but reading about all these traditions arouses particular interest in me. It's the same with some curiosities, which I've never heard of before, make me very interesting. Such is the fact that the Christmas star that usually crowns our Christmas trees is originally from the Philippines; that mistletoe comes from temperate or tropical places and that it has a substance called viscotoxin that is harmful to humans if consumed in large quantities; that before Christmas lights were invented, now so traditional and indispensable in many homes, Christmas firs were decorated with candles and apples; or that in Milan the first sweet bread was made, on behalf of a duke who asked his cooks for a special Christmas meal containing dried fruits and raisins, and who decided to call it "panettone".

Source

In Venezuela, my country, despite the economic crisis, we also celebrated Christmas. Normally we have a Christmas dinner in which the main dish is hallacas, a kind of pie filled with meat and wrapped in banana leaf; there is also chicken salad, ham bread, dulce de lechosa and many fruits. It is usually done at the table, where the family gathers to thank for the blessings to come. The children believe and write to the child Jesus, who at 12 o'clock at night brings them gifts and toys, for this the children must fall asleep and the Child will leave the gifts under the bed or pillow. It is also common to exchange gifts or make secret friends who will give gifts that day.

Beyond the fact that there is no food on the table or there are no gifts on the tree; beyond the fact that you don't wear new clothes or the only lights that illuminate you are the stars in the sky, the idea of this date is to share with those you love, with that being that has been with you in the good times and in the bad. If you are with him, hug him; if that person is far away, call him. Even if it is in the distance, feel accompanied.

As Steemit is a community made up of people from all over the world, we have to say that
Merry Christmas in German is Frohe Weihnachten; in French is Joyeux Noël; in Dutch: Vrolijk kerstfeest; in Portuguese: Feliz Natal; in Polish: Wesołych Świą; in Czech: Veselé Vanoce. In Spanish: Feliz Navidad.