Christmas Everywhere

Are you ready? Do you have children or grandchildren ready to stay up and see Santa on Christmas Eve?
I was thinking about this and wondered about Christmas in different countries. So off I went to the internet. 

China - only about 1% of the population is Christian so only a few people know much about the tradition. It's only celebrated in the department stores. Santa (Shen Dan Lao Ren) is in the stores like in the US.

Germany - Celebrates Christmas and a big part is Advent with special Advent calendars. Christmas trees are popular and usually brought into the house on Christmas Eve. Presents are exchanged on Christmas Eve.

Russia - In the old Soviet Union Christmas wasn't celebrated. New Years was the important date. Now it's normally celebrated on January 7th. This is because the Russian Orthodox church uses the old Julian calendar for religious celebrations.

Italy - celebrates Christmas, usually with Nativity crib scene. It's set up December 8th, but the baby Jesus isn't put into the crib until the evening or night of December 24th.

So there's a little background for you as Santa circles the globe and we celebrate Christmas, each in our own special way.
And if you have a special tradition or custom, I'd love to hear about it.

Merry Christmas and happy Holidays from Canada (where we celebrate on the 25th with a tree, decorations, Nativity scenes, stockings, Christmas carols and turkey dinners.