Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Heritage and Christmas Traditions

I decided to take a quick look at the countries from which my ancestors came and the Christmas traditions associated with them. I can lay claim to the following lands of origin at this point in time: England, Scotland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Wales,The Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany [Baden, Westphalia, so far], and Belgium [Walloons].

The "naughty or nice" list figured prominently in most of the countries, here are a few others:

Great Britain: Father Christmas, Christmas Trees, gift-filled stockings, window candles, holly
Germany: St. [Ni]Claus, Christmas Trees, holly, gingerbread houses and cookies
The Netherlands: St. Nicholas, gift exchange on Dec. 5*
Belgium / Walloons: St. Nicholas - 2 visits!
Sweden: Christmas trees and elves
Switzerland: Silver bells, Christkindli with reindeer and sleigh

*This one stood out as the gifts were called "surprises." My Christmas wish list to Santa every year ended with "and surprises." Must have been the Dutch bloodlines!!

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