CHRISTMAS

Advent

Advent calendar

Bonbon Christmas cracker

Boxing day

At Christmas

Christmas cake

Christmas carol

Christmas day

Christmas decorations

Christmas eve

Christmas pudding

Christmas stocking

Christmas tree

Father Christmas

Merry Christmas!

White Christmas

Gift=present

Midnight Mass

Lights

Mistletoe

Nativity play

Santa(Claus)

Xmas

To celebrate

To climb down a chimney

To decorate

To dress shop windows for Christmas

To go away for Christmas

To hang up a Christmas stocking

To kiss under the mistletoe

To put Christmas presents under the Christmas tree

To send a Christmas card

To sing Christmas carol

To spend Christmas at home

To unwrap a present

To write a letter to Santa Claus

CHRISTMAS IN POLAND

The most important day of Christmas in Poland is………………., known as Wigilia. Traditionally a full-day…………………….is observed, which ends with a huge Christmas……………………… . It consist of 12 courses (in some parts of the country it is supposed to be 13), one for each Apostle. The table is always set with one……………….in case a stranger should appeal to share the meal. In honour of the star of Bethlehem, the meat cannot begin until the first…………….. can be seen in the sky. This is why Christmas in Poland is often referred to as “Gwiazdka”, which means “little star”.

To begin the feast, a special wafer is broken into pieces and shared with others. A traditional Christmas Eve meal should include……………………, beetroot soup and cabbage dish. No other Polish…………………….traditions include decorating the……………………..with…………………, coloured balls and other decorations.

The most religious Poles go to church for………………………….., called “pasterka”. Others stay at home, listen to……………….(or sing them) and generally spend time with their families. Christmas Eve is a night of magic. Animals are said to talk in human voices and in some parts of the country, especially in rural areas, people try to tell the future.

CHRISTMAS AROUND THE WORLD

Christmas is a happy, festive time. After Easter, it is the most important Christian holiday of the year. Customs for observing Christmas differ around the world, but some traditions are very similar in most parts of the globe. Yet, some Christmas traditions may seem quite strange.

In Britain children write letters to Father Christmas and then throw them into the fire so that they will float up the chimney and fly to the North Pole. At Christmas dinner, a plum pudding is served with a little treasure, such as silver coin, hidden inside. Finding a hidden object brings good luck.

In Italy, on the evening of the day after Christmas, children are visited by a kind witch who flies around the country on a broom and leaves gifts for good children and coal for naughty children.

In Finland, it is traditional to have a sauna before Santa's arrival. On Christmas day, most people visit the graves of their loved ones and light candles for them.

In some parts of the world , Christmas comes in the middle of summer. In New Zealand and Australia, families often have a picnic or go to the beach for Christmas dinner. It is more common to have cold ham than hot turkey. In Australia, Santa's sleigh is pulled by eight white kangaroos.

But no matter how it is celebrated - with a jolly Santa or a nice witch, in the hot sun or in the snow - Christmas should be a joyful time for all.

Christmas in Great Britain

In Great Britain the hustle and bustle of the season begins well before Christmas. There is preparation going on of foods, the sending of Christmas cards, the decorating of houses and churches, and the readying of gifts keep everyone busy even the youngest family members.

On Christmas Eve youngsters hang up their stockings on the ends of the beds or by the chimney so that when Father Christmas comes he can leave them something.

On Christmas morning the family traditionally opens their presents and prepares for a big feast which typically is served just after midday. The table gleams with the best china and glassware, and at every place on the table there is a cracker. The meal begins with a toast, followed by the popping of the crackers. After the meal they sit down in front of the Television for the traditional Christmas speech of the British Monarch.

In the afternoon they exchange visits with neighbors other family members.

In Britain, children write their letters to Father Christmas and then throw them into the fireplace so they will float up the chimney and fly to the North Pole. If the lists catch fire first, they have to rewrite them.

At Christmas dinner, a plum pudding is served with little treasures hidden inside that bring their finders good luck. Britain was the first country to hang up mistletoe.

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